I competed in NPC Junior Nationals on June 12-13. I came in with a much bigger and leaner package than years past. Since July we have slowly transitioned from a bodybuilding split to more of a powerlifting/strength focus, while still hitting lots of volume to build mass. Scott Paltos has been doing my programming since March. We've added quite a bit of muscle and are continuing to work some technical things with my raw lifts. 

Long weekend, traveling, late getting back Sunday evening, eating a bit off plan and presenting 8 hours a day leaves you a bit drained. Went into this session knowing that I wouldn't be feeling great. Of course everything felt heavier than it should, but this is also why RPE's are given.

A few weeks back I hit 165 for 6's. I decided to keep my sets of 3 at 165 today. Even though the stroke was smooth it just felt heavy and right now, there wasn't a need to push. Body felt drained and I made that decision to stay smart with it.

One thing we talked to our seminar attendees about was RPE's. There is certainly a time and place for percentage work, but living and dying by the numbers can be frustrating. I know because I did that for years. Even with "max effort" work... knowing what I hit on certain exercises caused me to get a number in my head... and then if I didn't hit it, I chalked it up as a crappy session.

Despite being under the bar for 20 years now, I'm constantly learning about myself and my own training. Mentally, I've come a long way these past few months regarding where my head is at for certain training sessions. I've "relaxed" so to speak, even when it comes to missing sessions, moving things around and adjusting on the fly. So much so I could probably write an article on it........

 

Monday
A. Comp grip bench 2x6@ 145, 155,  3x3@165,  2x15 @ 135, 125
( I was completely smoked for my down sets. Normally a set of 15 at 135 is nothing big, but I got to 12 and barely finished.  Pump was massive and hit me hard.)

B. DB high incline press 3x12 drop set last one
(This solidified my swole.  Only 2 exercises in.

C1. Cable laterals 3x20
C2. Standing single arm dumbell 3x15 

D. Pushupsx100
(100 pushups normally takes me 3 sets to finish... maybe 4. Today it took me 7.)

E1. Machine Shoulder press 3x6-6-6 with varied grips
E2. Seated laterals 3x6-6-6 at varied levels

F. Mace ball pushdowns 4x15 with varied grips

 

Mini-Diet is back after a few days of traveling. While it wasn't completely terrible, it was more eating out than I typically do in 2 months. Back at it and gonna hit it hard until Christmas.