During the depletion workouts, I found it easier to include more machines vs. free weights. The first week I used all DB's and barely made it through the first cycle.
How are you dividing the depletion workouts? I used what he recommended and went through 3 sets of 15-20 per muscle, saved legs for last, then repeated. I tried doing 6 sets straight per muscle once and barely made it halfway through. Felt like I was going to fall asleep while on the verge of puking.