Euby's Log - Take me to the Bridge

[Euby]

Yes, I'm doing the GPP as prescribed. The Rack Pulls have been all over the place because I've tried setting them up different ways. With my power rack the pins won't let me set this up at mid-shin, so that's the reason they were just below the knee. I will have to build a small platform to stand on to get them lower, and I just haven't done it yet. That said, most rack pulls are done from a higher position than Jordan suggests here. Not sure why, but I like pulling just below the knee as it lets you use a much heavier weight which feels good in the upper back/traps as opposed to the lower back. Not sure yet if I am going to keep doing them this way or build the platform.

Agreed on the Bridge thread. I know moderating a forum is very time consuming, but allowing folks to openly ridicule one another like that to me makes the place less enjoyable. There isn't even a rule system around here to provide guidelines on what is acceptable or not acceptable behavior.

[Euby]

8/30/17
BW 199.8 (stomach has been a little off last couple of days)

2ct Squat
245x4@7
255X4@8
265X4@9
265X4@9
add 5lbs next time
RPE is totally dialed in on these. They feel good, and for some reason I like these better than regular squats.

Press
120x5@7.5?
125x5@8
125x5@8
125x5@8.5
120x5@8
add 5lbs next time
RPE nailed on these

Pendlay Rows
135x8@6
155x8@7
165x8@8
165x8@8
165x8@8
165x8@8.5
add 5lbx next time
RPE was good on these, but last few reps on each set felt a little too "jerky" but I still managed to make the touch at the lower chest

A few notes on how I feel, which is great. The first week I felt like I was going to die for a few hours after each session. Now I feel like I worked out but I recover more quickly. I can tell my work capacity has increased big time, even on the off days. Chasing kids and pushing the lawn mower for example are much easier, even though I feel a little more muscle fatigue from the volume at times. Looking forward to the high stress workouts next week! Not seeing any signs of being volume sensitive at this point, but time will tell.

[Euby]

8/31/17

Bridge - GPP day
25 minute brisk walk (sub 15min/mile pace on hilly terrain)
then
7min AMRAP of Chins (39 reps)
7min of plans and L-sits (basically did 50 seconds on, 10 seconds off of alternating planks with L-sits)

[Euby]

9/1/17

Bridge Week 3 - Workout #
BW 201.8lbs
2 hours to complete!
Tonnage: 19,740lbs!!!

I felt lethargic today. I didn't get to sleep well last night for some reason. Wide awake, tossing until after midnight, so only got about 6 hours. Still, workout below wasn't too bad.

6min EMOM of empty bar squats x 5 reps. Then

Deadlift
warmup reps
290x5@6
305x5@7
320x5@8
310x5@8
300x5@8
Low back was fried after this, but by the time I finished benching afterward it was all good. Add 5 or 10 lbs next time to this!

Bench
195x5@6
210x5@7
220x5@8
215x5@8
210x5@8
205x5@8
Felt fantastic. Finally got the set/rep/RPE scheme dialed in on this one. Add 5lbs next week if possible.

3-0-3 Tempo Squat
195x8@7
205x8@8
215x8@9
215x8@9
These were tougher than last week. Hard to judge RPE on these with the slow cadence and 8-rep sets. But the last set was definitely tough , more in the sense that I felt like my low back was just wiped again after all those deads. I was breathing very heavy. Still, have room to add 5 lbs next week at least, maybe 10 since I feel like I'm adjusting to the lift mentally more than physically at this point. It's a good "medium" squat variation.

Today's workout was long, and the tonnage I moved today was high, especially since the warmups I did aren't even included in that 19,740lbs total. I felt it for a good 30-45 minutes afterward. But it's been almost 2 hours since then and I feel almost back to normal. The volume is feeling good!

[Euby]

9/4/2017
BW 203 lbs

Bridge Week 4 Workout 1 - High stress

"Labor" Day for real. Today's workout was 2 hours and 12 minutes to get through!

Tonnage - 22,265lbs (not counting warmups)

Squat
260x5@6
275x5@7
290x5@8
285x5@8
280x5@8
275x5@8
Dropping 5lbs with 4 minutes rest is proving to be the key for me on most every lift when trying to maintain a consistent RPE.

CGB
205x4@7
215x4@8
230x4@8.5
230x4@9
225x4@9
I realized today my CGB working weights are higher than bench press? Not sure why? Maybe the 2 days of rest? I know that bench press is after volume deadlifts and that I'm pretty wiped after those on Friday. Strange still.

Rack Pull
315x7@7
335x7@8
355x7@9
355x7@9
These feel good. I built a 2" platform so that the bar sits lower on the shins while on the pins. Still added 10lbs here.

All and all felt smooth and strong.

[Euby]

Upper back, traps and entire shoulder girdle is a slightly sore from the rack pull and CGB volume yesterday. Glutes and quads are ever so slightly sore. Haven't had soreness in the middle of a working program in a while. Usually only get it after a deload week or taking a week off. The extra volume yesterday definitely is the culprit. Feels kinda nice when it's just enough to know work was done.

[Overtrained]

9/4/2017
BW 203 lbs

Bridge Week 4 Workout 1 - High stress

"Labor" Day for real. Today's workout was 2 hours and 12 minutes to get through!

Tonnage - 22,265lbs (not counting warmups)

Squat
260x5@6
275x5@7
290x5@8
285x5@8
280x5@8
275x5@8
Dropping 5lbs with 4 minutes rest is proving to be the key for me on most every lift when trying to maintain a consistent RPE.

CGB
205x4@7
215x4@8
230x4@8.5
230x4@9
225x4@9
I realized today my CGB working weights are higher than bench press? Not sure why? Maybe the 2 days of rest? I know that bench press is after volume deadlifts and that I'm pretty wiped after those on Friday. Strange still.

Rack Pull
315x7@7
335x7@8
355x7@9
355x7@9
These feel good. I built a 2" platform so that the bar sits lower on the shins while on the pins. Still added 10lbs here.

All and all felt smooth and strong.

Well done so far.

I see your 3sx5r was 295 just before beginning the bridge.
I'm assuming those were max effort sets, say rpe 9 - 10 given that's where you stopped LP ?

Now in the 4th week, do you genuinely believe that you could do 3sx5r at 295 ie no deterioration in squat strength ?

Wrt your DL last week, this is the same as your previous max, but at rpe 8, so presumably you could manage more weight if you worked at rpe 10 ?

[Euby]

Well done so far.

I see your 3sx5r was 295 just before beginning the bridge.
I'm assuming those were max effort sets, say rpe 9 - 10 given that's where you stopped LP ?

I ended SSLP at 295x5x3 with about 10 minutes rest. The last set was a real grinder I recall. It was probably a 9.5 or 10 looking back, but hard to say. I did 295x3x5 again on an HLM right before taking a week off for a summer vacation, after which I injured my back (non-lifting related) so I've not really pushed beyond that number for sets across since, though I have done single sets at heavier weights.

Now in the 4th week, do you genuinely believe that you could do 3sx5r at 295 ie no deterioration in squat strength ?

Yes, I think I could do that pretty readily with 5-6 minutes rest, but the last set would be over RPE 8 most likely.

Wrt your DL last week, this is the same as your previous max, but at rpe 8, so presumably you could manage more weight if you worked at rpe 10 ?

Deadlifts feel WAY stronger than they ever have, so yes to this. I think the last few weeks of this program will show some great strength gains and new PR's across the board on every lift. I think I detrained a bit before starting the bridge due to the back injury, but also due to the fact that I had recently started a H/L split routine with a rotating rep range of 8-5-2 each week that I had picked up from Andy Baker's posts. I think that would have worked well in the long run, but I was in the early stages and had dropped my working weights by about 5-10% to get back into the swing of things, and I had plans to push hard once the weights came back up. Not dogging that, but I've been curious about RPE for a while, and the Bridge made sense so I just decided to give it a go.

[MBasic]

Dropping 5lbs with 4 minutes rest is proving to be the key for me on most every lift when trying to maintain a consistent RPE.

I was listening to a Eric Helms Podcast recently and he/they said a 2% drop in weight is what is typically necessary to either maintain a RPE, dropping wt. from set to set . . .
. . . OR if RPE was too low or high on a set, a 2% laod change was typically needed to dial it into the correct RPE range for the next set.
So that jives +/- I guess. Nice when things workout like their supposed to. . . . what others have experienced.
I'm glad this program is working out for you.

[Euby]

I was listening to a Eric Helms Podcast recently and he/they said a 2% drop in weight is what is typically necessary to either maintain a RPE, dropping wt. from set to set . . .
. . . OR if RPE was too low or high on a set, a 2% laod change was typically needed to dial it into the correct RPE range for the next set.
So that jives +/- I guess. Nice when things workout like their supposed to. . . . what others have experienced.
I'm glad this program is working out for you.

That makes sense because 5lbs is about 2% in the 275-300lb range, so it works perfectly for the squat volume. On presses however I've noticed that 5 lbs feels like it might be too much. I have been thinking of trying 2.5lb drops on those today to see if it goes well.