Herbison's Training Log

Other Discussions Training Logs
1

Hey everyone. I’ve got logs on the Starting Strength and Exodus Strength forums as well. This doesn’t seem as active as either of them, but who knows, maybe it will grow. Either way, I’m sure there are smart people here to learn from as well.

Now let’s get caught up with the last few workouts.

Friday, 5 January - The Bridge: Week 1, Day 1

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat 385x5@7
385x5@7.5
385x5@8.5
CG Bench 235x4@7
245x4@8
255x4@8.5
Rack Pull 315x7@6
335x7@7
355x7@8

Sunday, 7 January - The Bridge: Week 1, Day 3

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Paused Squat - 2 ct
315x4@7
335x4@8
355x4@9
Press
145x5@6
155x5@7
165x5@8
Barbell Row
165x8@6
185x8@7
205x8@8
205x8@8

Monday, 8 January - The Bridge: Week 1, Day 4

Exercise Reps/Time
Chin-up
25 in 7 min
Ab wheel
15* in 7 min
Walk
25 min

Tuesday, 9 January - The Bridge: Week 1, Day 5

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Deadlift
w/straps for 430
405x5@7
430x5@8
430x5@8
Comp Bench
240x5@6.5
250x5@7.5
265x5@8.5
Front Squat
185x8@6
200x8@7
215x8@8

Hmm… the tables don’t look so nice when they’re all next to each other and different widths. Wonder if there’s a way to fix that. Oh well, it’ll just be one per post going forward.

Anyway, I’ll be updating after each workout, more or less. Any comments are welcome and appreciated. Unless you don’t like cats, in which case:

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2

Hey man. Looks like you’ve got some decent numbers to work with early in the Bridge.

Curious us about your choice of the front squat vs the 3-0-3 tempo squat for your last workout, higher volume squat work… unless it’s becasue that last set of temp squats is a biiiitch… I cursed Jordan and Austin every time I had to do that :slight_smile:

Any particular reason for this choice? Doesn’t seem inherently bad but just wondered.

3

You can’t be early intermediate with the numbers in the first post of your Starting Strength thread (and your picture) Did you have a bit of a layoff or something?

Also, moar cats.

4

Aside from not liking them, I don’t see the purpose of them. I know Jordan said here that they’re biased toward technique improvement, but they do the opposite of that for me. Trying to do a slow concentric portion, especially without a pause to deaden the stretch reflex, doesn’t end up producing a technically sound squat, at least for me.

Unfortunately I’ve been spinning my wheels for a bit, but also, yeah, a bit of a layoff. Took six weeks traveling around Europe a couple months ago, and there wasn’t much lifting going on then.

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5

Fair enough bud. Overall I think it looks good. Interested to see how it goes!

6

Friday, 12 January - The Bridge: Week 2, Day 1

Just taking the top sets for video now. Ends up being too long otherwise, and…

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat
360x5@6
380x5@7
400x5@8
400x5@8
400x5@8.5
CG Bench
235x4@6.5
245x4@7.5
265x4@8.5
265x4@9
Rack Pull
325x7@6
345x7@7
365x6@7
375x6@8

Squats: Not bad, but I need to keep my knees out a bit more and my hips from going up/back as much as they do on the last few reps. Related problems, probably. I’ll think about screwing my feet into the ground next time. Haven’t tried that cue in a while, it might help now.

CG Bench: No matter what cue I use here, my elbows always seem to flare more than I’d like. Anybody have one they think might work? Oh, and I thought I was doing 260, but apparently misloaded. Yay, bonus weight.

Rack Pulls: Still haven’t dialed these in, but they were at least better than last time. They still shouldn’t be this light though. Also, realized I miscounted on the third set, which was probably why it didn’t feel as hard as expected.

Unrelated - I’m now logging on three forums. I’m also using the RTS dashboard, so I figured I may as well log on the RTS boards as well. Yeeaaahh… turns out they’re pretty much dead, except for spam. Plenty of that.

7

Sunday, 12 January - The Bridge: Week 2, Day 3

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Paused Squat - 2 ct
330x4@7
345x4@8.5
365x4@8.5
365x4@9
Press
155x5@6
160x5@7
165x5@8
165x5@8.5
Barbell Row
195x8@6
200x8@7
205x8@8
205x8@8

… Then 30 minutes later, when I realized I’d somehow missed two sets of press and one set of rows:

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Press
165x5@8
165x5@8
Barbell Row
205x8@8

So, aside from somehow missing some working sets… not bad. Bad form on set two followed by good form on set three explains the same RPE at twenty pounds heavier in squats.

Still can’t really judge RPE on rows, so I’m just trying not to cheat them. Which is really fuzzy, and one of the reasons I don’t particularly like them. But they are a good lift, so I’ll do them anyway.

8

Tuesday, 16 January - The Bridge: Week 2, Day 5

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Deadlift
385x5@6
420x5@7
440x5@8
440x5@8
440x5@8
Comp Bench
240x5@6
255x5@7.5
265x5@8.5
260x5@8.5
255x5@9
245x5@8

Well that was… fun. Got up and was getting breakfast prior to lifting, got a call that we’re doing a recall and need to be at the gym in PT gear 0700. Long story made short, I waited 5 hours to pee in a cup, because they decided to do a squadron-wide urinalysis, and our squadron has over 300 people… and they didn’t have the materials printed off beforehand.

Deadlifted at home, drove in to base and had time to rush through bench before 0700. Front squats didn’t happen. I tried when I got home, but for whatever reason I was just too beat up. I don’t think the bit of basketball I played during that 5 hour wait would be enough to explain it, but I can’t think of what else would’ve done it, so… maybe it was? Anyway, forced myself through warm-ups, but even 95x8x1 was actually rather painful, so I decided against them, as much as I don’t like it.

9

Friday, 19 January - The Bridge: Week 3, Day 1

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat
370x5@6
390x5@7.5
405x5@8
405x5@8.5
405x5@9
CG Bench
245x4@7
260x4@8
270x4@9
270x4@9
Rack Pull
350x7@6
375x7@7
395x6@7
395x6@8

Not a great session (squats sucked bad), but I suppose that makes sense, since it was a rougher than usual weak. Nothing terrible, just a few annoyances that added up.

My biggest issue at the moment is that my back pain is coming back to some extent. I know my brain is causing it again, because it starts to hurt before I even do anything, but I’m having trouble with it anyway. It’s not as bad as it used to be, at least. Knowing the cause lets me somewhat tamp it down, but since I don’t have control over the subconscious part of my brain that’s causing it, there’s only so much direct action I can take.

On a different note, Mike T has updated TRAC, and it now has target/actual sections for weight, reps, and RPE, instead of just reps. So you can put in your planned workouts ahead of time, and then if you match what you planned, just hit a button and it will transfer over as what you actually did for the workout. This is great stuff, and I wish I’d found it sooner.

Anyone have any other software/apps/whatever that they think are helpful that I may not know about?

10

Sunday, 21 January - The Bridge: Week 3, Day 3

Pretty happy with paused squats today (except the last one).

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Paused Squat - 2 ct 335x4@7
350x4@7.5
375x4@8.5
375x4@9
Press 155x5@7
160x5@8.5
165x5@9
155x5@8.5
135x5@8
135x5@8
Barbell Row 190x8@6
200x8@7
210x8@8
210x8@8
210x8@8

Paused squats are going oddly well, and considering how bad squats were two days ago, I don’t understand how that works. I’ll take it, though.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for presses. I’m consistently overshooting my RPEs there, even without the weight going up. I need to allow myself to drop the weights on the first sets though, because overdoing it there is killing what are supposed to be my heaviest sets.

Rows are just rows. Still no idea how to accurately rate them.

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Tuesday, 23 January - The Bridge: Week 3, Day 5

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Deadlift 405x5@6
425x5@
445x5@8
445x5@8
445x5@8.5
Comp Bench 245x5@6
255x5@7.5
265x5@8.5
265x4@8
265x5@9
245x5@8
Front Squat 200x8@7
215x8@8
225x8@9
225x8@9

Remember what I said about presses? Ditto on bench.

12

Friday, 26 January - The Bridge: Week 4, Day 1

I have no idea if these RPEs are accurate past the fourth squat set. Everything felt wrong even when it moved fine. Video somehow was no help.

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat
365x5@6
385x5@7.5
405x5@8.5
405x5@10
315x5@6.5
315x5@6.5
CG Bench
250x4@7
260x4@8.5
260x4@9.5
250x4@9
Rack Pull
315x7@7
315x7@7
315x7@7
315x7@7

This was the type of session that makes me rethink everything I’m doing. Unfortunately there are too many variables to be sure why it sucked so much. Is it inappropriate programming for me? Is it because I’m not sand-bagging it as much on Thursday PT anymore? Is it lack of the extra sodium I’ve been taking in, but stopped because I didn’t see results one way or the other? Is it just because I suck at RPE?

Meh. I may not be finishing out The Bridge. Whether or not the other things are true, the first one probably is. I’ve done three weeks so far, and I’m not really seeing improvements. The workouts can suck while I’m doing them, but the rest of the time I feel pretty much fully recovered, so I’m probably just not doing enough work over all. I think whatever I decide on next, I’m going back to lifting at least four days per week.

13

Sunday, 28 January - The Bridge: Week 4, Day 3

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Paused Squat - 2 ct
335x2x2@6
355x2x6@7-8
Press
135x5@6
145x5@7
160x5@8
160x5@8.5
160x3x3@8
160x1@6.5
Barbell Row
185x7x6@7ish

Alright, I am indeed finishing up The Bridge with this workout. I knew going in that it probably wasn’t an appropriate program for where I am in my training (hint: probably not early intermediate), but I wanted something simple while I got back into consistent training after some time off, and figured this would also help me adjust to keeping rest periods reasonable.

Well, it did help with that last one, actually, but aside from that, it’s not going well. At best, I’m stalling in my strength progress, and I may actually be going backward a bit. More to the point with today’s workout, it’s beating me up during the workout, yet I’m probably not getting enough training stimulus overall, given that I feel pretty much fully recovered the rest of the time.

Except for my joints, that is. I kept the total volume for the workout the same, but cut the reps per set down due to my left shoulder bugging me. Given that I think my left shoulder and ankle were the only joints left that I hadn’t had issues with at some point, I’m not a fan of this development. And it’s nothing sudden to this workout. I’ve been feeling it building for a bit, as well as my knee and back pain building back up, and I’ve tried to work around it, but it’s not happening.

So oh well. I’ll be going back to paid coaching a few weeks sooner than I had planned.

I worked with Jordan back in 2016, and while he was a good coach despite me not being a very good coachee (I did the lifts as planned, it was just everything else I was bad at), I’ll probably be working with someone else this time around to get a different coaching perspective. But for people who are just looking for a good coach, I’d still recommend him. (I haven’t worked with the other BBM coaches directly, but I don’t doubt their competence either.)

14

Tuesday, 30 January - Light Day

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Deadlift
All DOH
315x5@<6
335x5@6
355x5@7?
Comp Bench
225x5@7
225x5@7
225x5@7
Paused Front Squat
225x3@6.5
235x3@7
245x3@7.5

No real goal today. Just lifting moderately heavy stuff without hitting @8+. Seemed to work; nothing hurt during the session, and I feel pretty good afterward. Left shoulder is bugging me just a little, but it’s not bad.

I’ll be working with KOTJ (which will not tell you anything, if you’re not on one of the other forums) for coaching now. Les (also won’t tell you anything) recommended I consider him, and I think he’s a pretty smart guy, so I’m giving it a shot.

15

I am super impressed that you are logging on every forum there is. I am having trouble with one. I am such a slacker!

16

I’m with Leah. I usually fizzle out after a while with logging on forums. I mean, I write my training down in a notebook, then excel for my coach, now again on a forum?!? Phew. Three times total seems too much already.

The fact that you do multiple forums is impressive!

17

Thanks, Leah and Dave. It makes it easier that it’s mostly just copy and paste (and finding a new cat picture for each forum). Lots of people in different places have good ideas, and it’s all about find the information that’s useful and usable.

Friday, 2 February - Interim Workout

Just an interim workout between actual training plans. I’m knocking out my PT test on Tuesday so I don’t have to do it in the middle of a training cycle, and then I’ll start with KOTJ on Friday.

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat
455x1@7.5
405x4@7.5
405x4@8
405x4@8
405x4@8
405x4@8
Pin Bench
275x1@7
295x1@8
260x4@8
260x4@8
260x4@8
260x4@8
Paused Deadlift
355x4@7
375x4@8
375x4@8
375x4@8

I was planning on close grip bench, and even warmed up for it, but when I got to 225 my elbows were bugging me a bit, so I switched to pin bench. Worked out fine.

I need to work on keeping my back flatter on the later sets of paused deadlifts. I don’t particularly like them, but I do seem to respond well, so I still use them.

Not directly lifting related, but I’ll reiterate that, for anyone considering a GoPro for filming lifting: don’t. The hardware is fine, but I’m having a lot of issues with the software. After this latest update, when it should have been recording my first set of bench, it instead froze up to the point I had to remove the battery. For the app, maybe it’s due to me having an older phone (S5), but I didn’t even have it connected when this happened. And I do have the correct memory card (SanDisk Extreme), so that’s not the issue.

Speaking of lifting-related gear though, I just checked, and the OpenBarbell I bought from gtl has arrived at the post office, yay!

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Sunday, 4 February - Interim Workout 2

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Front Squat
185x3x11@5-6
Press
145x3@5
155x3@6
165x3@7.5
175x3@8
185x2@8
Push Press
195x1@5
205x1@5
215x1@6
225x1@7
Power Jerk
235x1@7ish

I wanted to give the thumbs around grip another try on paused squats today. Then I felt a bit of twinge in my elbow, remembered I’m PT testing in two days, and figured I probably shouldn’t do anything that might mess with my pushups. So California-grip paused front squats, because why not.

I went back and forth between squats and overhead, basically supersetting. Well, not basically, actually. I supersetted them. Nothing special, though I haven’t done a power jerk in a while, so that was harder than it should have been due to inefficient form.

So I’ll PT test on Tuesday, do one more interim workout and play with the OpenBarbell on Wednesday, and then start working with KOTJ’s programming on Friday. Should be fun.

19

Wednesday, 7 February - Interim Workout 3 - Open Barbell Testing

Used Hanley’s suggested workout for getting some baseline bar speeds for the big three, though he just used it for bench. Would have done press as well, but didn’t have time. Early meeting, which is why I don’t usually lift on Wednesdays.

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat
315x1
370x1
390x1
420x1@6.5
445x1@8
475x1@9
Comp Bench
200x1
235x1
250x1@6
270x1@7
285x1@8
300x1@9
320x1@9.5
Comp Deadlift
370x1
430x1
460x1@6
495x1@7
525x1@8
555x1@8.5

Now let’s see if I can get a nice table in here for bar speed too.

Exercise Weight Ave Vel Peak Vel
Squat
315
370
390
420
445
475
0.83
0.62
0.64
0.56
0.50
0.38
1.30
0.86
1.05
0.98
0.90
0.69
Bench
200
235
250
270
285
300
320
0.60
0.48
0.47
0.40
0.38
0.33
0.22
0.89
0.74
0.65
0.55
0.48
0.41
0.33
Deadlift
370
430
460
498
525
555
0.54
0.54
0.48
0.40
0.32
0.25
1.06
0.84
0.73
0.62
0.50
0.42

Alright, well, fine. I was trying to do a nice easy chart, but apparently it’s been way to long since I’ve done that in Excel. I give up, I’ll come back to it later. I still have two more entries to do.

Anyway, most of the speeds follow what you’d expect, except for the squat at 390 being faster than 370.

20

Friday, 9 February

First day of programming with KOTJ.

Exercise Weight x Reps @ RPE
Comp Squat
365x5@6
365x5@6
365x5@6
365x5@6
365x5@6
T&G Bench
245x5@7
245x5@7
245x5@7
245x5@7
245x5@7
Pendlay Row
185x8@7
185x8@7
185x8@7
185x8@7

Pretty simple stuff for this week. I like it. Simple is good.

Squat: Using my Open Barbell, having lots of fun. But somehow I managed to increase the bar speed on each set. Is it just me, or is that backward of what you’d expect?

Bench: My “target weight” was 265, but I’m glad I knocked it down a bit. Considering how my bench was going on the Bridge, and how I under-rate bench RPE in general, I’m going to err on the side of too light rather than too heavy. These were pretty good.

Rows: I usually just label these “barbell rows”, because what other type of row would I be doing? Except now I actually have bent-over rows programmed as well, so I need to differentiate. Speaking of that, I was actually supposed to do those. Got them mixed up, so I’ll just do bent rows where Pendlay rows are scheduled. I was hoping the Open Barbell would help me get a more accurate track on RPE here, since I still don’t really know how to rate rows, but the speed was all over the place, so no help there.