Strength Block 2 Debrief: Full 6+1 Weeks
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.