What the numbers say
Four weeks ago my opening set topped out at 36. This week it was 43. That's the number that matters most, because the first set is the honest one — it's the closest thing in this phase to a true max effort, run before any fatigue sets in. Everything after it is performed on a tank that's already been emptied once.
Look at week three (6/21). The total dipped to 85, and on a totals-only chart that looks like a bad week. But it wasn't — the first set actually jumped to 40 that day. The dip came entirely from a tired third set (20). I spent more in the opening effort, so there was less left at the end. That's not regression; that's pushing the ceiling higher and paying for it downstream.
Sets 2 and 3 held steady in the low-to-mid 20s the whole month. In near-max training that's exactly what you want to see — those sets are endurance under fatigue, and holding them flat while set one climbs means capacity is growing without recovery between sets falling apart.
Net result for the phase: total volume up 79 → 92 (+16%), with my single best effort and my highest total both landing on the most recent session. Finishing a phase trending up and peaking on the last day is exactly how you want to roll into the next one.