Date: July 13, 2026
Age: 39
Bodyweight: ~81 kg
Context: Final full training week before your July 20–28 work trip. The objective was to consolidate 122.5 kg × 4 × 3 raw, assess joint tolerance, and maintain momentum toward a potential 132.5 kg raw single later in the week.
Bench Press
Warm-Up
| Load | Sets × Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bar | 1 × 15 | |
| 60 kg | 1 × 10 | |
| 80 kg | 1 × 8 | |
| 100 kg | 1 × 5 | |
| 110 kg | 1 × 1 | Paused; bridge single before working sets |
Working Sets
| Load | Sets × Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 122.5 kg | 4 × 3 | RPE 8; 4–5 minutes between sets |
Paused Bench
| Load | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| 107.5 kg | 1 × 3 |
Incline Dumbbell Press
| Load | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| 42 kg | 3 × 8 |
High Rows
| Load | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| 25 kg | 3 × 20 |
Rope Pushdowns
| Load | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| 21.25 kg | 2 × 20 |
Lateral Raise Machine
| Load | Sets × Reps |
|---|---|
| 20 kg | 3 × 20 |
Pull-Ups
| Set | Reps | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Continuous |
| 2 | 7 + 3 | Brief intra-set break to complete 10 total reps |
Total: 20 reps
Hanging Leg Raises
| Sets × Reps |
|---|
| 2 × 10 |
Treadmill
| Duration | Speed | Incline |
|---|---|---|
| 20 min | 5 | 7 |
Session Interpretation / Why This Session Matters
This was an excellent heavy-volume session and arguably your strongest execution of 122.5 × 4 × 3 so far.
The most important progression is not that the weight increased—it didn’t. It is that the same workload is becoming less demanding and more repeatable.
Your recent 122.5 kg volume exposures now look like this:
| Date | Performance | Joint / Recovery Context |
|---|---|---|
| June 15 | 122.5 × 3, then ×1 | Failed the attempted second rep of set two after the poorly timed Saturday bench session |
| June 29 | 122.5 × 4 × 3 | RPE 8–8.5; wraps used for final two sets because of elbow irritation |
| July 6 | 122.5 × 4 × 3 | RPE 8.5; completed fully raw despite poor sleep and road-trip fatigue |
| July 13 | 122.5 × 4 × 3 | RPE 8; completed fully raw |
That is a clear positive trend:
Failed volume → completed with support → completed raw → completed raw at lower perceived effort.
The 110 kg Bridge Single Appears Useful
Your decision to add:
110 kg × 1 paused
before the working sets appears to have worked well.
Last week, you noted that the first 122.5 kg set felt slower because you did not feel fully awake and thought another intermediate warm-up might have helped. Today, you included that bridge single and reported the working sets at only RPE 8.
We cannot conclude from one session that the extra single caused the improvement, but it seems like a useful addition. It adds very little fatigue while reducing the jump from 100 kg to 122.5 kg.
For future heavy-volume days, I would keep:
- 100 × 5
- 110 × 1 paused
- 122.5 working sets
Your Accessory Work Also Progressed
This was not merely a successful bench session.
You also completed:
- 42 kg incline dumbbells for 3 × 8
- High rows increased from 20 → 25 kg, still for 3 × 20
- Rope pushdowns returned to 21.25 kg × 2 × 20
- Lateral raises increased from two to three sets
- 20 total pull-up reps
- Hanging leg raises
- Your normal treadmill session
That is a fairly substantial amount of upper-body work after the bench workload.
The fact that you completed it all after 122.5 × 4 × 3 @ RPE 8 supports the idea that your overall work capacity is improving.
Joint Status
You did not report elbow or rotator-cuff aggravation in the log, which is encouraging given the amount of work completed.
The elbow progression is particularly notable:
Two weeks ago, the final two sets of 122.5 × 4 × 3 required wraps.
Today, you completed:
- all four working sets raw,
- paused bench,
- heavy incline dumbbells,
- high-volume rows,
- pushdowns,
- pull-ups,
- and hanging leg raises.
That suggests the earlier elbow flare was more likely a temporary mismatch between heavy raw volume and tissue recovery than a permanent inability to tolerate the workload.
That said, today’s accessory volume was high. I would still assess how the elbows feel tonight and tomorrow morning rather than assuming the absence of pain during training means there will be no delayed response.
Implication for Friday
This session strengthens the case for 132.5 kg raw.
You now have:
- 122.5 × 4 × 3 @ RPE 8
- 125 × 3 @ RPE 8.5
- three successful raw 130 kg singles
- the last two 130 kg singles at approximately RPE 8
- improving elbow tolerance
- increasingly repeatable technique
Your strength appears sufficient.
The remaining variable is recovery.
Because today’s total upper-body workload was substantial, Wednesday should remain reduced rather than becoming another hard development day. I would still favor:
- 102.5 × 4 × 3
- 120 × 1
- 125 × 2, not a triple
- conservative accessories
- no need to push direct triceps work
Then Thursday should be a complete recovery day.
Biggest Takeaway
Today’s session is strong evidence that 122.5 kg is no longer merely a weight you can complete for 4 × 3—it is becoming an established raw working load.
The improvement from RPE 8.5 last week under poor recovery conditions to RPE 8 today is exactly the kind of consolidation we wanted before introducing a heavier raw single.
The goal now is not to squeeze more work into the week. It is to preserve the fitness you demonstrated today so that, if your joints and warm-ups cooperate on Friday, you can express it with 132.5 kg raw.