Plan: 6+1 week strength block with separate upper/lower ramp-up after Block 1 overreach. Ran full cycle. First complete block.

What worked: Slower progression strategy (accumulate volume at a weight before adding load) delivered better results than Block 1’s weekly load chasing. Every single lift surpassed Block 1 peak — without crashing sleep or HRV until W6.

W6 peak numbers vs Block 1:

Lift	Block 1 (W6 crash)	Block 2 (W6 clean)	Delta
Bench	75 kg ×6 (RIR 0)	80 kg ×5-6	+5 kg, with reserve
Squat	60 kg	70 kg ×6	+10 kg
Leg Press	145 kg	~180 kg	+35 kg
Hip Thrust	80 kg	100 kg	+20 kg
Bulgarian	2×16 kg ×6	2×18 kg ×6	+2 kg/hand
DB OHP	24 kg ×6	26 kg ×6	+2 kg
DB Press	30 kg ×8	34 kg ×8	+4 kg
Seated Row	—	+1 full plate	Nobody does 4 plates
Lat Pulldown	80 kg ×5	Replaced by pull-ups 3×6	—
Wall Sit	1 min	1.5 min + 20 kg plate	—

Legs exploded. Leg press +35 kg, hip thrust +20 kg — this is no longer just CNS readaptation. Real hypertrophy starting to contribute alongside neural gains. Leucine + HBCD protocol may be helping with AMPK/mTOR partitioning.

Upper body MRV confirmed at 5-6 weeks. Junction started talking again in W6. Same timeline as Block 1. This is a stable constraint — plan around it, don’t fight it.

New additions that paid off:

• Pull-ups (replaced lat pulldown) — from 3×2 to 3×6, clean, full ROM
• Triceps pushdown — identified bottleneck, filled it. Bench stronger despite being the “weak” lift.
• Hamstring curl (replaced RDL) — L5/S1 happy, posterior chain covered

Block 3 direction: Summer recovery mesocycle. Incline replaces flat bench (junction rest), tempo squats (feel > load), chest-supported row (L5/S1 relief), chin-ups added for biceps, no creatine for 12 weeks. Build what’s missing, don’t chase PRs.

Plan: 8-week strength rebuild (Feb 1 – Mar 28). Cut short at Week 6 — upper body hit MRV, systemic overreach confirmed.

What happened: CNS readaptation outpaced the plan. Every lift ran 1–3 weeks ahead of schedule. Progressed too fast, accumulated fatigue faster than tissue could recover.

W6 peak numbers (LGW):

• Bench: 75 kg 3×6 (last set RIR 0 — first time)
• Leg Press: 145 kg 3×8
• Squat: 60 kg 3×8
• Hip Thrust: 80 kg 3×8 (still had margin)
• Bulgarian: 2×16 kg 3×6/leg
• DB OHP: 24 kg 3×8 (test 26 kg ×6)
• DB Press: 30 kg ×8 (controlled, with pauses — potential for 34)
• Seated Row: +1 full plate beyond previous max
• Lat Pulldown: 80 kg ×5 (heavy)

Red flags at W6:

• Chest/shoulder “tearing” sensation under load for 3 weeks — not DOMS, likely micro-strain or early tendinopathy. Pain only during exercise, not at rest.
• HRV dropped from ~120 → 96.
• Sleep deteriorated for 2–3 days before deload decision.
• Upper body had zero reserve. Lower body still had 2–3 weeks of gas.

Body comp (bad): +1 cm thigh, 0 cm bicep. Classic AMPK-dominant partitioning — calories going to fat, not muscle. Started leucine + HBCD protocol around strength sessions to shift mTOR signaling.

Lessons:

• Upper body MRV: ~6 weeks at this progression rate. Lower body: 7–8 weeks.
• The “tearing” needs monitoring during deload — if not resolved in 7–10 days, see sports physio.
• Deload = active (-20%, 2 sets, RIR 5). Never passive zero. Confirmed again empirically.