Cool man, hope you get some good progress going!
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of using the Open Barbell device.
Saturday, 10 February
Belted/not belted: I’m not going to write it for every lift, but this is different from how I’ve been doing it. Before, only competition lifts were belted. Now all squats and deadlifts are belted unless otherwise noted.
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Paused Deadlift | 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7.5 405x5@8 |
| CG Bench | 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@6.5 225x5@7 225x5@7 |
| Front Squat | 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@7 |
Deadlift: Pausing these just below the knee instead of just off the ground makes for a very different movement pattern. I knew I should have dropped the weight after set three to stay at my target RPE, but honestly, I didn’t feel like taking off a 45 during my rest period. I was pretty gassed by then. So I lifted heavier to be lazy. Seems right to me.
Bench: I don’t know why, but the third set felt easier than the others. And checking the average bar speed for the sets, sure enough: 0.56, 0.56, 0.60, 0.56, 0.56. How’s that for consistency?
Front Squat: Need to make sure I’m getting all the way down, whether that’s just below parallel or several inches down, depending on stance. My left knee was bugging me on the third and fourth sets, then felt much better on the last set, when I sank down a bit.
Me too! You’ve been beasting it up recently. Or rather, showing the results of intelligently beasting it up consistently for several years. But the first one sounds cooler.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of using the Open Barbell device.
I’m excited about it. No gadget is ever going to replace hard work in training (says the guy who underestimates where technology will go), but it can (hopefully) help determine the right application of hard work. I’m not particularly good at rating RPE consistently, but if RPE can be reliably tied to bar speed (which seems more or less true, though not perfectly), I can get a bit more objectivity in my training. Hanley’s really digging into velocity-based work, and he’s got some ideas I’m interested to see fleshed out.
Man, I really use a lot of parentheses.
Monday, 12 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Bench | 245x5@7 245x5@7 245x5@7 245x5@7 245x5@7.5 |
| 5-0-0 Squat | 315x5@8 295x5@7 295x5@7 295x5@8 275x5@7 |
| Bent Row | 115x8@7 115x8@7 115x8@7 115x8@7 |
I’m not sure which I dislike more, 5-0-0 or 3-0-3. At least with these I don’t have to try to do a slow concentric without a pause at the bottom to kill the stretch reflex, but do you know how much concentration it takes to slow down the eccentric this much? Too much, that’s how much. I had no concentration left to focus on other things like, say… technique. Which I’m pretty sure is partially the point of these. I used a stopwatch at first, but watching that was distracting. I changed the “5” to “really slow”, and that kind of worked. I stopped actively counting my eccentric, which freed up some concentration, and still ended up within about half a second either way (short or long) of being the same.
The rest of the workout was fine. Bent rows may have been too light. I don’t know, I don’t have experience here.
Tuesday, 13 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Deadlift | 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 |
| Comp Press | 160x5@7 160x5@7.5 155x5@7.5 145x5@7 145x5@7 |
| Power Shrug | 315x8@7 315x8@7 315x8@7 315x8@7 |
These deadlifts sucked, and I sucked at these presses. I don’t have much good to say about today’s workout.
…
So I guess I’m done with this post, because nobody needs that kind of negativity in their life.
Does anyone like tempo squats? An extrinsic tempo counter helps maintain consistency over a few workouts. It’s difficult to divide concentration between proprioceptive feedback and a visual counter, because the eyesight usually dominates. A metronome app (this one has a voice) might be easier to integrate while concentrating on form: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ionaworks.metronome&hl=de
Yeah, I’m considering something like that. Need to get my Amazon Fire unbricked though. Mobile devices are helpful for keeping time, connecting to cameras/bar trackers, etc, but it does require more than one to do all of it.
OpenBarbell Website:
The maximum string displacement is under 9 ft. In real world scenarios, that means a lifter about 6’6 can do an overhead press with a close grip and only have a few inches to spare. If you’re very tall, tread with overhead work carefully in the beginning. If you’re doing presses you can mount the device higher off the ground.
Turns out I should indeed have treaded carefully and/or elevated it, because lies! I’m 6’4", and the first press I did broke it. The guy I bought it from told me he’d had it come apart a few times, and it just needs to be reconnected, but now I have to figure out how before I can use it again.
So yeah, that didn’t improve my mood yesterday either.
This is the best reason to lift heavier I’ve ever read.
I’ve tried a metronome for paused work but I found it a little more distracting. I found trying to be in time with metronome problematic but to be honest, I probably just wasn’t patient enough and didn’t work with it long enough. Now I train with a bunch of people and finding someone to count for me is not a problem.
I guess I’ll count myself lucky that I’m not that tall. I haven’t had an issue fingers crossed with my OBV3.
I know, right? I end up doing a lot of work just for the sake of being lazy. At least half the power cleans I’ve done in the last couple months have been my clients’ deadlifts, so I don’t have to bend over to take the plates off when we’re done.
Not really an option for me, unless someone wants to join me in my garage at 0430. I mean, I could go to the base gym, but forget that. I like my equipment.
It annoys me sometimes in the gym, but overall I’m pretty happy with it. I know a lot of guys who would give up a few hundred pounds from their total for a few extra inches of height. So I’ll just be grateful for what I have, even when things are occasionally not built for people like me.
Friday, 16 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Squat | 385x5@7 385x5@7 385x5@7.5 365x5@6.5 365x5@7 |
| T&G Bench | 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@7 225x5@7 |
| Bent Row | 135x8@7 135x8@7 135x8@7 135x8@7 |
Okay, so PT didn’t affect my squats as much as I feared, but it definitely hurt my bench. The worst part is, I designed it.
Our commander has given me more or less a free hand to take over our PT program (still very limited on equipment and space though). On the plus side, that means we’re actually getting a decent workout, and people are actually giving some effort. The downside is that now I have to give effort, instead of sandbagging it. Which means my lifting on Friday and Saturday will probably be affected each time I go, which is almost every week.
Oh well. At least I can count it as a legitimate conditioning session now. I’m also walking/hiking through the woods (harder than you’d think, and harder than it should be) on Sundays for about 30 minutes, though I’m not going to bother logging that.
Saturday, 17 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Paused Deadlift | 410x5@7 410x5@7 410x5@8 390x5@8 365x5@7 |
| Feet Up Bench | 205x5@7 205x5@7 205x5@7 205x5@7 205x5@7 |
| Front Squat | 225x6@7 225x6@7 225x6@7 225x6@7 |
Deadlift: I’m having trouble getting my back set again. My belt is getting in the way, and I actually ended up using my 3" belt for the first time in years. I’m not sure why this is suddenly becoming an issue again. I thought I’d figured it out a while ago, but it’s messing with my deadlifts again.
Front Squat: I only realized I did an extra set last week when I was prepping for this workout. Oops.
Monday, 19 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Bench | 250x5@7 250x5@7 250x5@7 250x5@7 250x5@7 |
| 3-0-0 Squat | 335x5@7 335x5@7 335x5@7.5 320x5@6.5 320x5@7.5 |
| High Incline Bench | 160x6@7 160x6@7 160x6@7.5 155x6@7 |
Got my Open Barbell working again. The only issue is that it doesn’t fully retract, and I need to figure that out, since it might be an issue for the bottom of bench, and definitely will be for anything off the floor. It started the workout retracting to about 8", and by the end it was about 3’. Fine for squats and incline bench, but something I need to fix.
Tempo Squats: 3-0-0 is way better than 5-0-0 in my book, but I still managed to mess up the last set pretty bad. My mid-back was hurting afterward, and is still a bit achy now. Wasn’t an issue before that set. Bummer, but I’m sure it’ll go away in a bit.
Incline Bench: Did these somewhere around a 75-80 angle, which made unracking a pain, unless I was close enough that the hooks were in the way, so I decided to change how I unracked them. I’ll put video up in a bit. Maybe I’ll even try out the Instant Grams KOTJ keeps bugging me about.
I’m not sure how, but this one took 2:24 from first warmup to last workset. Huh. I need to keep that down a bit.
What time zone you in? You train on Australian time.
Sean Herbison;1657142:
Incline Bench: Did these somewhere around a 75-80 angle, which made unracking a pain, unless I was close enough that the hooks were in the way, so I decided to change how I unracked them. I’ll put video up in a bit. Maybe I’ll even try out the Instant Grams KOTJ keeps bugging me about.
Well, doesn’t look like embedding Instagram is supported here, but I’m not going to bother uploading to Youtube as well. So here: Incline Bench.
Nah, I train on German time. I’m stationed at Ramstein.
Tuesday, 20 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| CG Bench | 230x6@7.5 230x5@7 230x5@7 230x5@7 230x5@7 |
| Comp Deadlift | 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 405x5@7 |
| Comp Press | 185x1@~5 225x1@8 245x1@9.75 250x1*@10 135x6x3@6 |
Whoo, press PR!
- Kiiiinda. Not really. Ish. Gym PR. No knee kick, but too much foot movement for it to really count, plus I had to step back to save it. But still. My presses have felt like crap for the last… while… so I’m happy about it. I wasn’t planning on going heavy, but my technique finally seemed to click back into place on my warmups, and then 185 went up easy and smooth, so I went for it.
CG Bench (despite the accidental extra rep) was probably actually too light, and deadlifts were also waaay better than last week.
Victory!
…
And since I’ve had such great results with KOTJ after just two weeks, I’m naturally switching to working with Hanley. I kid. Kind of. I do have full faith that KOTJ’s programming would have produced results, and that it was appropriate for my training level, but I’ve been wanting to work with Hanley for a while now, so I’m taking advantage of the offer he made. KOTJ was very cool about it too, which is always a plus.
Friday, 23 February
First day working with Hanley.
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Squat | 370x5@7 370x5@6.5 370x3@6 370x3@6 370x3@6 370x3@6 370x3@6.5 |
| T&G Bench | 285x1@7 235x5@6.5 235x5@6.5 235x5@7 235x3@6 235x3@6 235x3@6 235x3@6 235x3@5 |
| CG Bench | 220x15@9.5 |
| Chin-up | 29 in 7 min |
Squats felt a bit heavier than expected, but bench felt better, especially the last set, so decent all around. That CG bench may well be the first time I’ve ever done an AMRAP.
I was lucky enough to get one of Hanley’s guinea pig spots (sorry, I know you wanted one!) His programming has been excellent and I think he’s REALLY on to something with the moderated intraset fatigue theory.
If someone knows how to quote comments on replies (like Quark’s and Ryan’s), let me know.
Here’s the long thread. Let’s see, very short tl;dr? The larger muscle fibers are fast twitch, and these tire quickly. To hit these efficiently, we want to keep sets short, before the speed noticeably slows.
That’s more or less it, but Hanley has a lot more nuance and reasoning behind it that don’t fit in a tl;dr.
Saturday, 24 February
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Deadlift | 430x2x8@6ish |
| Comp Press | 175x19 in 10 min |
| Bent Row | 165x8x3@8ish |
| Static Hold | 165 x 1 min |
I like doubles, especially on deadlifts. I can manage a hook grip for two reps, even if there are a bunch of sets. No need for straps or switching grips. And since these were all done on 2 min rest, the time wasn’t bad either.
Hanley told me to keep the RPE under 8 for press, which basically made me immediately go to singles/doubles after an initial set of three.
Finished with a DOH static hold. Wasn’t assigned it, I just figured it wouldn’t interfere, and I need to work on my grip. It buuuuuurns. Way more than I expected from 165. Those last twenty seconds sucked.
Sunday, 25 February
I like power day.
| Exercise | Weight x Reps @ RPE |
|---|---|
| Comp Squat | 315x3@5 367.5x2@5 430*x1@6 420x1@6 447.5x1@7 |
| Comp Bench | 200x3@5 235x2@5 270x1@6 270x1@6 285x1@7** 270x2@7 270x2@7 |
| Curls | 60x15@9.5 60x14@9.5 60x12@9.5 |
*oops, this was supposed to be 420. Realized after and lowered it for the next one.
** felt like @8, looked like @6. So… @7?
Here’s the rep in question:
I like this programming so far, but it is creating a problem I hadn’t considered. Since all the sets are essentially ending before the bar slows too much, the RPE is never all that high. So in terms of tracking/TRACing (see what I did there?) volume/tonnage, am I supposed to count the stuff @<7? Hmm. Some of these probably aren’t even @5, but I’m not going to bother trying to distinguish between @5 and @4. Doesn’t matter.
And how do you measure RPE on curls anyway?