2014-02-27 Deadlift

Warmup

Deadlift -
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
215x5
235x5
255x5
275x5
300x3
330x5x3
Still very good speed on these. My grip gives out around 255.
Deng took a video; my knees look pretty fine. Based on this I think I'm actually good through to 365, though I'm not sure what effect "faster than strong" will have here.
Continuous progress (very possible) puts me at 390x5x3 right before the meet, which sounds pretty nice. Not as nice as 405 would be, but I've learned my lesson on the big jumps.

EDIT: It's actually 400.

Pull-Up -
7x2, 6, 5x2
I'm not 100% sure what happened here; I might just be drained from the deads. I'm still pleased with the progress this represents, though.

Barbell Row -
140x8x2
Stopping these until I find out what's wrong with my pec.

Couch Stretch - 2m/position, moved legs much further forward
Band Pullapart - Mini*75, 50, 50
Upper back work with LAX ball

Diet Update

Calories down to 2700; accomplished the drop by reducing breakfast (250g -> 225g flat iron), salad dressing (40g -> 30g olive oil), and rice (150g - 100g). That gives a mix of about 30/30/40. To drop past this, I'll probably switch to a leaner cut of pork and reduce the beef at breakfast.

I'm definitely not going below 20% carbs; I know what lies down that road.

2014-02-26 Bench

Warmup

Bench -
45x5
60x5
75x5
90x5
105x5
120x5
135x5
150x5
160x5x3
I'm getting tweaks on the front of my right shoulder, but these were pretty easy overall. I still have to recover the form from before - I started touching a bit too low.

Pull-Up -
9, 7, 7, 7
Got some tweaking on the first few sets, but it went away by the last one.

Front Raise -
20x8x3
Still keeping these conservative.

DB Preacher -
22.5x8x3
Long pause between reps. Going up to 25 next time.

BPA - Mini*50x3 curled over the ends and then tucked my pinkies into the loop; kept the length constant for once

Couch 2m/position

LAX Ball UB

Shifting Schedule

I'm moving the schedule forward a day (so now it's Wed-Fri, Sun-Mon). Two reasons:

1) Friday night I go party, which throws my sleep schedule off if I have to eat four full meals the following day. Days I don't train, I usually skip at least one of the carb meals, so there's no real penalty there.

2) My pec's still pulled and I figure an extra day of rest will do it good.

There's some ancillary "benefit" in that this would technically allow me to train Wynnie on her regular weekly days, but I'm hesitant on that because we already see a lot of each other and she's kind of distracting.

I'm undecided on how I'll handle cardio. I'm considering just jumping it to twice a week to maximize the conditioning benefits and drop weight faster...and probably will do that, actually. It's only half an hour extra.

2014-02-24 Squat

Warmup

Squat -
45x5
75x5
105x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
250x5
275x5
300x5x3
Quad pain is back; it only really flared up on set 3, but that one was pretty sharp. I've pulled my stance in to help stop my knees buckling (turns out to be a good choice - the reps were easier) but I'll need to start really hitting the roller et al now.

Pull-Up -
9, 7, 7, 7
I did not expect this. The 9th was iffy, but good enough.

Barbell Row -
140x8x3
I felt my right pec act up a bit throughout these.

Front Squat Hold -
315x30x2
I felt my right pec act up a bit more throughout these and cut them when set 2 made it noticeably worse.

Conditioning:
Erg - Overhand
5m @ 3:15
4x90/90 @ 1:55-2:05 / 3:15-3:30

5m rest

Elliptical - Leaning back
5m @ 140spm, 1i, 7r
10m @ 170spm, 1i, 9r
5m @ 140spm, 1i, 7r

My pec is still acting up; I think I may have strained it through a combo of pull-up volume, front squat holds, and the way I carry my bag when I walk to the gym (similar to a front rack). I'll get Wynnie to massage it tomorrow.

2014-02-22 Press

Warmup

Press -
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x3
135x 4 (5F, 5PP), 4 (5RP, 5F, 5PP), 3, 2
It's hard to say what's going on here. Failing too frequently can't be helping; I drank enough to get hungover last night; might be that I'm still drained after deads. My caffeine sensitivity also seems to be down, and I'm not convinced my test is up where it was a few weeks ago.
If I don't get at least 5-4-x-x next week it's back to Push Press.

Pull-Up -
8, 7, 7, 6, 6
Half-reps at the end of 2 and 4. For now the big goal is finishing in 4 sets (8-8-7-7, or [probably just as likely] 9-8-7-6).

Curl -
22.5x8x3
At least one more run here. I might up it to 10 so I can get more stimulus in before increasing the weight; accessories don't get any kind of total rep treatment the way the big 5 do. Then again, maybe that's a bad thing...

Front Raise -
20x8x3
Dropped the weight to see if it'll improve things on the Press. 20s still aren't that easy, actually.

Couch Stretch - 1m/position; working on pushing my hips back to the wall on the upright portion.
Band Pullapart - Mini*a decent number, didn't count because I was talking with Wynnie
UB LAX Ball - Some (switched to LAX now)

2014-02-20 Deadlift

Warmup

Deadlift -
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
215x5
235x5
255x5
275x5
300x3
325x5x3
The last two warmups felt pretty bad, but the work sets flew up (like, "didn't bother to breath on set 2"). I credit this to a combination of rest, chalk, and the shout before each set. I'll have Wynnie take a frontal video to check for symmetry issues, but the rep speed here was still ridiculous.
I also didn't bother with music between sets; I put it on for the minute or so leading up, but just paced around waiting to go again for the rest. Focused intensity beats angry enthusiasm.

Pull-Up -
7, 7, 6, 6, 6
I may have done an extra set here; got distracted chatting with a guy from Sigma Pi.
My lats and low back were pretty sore today (presumably from flat bench), and I've been doing sets of 3-6 randomly at home. Regardless of the PR status, I'm happy that I can consistently hit 6 reps now.
(Low back soreness didn't seem to affect deads).

Barbell Row -
140x8x3
Repeating. I'm trying to shrug a bit more here to help simulate an exaggerated deadlift, though right now it feels like I'm just getting better at keeping the bar close with my lats.

Front Squat Hold -
315x30, 30, 25
My upper back failed on the last set. I may start just strapping myself to the bar while I get my elbows and wrists mobile.

Left due to time constraints. I lost some time looking for one of my deadlift socks, and wasted a bunch talking between sets.

2014-02-19 Bench

Warmup

Bench -
45x5
60x5
75x5
90x5
105x5
120x5
135x3
155x5x3
Solid and fairly easy.

Pull-Up -
8, 7, 7, 7, 6

Front Raise -
22.5x8x3

Curl -
22.5x8x3

Couch - 1m/ea
BPA - Mini*66, 34 (hands closer together)
Upper Back with Tennis Ball

2014-02-18 Squat

Warmup

Squat -
45x5
75x5
105x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
260x3
295x5x3
I'm beginning to notice my knees caving more, and my left hip acting up a bit. It might be time to cut the couch stretch on that side, either time-wise or altogether. My right quad hurts very slightly when that side caves in.

Pull-Up -
8, 7, 6, 6, 5
As we gradually approach completion in 4 sets...

Barbell Row -
140x8x3
I get a lot out of imitating the deadlift as much as possible here. Chris says he's found some advantage in doing these with oly shoes; I may take him up on that, though since it's positional and I'm trying to match my deadlift groove as much as possible, it may not be a great idea. We'll see.

Front Squat Hold -
275x30s
295x30s
315x30s
These still work, but they also seem to destabilize my right shoulder. I'll keep going and pay attention to the effect.

Band Pullapart - Mini*100
Quad Roll
Couch Stretch - 2m/position
Quad Wrap
Quad Roll
Upper back tennis ball

Diet/Cutting Updates

I've had some serious cheat periods over the last few days (partly from hanging out more, partly from just being lax), but with the meet set out at June 1st and me generally wanting to get leaner, I think it's time to strict things up a bit.

I'm declaring the salads mandatory for each day, and adding intervals after workouts on Sunday and Thursday. I've been going through some of Layne Norton's videos and gotten some (anecdotal) confirmation of old ideas about slowly gaining/losing weight (here: lose slowly, pause for a bit, then gain back slowly and pause; you'll ideally/probably wind up with less bodyfat even with your original starting calories). We're about 13 weeks out now, and if I can drop 1lb/week in that time the water drop to 148 will be pretty painless and I can gradually pull back up before starting the cut for November. It's sort of interesting to think about the contrast with what I wanted last summer - there I was thinking in terms of hitting weight in the short term to stay there for the long, whereas now I'm thinking about just pulling through the long regardless.

Time for bed (nearly).

Postscript: (Feb 19):
Having gone through more of Layne's videos, I suspect I'm going to manipulate my calorie intake primarily through carbs; I like where my fat is now and think that's working fairly well. This also means I can focus primarily on just editing how much rice I eat, which makes things very nice and simple.

Gradually pulling back up in this case will probably mean adding something like 10g of rice per day per week. As a performance athlete I've got some more wiggle room, but building up as high as possible would be very nice (especially since life later on in the jobs I want to work involves a lot of eating out, and I'd prefer to be back up at "roaring blast furnace" and able to lose weight on 4k/day once I'm no longer prepping most of my own food or able to get a nutrition sheet for each meal).

2014-02-16 Press

Warmup

Press -
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x3
135x3x4
I'm feeling exhausted today; I'm guessing it's a combination of a weed hangover, crash from double amphetamines, lack of today's amphetamines, residual effects of sleep loss and poor diet, and lack of the usual caffeine. I doubt it's any form of overtraining or backlash from yesterday.
I feel like my left shoulder doesn't lock out the same way as the right; it tweaks one of the anterior tendons. I'm not sure how to stop that.

Pull-Up -
7, 6, 6, 6, 6

Couch Stretch - 2m/position
Tennis Ball Rib - Various areas and reps

2014-02-15 Deadlift

Warmup

Deadlift -
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
225x5
255x5
285x5
320x5x3
Added chalk today. I kept the music on through set 2, then decided that I wasn't getting anything out of it between sets and kept it off until set 3. I only slept 3 hours the previous night though (awake mostly because I popped an extra wellbutrin).
The chalk definitely added something, though; I forgot how much easier everything gets when I'm powdered up.

Pull-Up -
7, 7, 7, 5, 4
Kept it nice and easy.

I cut today short over the combination of tiredness, impending party, and woman.

2014-02-13 Deload Bench

Warmup

Bench -
45x5
60x3
75x3
90x3
105x3
120x3
135x1
150x3x3
Very easy.

Pull-Up -
8, 6, 7, 7, 6

Uni Preacher Curl -
22.5x8x3
Guess it's up to 25 for the first set next time.

Front Raise -
22.5x8x3
I switched to doing these in the scapular plane, and I actually feel it a lot more now. Awesome.

Rolled quad
Couch Stretch 2m/position
Rolled quad
Voodoo quad (top and bottom at the same time)
Tennis Ball Ribs
BPA - Mini*100

2014-02-12 Deload Squat (HB)

Warmup

Squat -
45x3
75x3
105x3
135x3
165x3
195x3
225x3
255x1
290x3x3
I got Wynnie to film the second set; my back position still looks pretty ok outside of some hyperextension. I guess this continues as before.
I did start getting the quad pain twinging in again though, so more rolling and voodoo wrapping upcoming.

Pull-Up -
9, 8, 7, 7
Or something like this; I didn't bring my log up.
PRs right and left on this bitch. It might not be long before I can go weighted.

Barbell Row -
135x8x3
Going through the full deadlift setup here made this very, very easy. 140 next time.
That said, I don't know how I'm going to handle accessory work of this kind. Who gives a shit how much I can barbell row down to the nearest 5lbs?

BPA - Mini*100

Couch, 2m/position

2014-02-10 Incline Bench

Warmup

Incline Bench -
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x3
140x5, 5, 4, 1
I skipped the caffeine today and didn't really get into the music. I did put my headphones in to help block the world out, but I don't think I'll bother with that again; the boost wasn't honestly that great.
My right shoulder still refuses to set into place; I can get it close with some careful setup, but properly locking down seems out of reach right now. The 5th reps for the first two sets both involved a lot of side-to-side imbalance and twisting, which has me standing by my decision to switch back to flat bench.

Pull-Up -
8, 7, 6, 6, 6
I don't know if I'm just losing weight or actually getting stronger better at these, but I do know that I'm happy with what's going on here.

Front Raise -
22.5x8
20x8x3
I realized after doing these that they're really stressing my shoulders (and the left more apparently than the right, actually). I may just switch to Arnold Presses (or modify the movement path, or...etc.).

Uni Preacher Curl -
22.5x8x2
20x8
I did my best to pause every one of these.

Band Pullapart - Mini*110
I think I'll start doing face pulls again.

Couch Stretch - 2m per position with a bonus minute on the right. I discovered that pushing my foot out slightly got the stretch to hit right on the "pain line," so I'm pretty into the idea of getting that done.

2014-02-09 HB Squat

I skipped the 8th to hook up and party, so I'm shifting off and just skipping the deload deadlift. I think this is another bonus to taking two days off per week in future - that kind of adjustment stops being a liability when you've got a lot of wiggle room. That said, I'll go during the day in future.

Warmup

Squat -
45x5
75x5
105x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x3
290x5x3
I found these tough, but pretty doable. I want film in future, though.
No headphones this time; I had the music on, but it was off to the side. I'm surprised at how loud my opening yell is, actually; I guess I've learned a thing or two about using my diaphragm.
I also made a point of resting around 5 minutes per set.

Pull-Up -
6x5
Long rests here.

Barbell Row -
135x8x3

BPA - Mini*100

Couch - 2m/pos

2014-02-06 Press

This was stupid.

Warmup

Press -
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x3
135x5, 4 (5F, PP), 2 (3F, PP, 4F, PP, PP)
This was very, very stupid.
First set I was indeed tired, though I don't know how much of that I can credit to lack of rest. For the second, I got more psyched up than usual and found that it didn't help. For the third, I took things up and put on Enter Sandman again, got pissed, hurled my water bottle at the wall above Costis' head, roared, and went for it. And got 2.
I'm very, very unimpressed with my behavior tonight and don't plan to repeat it. I lift and feel best when I train with focused intensity; what I showed today was juvenile, unsafe, and counterproductive. I'm not going to do this again.

Pull-Up -
6x5
Long rests.

Front Raise -
20x8x3
22.5s next time, to sample.

Curl -
20x8x3
As with Front Raise.

Couch Stretch, 2m/position
BPA, Mini*100

2014-02-05 Deadlift

Warmup, plus some voodoo floss for left elbow

Deadlift -
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
215x5
235x5
255x5
275x5
295x3
315x5x3
I got some thigh socks at CVS today; they slip around inside my kung fu slippers, but work really well with regular dress socks on the outside. I might add a second layer of one or both of those.
I've let my stance drift backwards a bit recently (resulting in really bad shin tears). I taped up my scabs and moved my feet closer, and deads are suddenly a lot less painful. Interesting.
I did the last set continuously; the others I stepped back a couple of times.
Right now I'm basing my rest periods off of songs. Since its always the same playlist, we've got:
3.5 minutes going into last warmup (~2:45 of Get Your Walk On, ~0:45 of California Love)
3.5-4 minutes going into first work set (~3:00 of California Love, ~0:45 of Until I Collapse)
3.5-4 minutes going into second work set (~3:00 of Until I Collapse, plus ~1:00 of Lose Yourself)
5-5.5 minutes going into third work set (~3:30 of Lose Yourself, ~2:00 of Fat Lip)
That's consistent for everything, which makes me think I should try to stagger things out a bit (or just do multiple playlists based on timing) so I've got some more options (other lifts might want to go faster, deads it looks like I should be looking for 5 minutes).

Pull-Up -
6, 6, 5, 6, 5, 6
Very long rests here (spent a good 5 minutes chatting with Wynnie headed into the last one), but I'm getting happier and happier with my progress on these.

Barbell Rows -
135x8x3
These seem to hit my mid-back harder if I add some momentum on the way up.

BPA - Mini*100, 50

Quad Voodoo Floss (7ft) - Some, semi-successful (kept slipping over hamstring knot)
Couch Stretch - 2m/position
Tennis Ball Upper Back - 10 "reps" of 4am-12pm, 5 different zones
Thigh Voodoo Floss (21ft) - 10 "reps," excellent feeling

I think I'm going to change up the diet (shuffle the pork and beef meals forward to replace breakfast, do something with chicken breast somewhere); I'm really not digging omelets in this kind of volume, and I can afford to explore more meats. I'm also going to start mixing up the vinaigrette before I add the salad (either in the bottom of the bowl or once every day or so) so I can get a better idea of how many calories I can drop without killing my desire to eat vegetables.

2014-02-04 Incline Bench

Warmup

Incline Bench -
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x3
140x4 (5F), 3, 3, 3, 2
I wasn't really feeling it today. With more sleep and a better atmosphere I might have had 5, but who cares, it's still progress.
I also did a couple of press singles afterwards (95, 135) and some decline bench (135x3) at the very end of the workout.

Pull-Up -
7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3

Front Raise -
20x8x3
Repeat at least once more.

Uni DB Preacher Curl -
20x8x3
Pause reps next time to get a stretch at the bottom.

Couch Stretch - 2 mins per position per side
Rolling - Slow roll along the tight zone of right quad

BPA - Roughly 100x2*Mini

Got some Voodoo bands arriving tomorrow, and I'll start taking my lacrosse ball back to the gym for some upper back release.

2014-02-03 Squat

Warmup

Squat -
45x5
75x5
105x5
135x5
165x5
195x5
225x5
255x3
285x5x3
My right quad's started to act up again; I'm going to get video for Saturday's 295 and adjust things accordingly. For now I'll just roll and stretch (as I've been meaning to); if I'm favoring one leg over the other, I'll add pistols in as an accessory. My left knee felt odd today, so I may have just been shifting weight onto the right to relieve pain on that side.

Pull-Up -
6x4, 4x2

Barbell Row -
135x8x3

No prehab. I've lost my micro band, somehow.

Diet

Breakfast: Omelets and Salad

4 large eggs (~285kcal, 25g protein, 19g fat)

2oz diced hard salami (~200kcal, 11 protein, 16g fat)

A few brazil nuts

40g Savoy Cabbage

40g Broccoli Florets

40g Cauliflower Florets

50g Baby Spinach (collectively: 90kcal, 8g prot, 0g fat)

40g (3tbsp) Extra Virgin Olive Oil (360kcal, 40g fat)

15g (1tbsp) Balsamic Vinegar

2 Fish Oil (Kirkland 1 Per Day Enteric Coated)

5000iu Vitamin D3 (Nature's Bounty 5000iu)

1 Probiotic (Nature's Bounty Probiotic 10)

Lunch: Beef and Salad

1 Beef Short Rib (~200g; ~350kcal, 38g protein, 20g fat before cooking)

Vegetables as above

1 smallish apple (~90kcal)

40g EVOO

15g Balsamic

2 Fish Oil

10000iu Vitamin D3

1 Probiotic

Dinner: Pork and Rice

1 Pork Chop (~200g; ~235kcal, 40g protein, 6g fat before cooking)

150g White Rice (~500kcal, 10g protein)

1 smallish apple

1 Fish Oil

10000iu D3

1 Probiotic

5g Creatine

Sometimes caffeine

I usually leave for the gym about 20 minutes after this

Post-Training: Fish and Rice

1 (White) Fish Filet or segment (~110g; 100kcal, 20g prot, 1g fat)

150g White Rice

1 Fish Oil

Daily Total:

~3250kcal, 180g prot (23%), 250g carb (33%), 160g fat (44%)

Explanations on What's There:

Brazil Nuts: Selenium content's good for testosterone production

Beef, Eggs: Good protein and vits/mins. Saturated fat and cholesterol both important for both general health and testosterone levels.

Pork: Good for potassium and selenium. Fairly lean, good fat profile.

Salad: Vit/min. Zinc, Magnesium, Iron are all important for testosterone, and all 4 of these contain other stuff with similar effects

Salami: Tasty, protein.

White Fish: Tasty, protein, selenium.

Rice: Carbs. Also good vit/min and selenium.

EVOO: Healthy fats. Brand is actually important here; California Olive Ranch and Kirkland's Organic EVOO are two of the only cheap ones that are actually 100% EVOO.

Vinegars and Honey: Mix with EVOO for vinaigrette on salads.

Apple: Flavor pairs well with pork, apples can't hurt you.

Fish Oil: Omega-3s to balance the Omega-6. This one's got the best fatty acid profile out of the cheap stuff I've found, strongly recommend.

Probiotic: No fermented stuff in here so good for gut flora. This one's got more types of cultures but it's much more expensive and I take a lot of it. Any probiotic that lists stuff in CFU or Cells is good.

D3: Not necessary if you're out in the sun a lot. Otherwise very important for mood and testosterone production.

Creatine: Very cheap (buy pure unflavored monohydrate powder, it's like $20/kg), positive effect on athletic performance. Apparently works best taken shortly before training.

Other Explanations:

No Poultry: Thighs are cheap but high in omega-6 fats; pork chops cost the same as breast and have more flavor and better vit/mins.

General Layout: Some evidence that keeping fat mostly towards the start of the day and carbs mostly towards the end can improve fat loss when cutting weight. Carbs important for supporting training, too, so it makes sense to eat them around workouts.

White Rice as carb source: Bread gives me headaches, not a fan of potatoes. Brown rice isn't any healthier, costs more, and takes longer.

How I have a life eating like this: The salads are the only thing that requires any actual prep time, so I just split the veggies up and put them in ziplock bags on the weekends. Rice doesn't require any attention, and I just sear the meats.

I also do go out a lot, but I know roughly how much/what to eat for a given meal and I'm not much of a drinker (currently) so nbd.

Notes/Probable Changes:

Brazil nuts might be unnecessary for selenium given how much I get from everything else.

Wants more protein and less fat. I'll replace the morning salami with something leaner and possibly add another egg.

I get like no calcium, so it might be worth supplementing there. I'm definitely not adding dairy or more greens.

If I can drop weight at this intake I'll just leave it as is, otherwise I'll reduce the rice and the olive oil.

2014-02-02 Press

Warmup

Press -
45x5
55x5
65x5
75x5
85x5
95x5
105x5
115x5
125x3
135x5, 4, 4 (5PP), 2, 1
I got the 5th rep partly with a yell, then slammed the bar down; honestly, it wasn't called for this time. Second I probably could have had 5, but went through counting "x of 4" rather than "x of 5" the way I did on #1. I put on Enter Sandman for #3, did my face-slapping thing, then rushed the setup and failed halfway up. The Push Press was absurdly easy, though; same for the catch-up and gratuitous "I want to keep pressing!" sets. Press just agrees with me, I guess.
I'm not sure if I'm staying strict enough on the later ones, though; I'll see about having someone film my next run.

Pull-Up -
8, 6, 4, 4, 4, 4
For reference, I'm cutting myself off at 10 reps and switching to weighted once I'm up at 10x3 (not necessarily for all days, though).

Curl -
20x8x3
No rest-pause this time. I'll hit 20s once more and decide from there.

Front Raise -
20x8x3
Mildly unpleasant still; I'll repeat this.

Face Pull - 10x15x3
BER - Micro*15x3
BPA - Mini*33, 33, 34

2014-02-01 Deadlift

Warmup

Deadlift -
135x5
155x5
175x5
195x5
215x5
235x5
255x5
280x3
310x5x3
I felt great for the first set; not as much for 2 and 3, both of which involved some resetting. I'm starting to have issues with grip, too; it might be time to call in the chalk.
Time for some fun with 315 on Wednesday.

Pull-Up -
7, 5, 5, 5, 3, 5

Barbell Row -
135x8x3
I'm still working on getting this to target my upper back.

No ab or prehab work today. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for abs, actually.

I've had some extra stressors on my system the last few days, so I don't know if I can take recent tiredness as signs of actual exhaustion. As with last time, I'll gauge based on Thursday. That said, I also realized today that I don't actually have to deload all 4 lifts on a 3/2 (just 3)...which on a 4-week rotation would always be the same 3, leaving one lift (preferably deads) to gain a little extra. To that end, if I do switch, it'll be after the deload (Deads on 2/15 translates to deads 3/9; then take 3/10 off and deload 3/11-3/13). That makes a lot of sense, too - if Thursday sucks again, I might as well deload using the current schedule and then switch. Session-wise I lose 1 from deads and 4 from everything else; I guess comparing Monday and Thursday will tell if it's worth a 25% drop off.