u/ishawnmc

Workout #2 -Legs:

• Anderson Squats (Full) -start from depth @6.5, low bar: 455 lbs for 9 reps (+1)

• Anderson Squats (w/wider stance start from depth @6.5; 2-4" lift off rack and hold statically for 5-7 seconds, low bar): 405 lbs for 4 reps (+0)

• Trap Bar Hack Squats: 385 lbs for 4 reps (+0)

• Anderson Squats (Strongest Partials) -start from depth @7.5, high bar: 565 lbs for 16 reps (+2)

• Smith Mach. Single Leg Standing Calf Raises: 250 lbs for 40 reps*, high bar (+4 total or +2 per leg).

Work Sets: 5

Time: 35-45 mins

Weight: 199 lbs

Next workout: Delts/Arms Dominant on 8/18.

*Though I usually do these single leg, I did the two legged version with the single leg weight; ergo the 40 rep total.

​

Workout #1 -Chest/Back Dominant:

• Cable Crossover Machine: 66 lbs for 20 reps (New)

Superset

• Smith Inc. Press @30°: 180 lbs for 5 reps (+1)

• Smith Inc. (Strongest Partials): 230 lbs for 4 reps (+20 lbs)

• Close Grip Palms Up Pulldowns: 210 lbs for 7 reps (+1)

• Yates Rack Rows w/height @2: 245 lbs for 7 reps (+1)

• Barbell Shrugs from hooks height @3.5: 315 lbs for 7 reps (+1)

• Rack Pulls w/height @2: 425 lbs for 6 reps (+1)

Worksets: 7

Time: 30-40 mins

Weight: 199.4 lbs

Next workout: legs on 8/15

With Summer (Part II) starting up on Monday, I find myself thinking ahead about upcoming training seasons.

Summer (Part II) will basically be a rerun of Summer (Part I) except with additional workouts in it. Fall was slated earlier this year to be a verbatim reiteration of the Summer sessions. Winter will involve all heavy rack/Smith work again and Spring is always the wildcard. I decided weeks ago to make Spring 2027 a consolidated season so I can really focus on cutting weight for the following summer. But I want to get in a few more seasons of heavy training first.

So with Summer 2026 (Part II), Winter 2027, and Spring 2027 already settled, I found myself revisiting Fall 2026. The workouts would be essentially the same as summer[1] but I am thinking of making one significant change: the rep schemes.

In nearly every exercise I do, I rarely go over 10 reps before raising the weight usually starting the target rep range at 4 or 6 reps. It has been a long time since I did any focused higher rep training for an entire season so I am thinking I may flip the script in the fall. So as I rarely go over 10 reps as a rule, the thought is, 10 reps would become the floor on all exercises in the fall.

Basically, with isolation exercises, the range would go from 6-10 reps to 12-20 reps. With compound movements, the usual 4-10 and 6-10 rep ranges would be replaced with 10-15 reps. And those rare exercises now where I target a 10+ rep threshold would become 12-20 reps.

Of course there is no way I could do those rep ranges with the weights I ordinarily use so a reduction in all workset weights by about 30% would be necessary. This is especially the case if I do all worksets of the fall in dead stop fashion which I am also strongly considering. Casualties to this revamped approach would include the 2-6 rep strongest range partials work sets for the upper body as well as the really low 1-4 rep Anderson static holds work set on leg days. Also, for the fall season, rack pulls for 4-8 reps would be replaced with Romanian Deadlifts for 10-15 reps.

It would just be for a season of course and my usual rep ranges for the exercises would return in the winter. But knowing from experience how demanding the rack/Smith work in the winter will be, I am thinking perhaps adjusting fall in this fashion will take some of the wear off the body prior to rack season.

Note:

[1] My summer protocol is listed here.

Now it is time for a two week layoff to rest up for the training sessions in the second half of summer which will run from 8/10/26-10/14/26.

For those who post to this forum wondering what progress can look like on a Heavy Duty style high intensity protocol, here is a record of the summer progress thus far of a 53 year old non gear user as taken from my training logs...

Chest/Back

Pec Deck Flies Supersetted w/Smith Incline Press

June 10, 2026

150×6/180×2

June 27, 2026

150×8/180×3

Cable Crossovers Supersetted w/Smith Incline Press

July 16, 2026

60×13/180×4

Smith Incline Press Partials

June 10, 2026

230×1

June 27, 2026

230×3

July 16, 2016

230×4

Cable Pullover Holds Supersetted w/Palms Up Pulldowns

June 10, 2026

105×2/210×4

Palms Up Pulldowns

June 27, 2026

210×5

July 16, 2026

210×6

Yates Rack Rows Supine Grip -From Rack Height @2

June 10, 2026

245×5

June 27, 2026

245×5

July 16, 2016

245×6

Barbell Shrugs -From Rack Hooks Height @3.5

June 27, 2026

315×4

July 16, 2016

315×6

Rack Pulls -From Rack Height @2, Pulling From 3-4"s Below The Knee

June 10, 2026

425×1

June 27, 2026

425×4

July 16, 2016

425×5

Legs

Anderson Squats (Full) -Starting From Rack Depth @6.5, Shoulder Width Stance, Low Bar

June 15, 2026

455×2

June 22, 2026

455×4

July 2, 2026

455×5

July 11, 2026

455×6

July 20, 2026

455×6

July 27, 2026

455×8

Anderson Squats (Partials From the Bottom) -Starting From Rack Depth @6.5 , 1-4" 5-7 second holds/negatives, Wide Stance, Low Bar)

June 15, 2026

385×2

June 22, 2026

385×3

July 2, 2026

385×4

July 11, 2026

405×2

July 20, 2026

405×3

July 27, 2026

405×4

TrapBar Hack Squats -With Bar Flipped Upside Down, Heels on Platform, Toes on Gym Floor, Gripping From the Bar and Not the Handles

June 15, 2026

345×11

June 22, 2026

345×12

July 2, 2026

345×13

July 11, 2026

345×15

July 20, 2026

385×2

July 27, 2026

385×4

Anderson Squats (Strongest Range Partials) -Starting From Depth @7.5, Shoulder Width Stance, High Bar

June 15, 2026

565×4

June 22, 2026

565×6

July 2, 2026

565×8

July 11, 2026

565×9

July 20, 2026

Did not do (was stagnant on full range reps so omitted partials)

July 27, 2026

565×14

Smith Machine Single Leg Calf Raises

June 15, 2026

Did not do (aggravated left Achilles tendon, so omitted calf work)

June 22, 2026

240×10

July 2, 2026

250×12

July 11, 2026

250×14

July 20, 2026

250×16

July 27, 2026

250×18

Delts/Arms

DB Side-Bent Lateral Superset Trisetted w/Smith Overhead Press w/Shoulder Width Grip

June 18, 2026

20×12/140×4

July 6, 2026

25×8/140×5

July 23, 2026

25×10/140×6

Smith Overhead Strongest Partials w/Wider Grip

June 18, 2026

170×4

July 6, 2026

170×8

July 23, 2026

170×9

Barbell Curls Supersetted w/Palms Up Pulldowns

June 18, 2026

80×8/195×4

July 6, 2026

90×5/195×5

July 23, 2026

90×6/195×6

Smith JM Press Supersetted w/Smith Reverse Grip Bench Press

June 18, 2026

90×5/170×3

July 6, 2026

90×6/170×4

July 23, 2026

90×8/170×5

Tomorrow will be my first delt/arm dominant workout since December.

I have found over the past year that my rest gaps between workouts have gradually drifted from a fixed 4 day gap between workouts. At first, it was adding 2 additional rest days between training sequences. Then it became more about needing a random fifth day with greater regularity in spots. Hopefully, shortening the gap between workout #2 and workout #3 will help offset that drift a bit.

Workout #1 -Chest Back Dominant

Rest 4-5 Days (usually 5)

Workout #2 -Legs

Rest 3-4 Days (usually 3)

Workout #3 -Delts/Arms Dominant

Rest 4-5 Days (usually 4)

Workout #4 -Legs

Rest 5-7 Days (minimum 5 days)

Repeat Sequence

Basically, rather than a fixed 4 day gap between all my workouts as I had been doing for a while now I will be going with more of a rolling range depending on the specific workouts to be performed as well as of course the occasional scheduling factors.