Yesterday I had the second workout in the new phase. I actually included an isolation movement (incline dumbbell curls) and my arms are sore. I included the exercises just to lessen the intensity a bit so understand, that’s exactly what is going on, less intensity. It’s not about being sore!

I want you to think about this: Do your really think that curling some 30 lbs. dumbbells produces more results than a 600+ rack deadlift that produced no soreness at all? Of course not! Therefore, I just want you to think about that a bit the next time you gauge the effectiveness of your workout on muscle soreness.

Below is a chart of how I plan to dial back my intensity over the next eight weeks:

Weekly Percentage Plan	Low	Medium	Heavy
Week One	75	85	100
Week Two	85	100	75
Week Three	100	75	85
Week Four	75	85	100
Week Five	85	100	75
Week Six	100	75	85
Week Seven	75	85	100
Week Eight	85	100	75

This worked wonderfully last phase as overall, I’m injury free and was getting stronger and stronger throughout the program. Therefore, the “intensity” rotation stays.

Last nights routine was performed at the commercial gym. It wasn’t very busy, but I must say, the workout didn’t feel that hard at all as I didn’t use a barbell in the entire routine and used a machine. This is the type of program I’ve been performing over the last ten years (originally chins were to be used but I left my big-boy-belt at home so I used the lat machine) and if felt easy, perhaps that’s why my progress has been less than I’ve desired.

Exercise		Weight (lb)	Reps	Rest	% 1RM	% Ttl Weight
	1 Machine Chest Press (Seated) 1RM: 104.1 Ttl Weight: 2,187.5 Ttl Reps: 30 Avg Weight: 72.9	1	45	× 10	90	43%	20.6%
		2	70	× 5	90	67%	16.0%
		3	92.5	× 5	90	89%	21.1%
		4	92.5	× 5	90	89%	21.1%
		5	92.5	× 5	90	89%	21.1%
	2 Bench Press (Dumbbell, Incline) 1RM: 78.8×2 Ttl Weight: 2,600 Ttl Reps: 20 Avg Weight: 130	1	50×2	× 5	90	63%	19.2%
		2	70×2	× 5	90	89%	26.9%
		3	70×2	× 5	90	89%	26.9%
		4	70×2	× 5	90	89%	26.9%
	3 Arm Curls (Dumbbell, Incline) 1RM (1) Ttl Weight: 1,800 Ttl Reps: 30 Avg Weight: 60	1	30×2	× 12	60		40.0%
		2	30×2	× 10	60		33.3%
		3	30×2	× 8	60		26.7%
	4 Pulldowns (Front, Wide-Grip) 1RM: 168.8 Ttl Weight: 3,450 Ttl Reps: 30 Avg Weight: 115	1	70	× 10	60	41%	20.3%
		2	100	× 5	90	59%	14.5%
		3	150	× 5	90	89%	21.7%
		4	150	× 5	90	89%	21.7%
		5	150	× 5	90	89%	21.7%

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12/10/13 – All exercises (lb)

Total weight	10038 lb
Pecs	4788 lb
Lats	3450 lb
Biceps	1800 lb

Other exercised muscles: Triceps, Anterior Deltoids (Front Delts), Forearm muscles (Forearms), Trapezius (Traps), Posterior Deltoids (Rear Delts)

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1) 1RM is not calculated for over 6 reps.

2) ‘% 1RM’ = Weight / 1RM. GymGoal uses ‘Actual 1RM’ if you record it, otherwise it uses the best calculated 1RM for the last 90 days.

3) ‘Raw Volume Index’ = ‘Total Weight Lifted’ divided by bodyweight. ‘Scaled Volume Index’ = ‘Total Weight Lifted’ / (Bodyweight ^ 0.67)

4) ‘Intensity Index’ = ‘Scaled Volume Index’ divided by total reps.