The September block was about active rest and resetting running. This block moves back into accumulation: three weeks of increasing work, followed by one week of deload.
The dates are October 5 to November 1, 2026.
I want to rebuild useful training volume without immediately returning to heavy weights. I also want to find out how I respond to longer easy runs. Both matter, but they compete for the same recovery budget, especially during a cut.
The plan is concrete. Its upper end is conditional.
What I am changing
On the strength side, the main variable is working sets. Bench and squat move from three to five sets. The main row and lat pulldown follow the same progression. Hip thrust moves from two to four.
I suspect that three weekly sets of barbell bench were too little for the progress I wanted. That is a working hypothesis, not a diagnosis. This time I also keep three sets of flat DB bench on a second day, giving the chest six, seven and eight weekly sets.
Arms and lateral/rear delts also accumulate volume. Supporting exercises can stay stable. Accumulation does not require adding a set to every exercise simply because another Monday has arrived.
On the running side, easy duration increases from 50 to 60 minutes, and long runs from 60 to 70. The quality session starts with upper-Z3 work, then moves into controlled cruise intervals.
This will tell me something about my tolerance of the combined workload. It will not isolate the effect of the long run: easy duration, intervals and lifting volume are changing too. Calling it an experiment does not magically remove the confounders.
Weekly schedule
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | Off |
| Tuesday | Strength A: bench, horizontal pull, arms, light legs |
| Wednesday | Quality run |
| Thursday | Strength B: squat, hip thrust, DB bench, vertical pull |
| Friday | Easy run |
| Saturday | Strength C: shoulders, back, arms, moderate leg press |
| Sunday | Long easy run |
Squat and hip thrust sit on Thursday so their increasing volume does not land immediately before the Wednesday quality run. Saturday still includes legs, but their dose has to leave Sunday’s run easy.
Strength: lighter load, more work
For the larger lifts, I start around 60% of current 1RM/e1RM. Current matters. Historical records are not today’s prescription. Isolation loads are selected through reps and RIR rather than percentage calculations.
The intention is to reduce peak loading while rebuilding volume. A light bar does not guarantee a cheap session: enough sets or reps close to failure can still generate plenty of fatigue.
| Week | Effort |
|---|---|
| W1 | About RIR 4 |
| W2 | About RIR 3-4 |
| W3 | About RIR 3-4 |
| W4 | About RIR 5-6 |
Tuesday leg work and Saturday leg press/curl stay around RIR 4-5. I calibrate starting weights in the first sessions. If the load and rep range produce a very different RIR, I adjust rather than pretending the percentage settles everything.
There is no simultaneous planned weekly load progression. Sets are already rising. Reps can improve within the prescribed range at comparable effort.
All tables show working sets, excluding warm-up. Unilateral sets are performed on each side; they are not counted twice in weekly muscle totals.
Tuesday: Strength A
| Exercise | Reps | Oct 6 | Oct 13 | Oct 20 | Oct 27: deload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell flat bench | 10-15 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Supported one-arm DB row | 10-15/side | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Leg extension | 12-15 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Leg curl | 10-15 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Lateral raise | 12-20 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Hammer curl | 10-15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Rope pushdown | 10-15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Pallof press | 10-12/side | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
The row is supported, without rotating the torso to finish a rep. Leg extension and curl are light enough to preserve the next day’s quality run.
Thursday: Strength B
| Exercise | Reps | Oct 8 | Oct 15 | Oct 22 | Oct 29: deload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free back squat | 10-12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Hip thrust | 10-15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| DB flat bench press | 10-15 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Lat pulldown | 10-15 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Supinating DB curl | 10-15 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| One-arm DB overhead triceps extension | 12-15/side | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Plank | 30-45 seconds | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
The free squat stays. I use the range I currently tolerate rather than forcing depth. Hip thrust stays too: it is direct glute work, and being on a cut is not a reason to remove it. Progress in that exercise is progress in that exercise, not automatic proof of better running.
Hip thrust ends without lumbar hyperextension. Overhead triceps work stays light; if my elbow or shoulder objects, I substitute a tolerated pushdown. The deload plank is 20-30 seconds.
Saturday: Strength C
| Exercise | Reps | Oct 10 | Oct 17 | Oct 24 | Oct 31: deload |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seated DB shoulder press | 10-15 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Supported one-arm DB row | 10-15/side | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Selectorized leg press | 10-15 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Leg curl | 12-15 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Reverse pec deck | 12-20 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| EZ-bar curl | 10-15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Rope pushdown | 10-15 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Cable crunch | 10-15 | 1 trial set | Up to 2 | Up to 2 | 1 easy |
Shoulder press uses a near-upright backrest. Its progression is deliberately smaller than lateral raise and reverse pec deck because bench work is increasing too.
The selectorized leg press is the machine I tolerated. The plate-loaded version provoked pain. I do not need a complete biomechanical explanation to respect that difference. Range ends before the pelvis loses support or the lower back rounds.
Cable crunch starts as a tolerance test: one light set, comfortable range, then a next-day check. A second set is earned through a quiet response. If it provokes the groin or back, it comes out.
Rest is normally 2-3 minutes for larger movements, 1-2 minutes for isolation work. Larger lifts get gradual warm-up sets.
Weekly strength volume
| Area | W1 | W2 | W3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chest | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Back | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Quads | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Hamstrings: leg curls | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Hip thrust | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Biceps: direct | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Triceps: direct | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Shoulder press | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Lateral raise | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Reverse pec deck | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Glutes also work in squat and leg press. Arms receive additional work through pulls and presses. These totals describe the program, not perfectly interchangeable biological units.
Running: extend the dose before chasing intensity
| Week | Wednesday: quality | Friday: easy | Sunday: long |
|---|---|---|---|
| W1: Oct 5-11 | Oct 7: 20 min tempo-light, up to 166 bpm | Oct 9: 50 min | Oct 11: 60 min |
| W2: Oct 12-18 | Oct 14: 5 x 4 min cruise, around 172 bpm | Oct 16: 55 min | Oct 18: 65 min |
| W3: Oct 19-25 | Oct 21: 5 x 5 min cruise, similar effort to W2 | Oct 23: 60 min | Oct 25: 70 min |
| W4: Oct 26-Nov 1 | Oct 28: 15 min steady, up to 160 bpm | Oct 30: 40 min | Nov 1: 50 min |
Every Wednesday session includes 15 minutes easy before the work and 10 minutes easy after. Cruise intervals have 90 seconds of jogging between repetitions, four recoveries in total.
| Running duration | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Wednesday session | 45 min | 51 min | 56 min | 40 min |
| Total weekly running | 155 min | 171 min | 186 min | 130 min |
W1 is upper-Z3 tempo-light, not a threshold session disguised by a label. Cruise intervals stay controlled, around RPE 6-7/10.
In W3, the progression is five-minute repetitions instead of four. I am not simultaneously making high Z4 compulsory. HR may sit around 172-178 bpm in the later parts of repetitions. Around 180 with rising effort prompts a pace check. These are programming guides, not biological walls.
HR lags. Accelerating early to force a number on the watch defeats the purpose. I establish controlled effort first and then observe the response.
Easy and long runs stay around RPE 2-3/10, with full sentences possible. My reference range is 140-149 bpm, without a requirement to hit a particular number. No fast finish.
The first 60-minute long assumes the recent 50 minutes were comfortable and the groin stayed quiet the next day. If that condition does not hold, I stop earlier and repeat a tolerable dose. The calendar does not get a casting vote.
Deload: keep the rhythm, remove work
Week four keeps all six training sessions. Running falls from 186 to 130 minutes, a reduction of about 30%.
Strength falls from up to 79 working sets in W3 to 36, including core and counting unilateral sets once per exercise. That is roughly 54% less volume. Cable crunch totals assume both trial sets were tolerated in W3.
Loads can come down by roughly 10-15% from W3 if needed to keep the work easy. The target is RIR 5-6, not preserving the last week’s effort with fewer sets.
What decides whether I progress
W3 is the highest planned dose, not a minimum I owe the spreadsheet.
Before adding sets or minutes, I check whether performance has recovered by the next exposure, whether the groin and back remain quiet, and whether lifting is compromising the runs.
If Tuesday legs reduce Wednesday’s quality, I reduce their dose. If Saturday legs make Sunday’s easy run materially harder, leg press and curl lose sets. A poorly tolerated week gets repeated or reduced rather than automatically progressed.
Increasing pain ends the provoking movement. A worse next-day response also blocks progression. Persistent symptoms need assessment rather than another clever adjustment to the table.
Missed sets and minutes are not repaid later.
Fuel and the review
My starting intake is 2,500 kcal/day, with roughly 150-180 g protein. That is a starting point, not a number independent of workload. If weight loss accelerates or recovery and performance deteriorate as training grows, I adjust food rather than blaming discipline.
I will track load, reps and RIR, body-weight trend, symptoms the next day, and running pace at comparable HR and conditions. On longer runs, I also want to see what happens after 40-50 minutes: pace, HR and perceived effort.
A green recovery score is useful context. It does not overrule local symptoms or falling performance.
At the end of this block, the useful question is whether I handled more work while maintaining controlled effort and recovering between sessions. The next block will be built from that answer, not from the version of me that looked excellent on paper.