Week 1 of the metabolite-focus mesocycle comes to a close.

It’s a different approach for sure. Still too early to make a call on it, but I am starting to see why perhaps some of the suggested modifications have been spoken about – and these are mods coming from the RP folks themselves (Dr. Mike, Jared Feather). For example, that instead of running the template as-written, you do meso 1 focusing in the 7-10 rep range, then do meso 1 again but in the 8-12 rep range, then meso 2 in the 8-12 rep range with intensity techniques (like supersets), then a brief meso 3. I’ve also heard other suggestions to not run meso 2 as long as suggested, because for some people you just can’t get much out of it running it that long.

But, when I follow a recipe, I like to do it as-written the first time around. This allows me to understand and know what the author was going for, and I’ll likely learn a bunch as well. From there, I can then adjust and tweak to suit my needs and tastes.

That all said… today.

I have never done hex bar deadlifts before today. They are kinda cool! I won’t say they’re a substitute for traditional deadlifts, but I can see their place. Certainly felt it a lot more in my quads than my posterior chain, and that’s a good thing for me. Doing these plus front squats are likely to serve me well in the future. I used the “lower” handles so I’d get more range of motion. I also used bumper plates so I could lift on the platform itself. I also don’t know how much the bar weighs, tho it felt “normal” (so probably 45’ish). Point all being, bumpers were in kilos and not knowing the bar weight, but I went with basic plate math meaning 230# is 2 “big wheels” on each side, plus the 2.5#.

Since I’m doing leg press twice-a-week this cycle, I’m varying it. Tuesday will be feet lower on the plate, and today will be feet higher. That should hit things a little different.

The curls. Oye. That was actually pretty killer. Very light weight, lots of reps at the start. But it quickly went downhill! 🙂 Supersetting 2 biceps exercises with so little interset rest and man, killed me in no time. This is one where I’m not sure if I should adjust the weight down — but probably not since the first couple sets did hit the proper thresholds.

It’s kinda a weird day, but hey… it is what it is. We’ll see how this pans out over time.

RP Physique, Mesocycle 2, week 1

• Hex Bar Deadlift
  • bar x 10
  • 135 x 10
  • 185 x 5
  • 230 x 12
  • 230 x 10
  • 230 x 9
  • 230 x 8
• 45º Back Raise
  • bw x 12
  • bw x 10
  • bw x 10
  • bw x 18
• Leg Press
  • 215 x 22
  • 215 x 13
  • 215 x 12
  • 215 x 12
• EZ Bar Curl (superset)
  • 50 x 17
  • 50 x 12
  • 50 x 7
• Alternating DB Curl (superset)
  • 20e x 15
  • 20e x 8
  • 20e x 5
• BB Shrug
  • 205 x 22
  • 205 x 15
  • 205 x 12
• Stair Calves
  • 20 x 15
  • 20 x 12
  • 20 x 12
  • 20 x 11
  • 20 x 11
  • 20 x 10