Herbison's Training Log

[SeanHerbison]

Thursday, 8 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk/Run	Trail Loop - 15 min
Seated Box Jump	47" x 3 x 3 45" x 2
w/Deadlift/Press/Jump Squat	49 x 5ea x 3
Squat	325 x 5 x 3
OHP	126 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	216 x 2 x 6
Ring Chin-up	BW x 8, 5

Friday, 9 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 5:35
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
w/Jump Squat/Press/Deadlift	49 x 5ea x 3
Deadlift	344 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	214 x 5 x 3
Front Squat	218 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	37.5s x 16, 8

This is feeling good.

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 12 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk/Run	Trail Loop - 14 min
Seated Box Jump	47” x 3 x 3 45” x 3 x 2
w/Deadlift/Press/Jump Squat	49 x 5ea x 3
Squat	330 x 5 x 3
OHP	128 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	219 x 2 x 6
Ring Chin-up	BW x 5, 4, 4

Tuesday, 13 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Kolo/Čačak	6 min
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
w/Jump Squat/Press/Deadlift	49 x 5ea x 3
Deadlift	351 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	216 x 5 x 3
Front Squat	222 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	37.5s x 17, 9

These sessions felt a bit harder, but meh, that happens sometimes. I'm trying to keep all the reps fast, including at least one rep of back squat over 0.70 m/s as the weights go up. The first set was rough and didn't have any, but sets 2/3 did, and I hit a 0.79 m/s for the first rep of the third set. I need to remember that when I'm feeling a bit slow, it's probably mental. Smelling salts helped.

[SeanHerbison]

Thursday, 15 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 5:50
Seated Box Jump	47” x 3 x 3 45” x 3 x 2
w/Deadlift/Press/Jump Squat	49 x 5ea x 3
Squat	336 x 5 x 3
OHP	130 x 5 x 3
Clean High Pull	264 x 2 x 2 242 x 2 x 4
Ring Chin-up	BW x 8, 5

First adjustment I've had to make. I managed to bruise the front of my right shoulder on Monday, and it interfered with Tuesday's front squats. I still felt it today, so I switched power cleans to high pulls. I'll be back to power cleans on Monday.

Friday, 16 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 5:33
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
w/Jump Squat/Press/Deadlift	49 x 5ea x 3
Deadlift	357 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	218 x 5 x 3
Front Squat	227 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	37.5s x 19, 11

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 19 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Trail Run	15 min
Seated Box Jump	47” x 3 x 3 45” x 3 x 2
w/Deadlift/Press/Jump Squat	49 x 5ea x 3
Squat	341 x 5 x 3
OHP	132 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	222 x 2 x 2
Clean High Pull	222 x 2 x 4
Ring Chin-up	BW x 5, 5, 3

Tuesday, 20 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 12ish min
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
w/Jump Squat/Press/Deadlift	49 x 5ea x 3
Deadlift	363 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	220 x 5 x 3
SSB Squat	246 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	40s x 14, 11

Monday was brutal for some weird reason. Tuesday started hard but I got into it.

[SeanHerbison]

Thursday, 22 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 6:30
Seated Box Jump	47” x 3 x 4
Deadlift/Press/Jump Squat	44 x 5ea x 3
Squat	347 x 5 x 3
OHP	134 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	222 x 2 x 6
Ring Chin-up	BW x 9, 5

Friday, 23 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 5:40
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
w/Jump Squat/Press/Deadlift	44 x 5ea x 3
Deadlift	370 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	222 x 5 x 3
Front Squat	231 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	40s x 15, 11

Monday, 26 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Trail	16 min
Seated Box Jump	47” x 3 x 3 48” x 3
Deadlift/Press/Jump Squat	44 x 5ea x 3
Squat	347 x 5 x 3
OHP	136 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	226 x 2 x 6
Ring Chin-up	BW x 9, 6

Tuesday, 27 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 7:05
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
w/Jump Squat/Press/Deadlift	44 x 5ea x 3
Deadlift	376 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	224 x 5 x 3
Front Squat	230 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	40s x 20, 14

Everything's going pretty well. I'm logging the workouts in my own notes as, e.g., 1A/1B, 2A/2B. This Monday/Tuesday was 10A/10B, so in about a month I've gone up:
Squat - 15 kg / 33 lb
OHP - 7 / 14.5
Power Clean - 7.5 / 15.5
Chin-ups - From 10 to 15 total reps over two sets
Deadlift - 21 / 46
Bench - 7 / 14.5
Front Squat - 10 /22. It would be 12 / 26.5, but I forgot to add the 2.5 kg plate on the right side on Tuesday and didn't notice until I was done.
Curls - 32.5 lb ea*15, 13 / 40 lb ea*20, 14

I've been going up by the same amount each workout, and the only change I've made is that I've just started doing the same squat weight on Thurs/Tues, so it's 2.5 kg/week, instead of per session now. Other than that, it's been a textbook linear progression on the main lifts. Unlike certain organizations, I'm not going to claim I've gotten stronger by the above amounts, though. I'm not using RPE (after trying for ~6 years, I'm convinced of its usefulness, but also that it's mostly not for me, but I can still say that they're harder sets now than when I started, and the bar speeds reflect that.

I'm still way off of my peak strength, which I'm not a fan of. But whining and wishing doesn't make a difference, while consistent, reasonably hard but not soul-crushing work does. Actually, soul-crushing work can work too (15 min rest doing 5x5 squats at RPE doing Texas Method led to the strongest squat I've ever had), but tends to be very limited (my bench and deadlift went pretty much nowhere).

[SeanHerbison]

Thursday, 29 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Trail	14 min
Seated Box Jump	48” x 2 x 5
Squat	352 x 5 x 3
OHP	139 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	229 x 2 x 6
Ring Chin-up	BW x 10, 6

Friday, 30 June

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Trail	14 min
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
Deadlift	383 x 5 x 3
Bench Press	227 x 5 x 3
Front Squat	233 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	42.5s x 14, 11

Monday, 3 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 5:36
Seated Box Jump	48” x 2 x 5
Squat	352 x 5 x 3
OHP	141 x 5 x 3
w/Power Clean	232 x 2 x 6
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2

Tuesday, 4 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Trail	14 min
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
Deadlift	390 x 5 x 3
w/Bench Press	229 x 5 x 3
w/Front Squat	238 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	42.5s x 18, 10

Still chugging along. Nothing too exciting, though it's nice to be back over 225 for bench working sets. Curls and chins are coming along particularly well.

[cole]

consistent, reasonably hard but not soul-crushing work does. Actually, soul-crushing work can work too (15 min rest doing 5x5 squats at RPE doing Texas Method led to the strongest squat I've ever had), but tends to be very limited (my bench and deadlift went pretty much nowhere).

Huh...TM has always gotten me pretty strong too. But its not fun to squat 5x5 every week when the sets are so hard you need 15 min rests. I usually only last about 6 weeks doing that shit

[SeanHerbison]

Huh...TM has always gotten me pretty strong too. But its not fun to squat 5x5 every week when the sets are so hard you need 15 min rests. I usually only last about 6 weeks doing that shit

Soooo much fun. When I was doing it, Mondays were the best, because we had PT as a squadron at 6 AM. I'd go to bed at 4 PM Sunday afternoon, so I could get up at 1 AM Monday morning, then crush my soul for 4 hours, then go run.

I was insane. I'm not planning on doing that again (no more PT for me!), but I am trying to get that level of motivation back, about ... anything, really.

[DCR]

Huh...TM has always gotten me pretty strong too. But its not fun to squat 5x5 every week when the sets are so hard you need 15 min rests. I usually only last about 6 weeks doing that shit

Soooo much fun. When I was doing it, Mondays were the best, because we had PT as a squadron at 6 AM. I'd go to bed at 4 PM Sunday afternoon, so I could get up at 1 AM Monday morning, then crush my soul for 4 hours, then go run.

I was insane. I'm not planning on doing that again (no more PT for me!), but I am trying to get that level of motivation back, about ... anything, really.

To be fair, that might be the most motivated that I’ve heard of anyone being about anything, ever. Stories like this usually end in something like, “.. and then Michael won six NBA titles.”

[SeanHerbison]

Thursday, 6 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 5:42
Seated Box Jump	48” x 2 x 5
Squat	358 x 5 x 3
OHP	143 x 5 x 3
w/Power Clean	236 x 2 x 6
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 7, 6, 5

Friday, 7 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 8:00
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 3
Deadlift	374 x 5 x 2 397 x 5
w/Bench Press	231 x 5 x 3
w/Front Squat	242 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	45s x 15, 9

Forgot to add the 5 kg plates for my first two sets of deadlift. Sad.

Bench, front squat, and power clean working sets are all above body weight now. Less sad.

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 10 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 11:30
Kolo	6 min
Seated Box Jump	48” x 2 x 5
SSB Squat Stretch	181 x a bunch
w/OHP	132 x 5 143 x 5 154 x 5 161 x 5@10 170 x 3@9
w/Power Clean	154 x 2 x 3 165 x 2 181 x 2 198 x 2 220 x 2 242 x 2
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 5 x 4

Tuesday, 11 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 8:00
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 4
Deadlift	374 x 1 DOH 385 x 0.9 DOH 397 x 3 419 x 1 441 x 1
w/Bench Press	233 x 5 245 x 5 264 x 5@8.5 287 x 3@8.5
w/Front Squat	220 x 1 264 x 1 287 x 1 308 x 1
DB Hammer Curl	45s x 18, 10

Changed things a little for these two workouts. Back to normal tomorrow.

Good to see my strength is in fact progressing. In May, that 287 bench was a single at RPE 10. Here it was a triple at 8.5. I like this trend.

[SeanHerbison]

Thursday, 13 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk w/Rexy	0.55 mi - 6:37
Kolo	8 min
Seated Box Jump	48” x 2 x 3 50” x 2
Squat	364 x 5 x 3
w/OHP	145 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	239 x 2 x 6
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 10, 6

Friday, 14 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Trail	15 min
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 4
Deadlift	402 x 5 x 3
w/Bench Press	233 x 5 x 3
w/Front Squat	247 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	45s x 12, 7

Monday, 17 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk with Rexie	12 min
Cacak	8 min
Seated Box Jump	48” x 2 x 3 50” x 2
Squat	364 x 5 331 x 5
Pin Squat	265 x 5 x 2
OHP	148 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	243 x 2 x 6
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 11, 7

Tuesday, 18 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 7:42
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 4
Deadlift	405 x 5 x 3
w/Bench Press	236 x 5 x 3
w/Front Squat	251 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	45s x 12, 8, 7

Oh hey, I'm over 400 on deadlift. All my plates are kg, so I didn't realize that until I converted it for this. Neat.

Training is still going well. Bench in particular is feeling like I've got the right rate of progression. I'm still increasing 1 kg each session, and while I'm not actively using RPE, most sets still feel about the same difficulty, though they're 26 lb heavier now than when I started.

Squats need to change. My technique is starting to suffer, and I don't want to let them become all back again, so I'm adding in pin squats on Mondays.

[cgeorg]

Friday, 14 July

This was incredibly anti-climactic

[SeanHerbison]

Friday, 14 July

This was incredibly anti-climactic

You can't just enjoy a bunch of nice kitties without an action scene? Fine. Today's are all action.

Thursday, 20 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 6:37
Seated Box Jump	42” x 5 44” x 5 48” x 3 50” x 3
Squat	331 x 5 320 x 5 309 x 5
w/OHP	150 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	243 x 2 x 3 220 x 2 x 3
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 12, 7

I had to adjust a bit today. I've had chronic pain that's been moving around my left leg for several months now. Maybe over a year, actually. I'd have to go check.

Anyway, I know it's mental, not an actual nerve or muscle issue, but that doesn't mean I know how to get rid of it. Yesterday I finally got pissed at it and just forced the movements I've been hesitant about. I stretched the hell out of my hamstrings (straight legs, palms to the ground), and that seems to have 95% gotten rid of it, finally. But I was definitely feeling my legs here and had to bump squats down.

Chin-ups are going well. I'm going to cap the first set at 12, and when I hit 12 on the second set as well, I'll start adding weight, and maybe a third set.

Friday, 21 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 7:52
Sumo Deadlift	352 x 5 x 3
w/Bench Press	238 x 5 x 3

Adjusted here, too, though that was less to do with my legs. I switched to sumo and changed my warm-ups because of that, but I just skipped Fronts Squat and Curls because I couldn't focus at all. I had a coding problem that was bugging me, so I cut it short and spent 2.5 hours straight fixing it.

But hey, it worked. I have limited experience with databases, and I've never gone from CSV to MySQL before, but I did eventually get it. I've now got PL meet results successfully uploading. I might come back and finish the workout tomorrow, depending on how I feel.

Overall, upper body can continue on LP for a while, but I'm going to have to change strategies on lower body pretty soon here.

[SeanHerbison]

Saturday, 22 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 12 min
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 4
w/Front Squat	256 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	45s x 10 x 3

And done. Felt much better today, both with my hamstrings and my coding.

My curls have gotten a bit too cheaty, so I'm trying to clean them up before going up in weight any more.

Oh hey, post 2000. Neat.

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 24 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 7:50
Seated Box Jump	48” x 3 x 2 50” x 3 x 2
Pin Squat	276 x 5 x 3
w/OHP	152 x 5 x 3
Power Clean	220 x 2 225 x 2 x 5
w/Ring Chin-up	BW x 12, 9

Tuesday, 25 July

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Walk	0.55 mi - 7:42
Broad Jump	BW x 3 x 4
Deadlift	410 x 5 x 3
Paused Deadlift	265 x 5 x 2
w/Bench Press	240 x 5 x 3
w/Front Squat	260 x 3 x 5
DB Hammer Curl	45s x 10, 10, 12

Lower body LP is over. I'll be moving to pin squats on Mondays and paused deadlifts on Fridays, instead of the competition variety. I transitioned to paused deadlift today for a different reason though: I drank too much water between sets and couldn't handle wearing a belt.

I could force progression on the main lifts, and in the short term that would get me stronger faster, but my form is starting to slip and expose weak points, and that's something I know hinders my progression over time. My hips are shooting back on squats and I've actually had to step back to save a few reps already. I can't keep getting stronger if my balance isn't there.

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 4 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Squat	264 x 5 286 x 6 286 x 5 x 3
Comp Bench	220 x 5 x 4 204 x 5
Paused Deadlift	154 x 3 176 x 3 x 2 198 x 3 x 2
Recumbent bike	10 min

Wednesday, 6 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
3-ct Paused Squat	154 x 5 176 x 5
Paused Close-Grip Bench	154 x 5 176 x 5 198 x 5
Power Clean	154 x 1 x 2 165 x 1 176 x 1 187 x 1 198 x 1 209 x 1 + jerk 198 x 1 x 4 209 x 1 220 x 1 231 x 1
Strict DB Rows	45 x failure left/right 17/21 17/24 22/17
Echo Bike	20 min - 6.34 mi

Friday, 8 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Squat	374 x 5
Slingshot Bench	286 x 3 x 3
Deadlift	418 x 5
Echo Bike	1638 Watts

Friday, 8 September - Round 2

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Beltless Front Squat	154 x 3 198 x 3 x 3
Paused Low Pin Bench	220 x 3 x 2
Barbell Row	110 x 8 x 2
Dynamic Effort Deadlift	264 x 2 308 x 2 x 2 330 x 2 352 x 2 x 4
Echo Bike	1603 Watts

I'm using a Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat plan. But for these first two weeks, I was feeling good and let myself do workouts early, like doing Saturday's light session as a second Friday session.

[SeanHerbison]

Sunday, 10 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Squat	264 x 5 286 x 5 297 x 5 x 3
Recumbent bike	10 min

Monday, 11 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Sprints	~20 m x 3
Comp Bench	226 x 5 x 5
Paused Deadlift	198 x 3 209 x 3 220 x 3 231 x 3 242 x 3

Tuesday, 12 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
3-ct Paused Squat	165 x 5 176 x 5
Paused Close-Grip Bench	171 x 5 187 x 5 198 x 5
Power Clean	154 x 1 176 x 1 187 x 1 198 x 1 207 x 1 220 x 1 x 2 229 x 1 242 x 1
Strict DB Rows	45 x failure left/right 24/15 13/15 12/12
Echo Bike	20 min - 6.73 mi

Thursday, 14 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Squat	400 x 5
Slingshot Bench	286 x 3 291 x 3 295 x 3
Deadlift	451 x 5
Echo Bike	1710 Watts
Beltless Front Squat	154 x 3, paused 198 x 3 x 2 200 x 3 + push jerk
Paused Low Pin Bench	220 x 3 231 x 3

Saturday, 16 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Hike	3 mi - 60 min
Barbell Row	121 x 8 x 2
Dynamic Effort Deadlift	275 x 1 286 x 1 x 2 297 x 1 x 2 320 x 1 341 x 1 363 x 1 385 x 1 x 2

Similar stuff here. My dad was lifting with me on Thursday so I moved Friday up, and I felt good, so I did part of Saturday's as well. I know I'll want to stick to the schedule more as the meet gets closer, but 7 weeks out, I'm not worrying about it.

Took an 11.5 kg jump on Thursday's squats (specifically to hit 400 lb), and a 15 kg jump on deadlift. Squats were a little harder than last week, and deadlift was easier despite being heavier. Things are going well so far.

[SeanHerbison]

Here are some of the lifts. The deadlift comparison is first. I could've done a better editing job, but it shows the relative speed just fine.

The push jerk after front squats wasn't planned, but I felt like it. It was fun.

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 18 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Squat	286 x 5 297 x 5 308 x 4 + 1 (miscounted) 308 x 5 320 x 5
Comp Bench	231 x 5 x 5
Paused Deadlift	220 x 3 231 x 3 x 2 242 x 3 253 x 3 264 x 3
Recumbent bike	10 min

Wednesday, 20 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
3-ct Paused Squat	187 x 5 209 x 5
Paused Close-Grip Bench	187 x 5 204 x 5 215 x 5
Power Clean	187 x 1 205 x 1 214 x 1 x 2 223 x 1 231 x 1 240 x 1 249 x 1 280 x 1
Strict DB Rows	55 x failure left/right x 3
Echo Bike	20 min - 6.59 mi

Thursday, 21 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Squat	264 x 3 352 x 1 413 x 5
Slingshot Bench	297 x 3 x 3
Deadlift	374 x 2.5 468 x 5
Echo Bike	1674 Watts

Friday, 22 September

Exercise	Weight x Reps x Sets
Beltless Front Squat	202 x 3 x 3
Paused Low Pin Bench	231 x 3 237 x 3 242 x 3
Barbell Row	132 x 8 143 x 8
Dynamic Effort Deadlift	264 x 2 286 x 2 297 x 2 308 x 2 319 x 2 x 2 330 x 2 352 x 2 x 3

This is going exceptionally well. It's the first time in a while I haven't been outpacing my strength improvement and raising the RPE each time. I'm not actively tracking RPE on most of these, but the general feeling is the same or better from week to week, and the bar speed matches.

A lot of that is that I don't have a weight progression pre-planned this time. If I can go up 5 kg, great. If not, I'll take the 2.5. And the other direction, if it's there, I'll go 7.5, 10, or more.

I have no idea what my 1RMs are right now, and I don't particularly care, as it's not super useful information while I'm making rapid progress. My top set of 5 is up about 40 lb for squat and 50 for deadlift, and I've still got plenty of momentum. I'm more dialed in on nutrition and sleep than I've been in years, and largely thanks to @Manveer, this might be the most consistent I've ever been on cardio, which is definitely helping my recovery.

This is fun.