Herbison's Training Log

[Les]

How long did you take between lifts on your mock meet? At least now you have a starting point to keep ramping things up in the months to come. I hope the Bridge works well for you. I will be following along to see how that kind of programming works.

[SeanHerbison]

Thanks, Kregna.

How long did you take between lifts on your mock meet?

8-10 minutes between attempts. I was trying to more or less emulate meet timing.

At least now you have a starting point to keep ramping things up in the months to come.

Yeah, that was mostly the reason I chose to do this instead of going straight to the Bridge, so that I'd have some actual 1RMs to compare e1RMs to.

I hope the Bridge works well for you. I will be following along to see how that kind of programming works.

I'll probably be asking your opinion on some programming/coaching options as I get a few weeks in and start looking at my next block.

[michael]

Seems like you're too advanced for the Bridge. Maybe you should get the HLM template if you like the 3 days per week format?

[SeanHerbison]

Monday, 1 January 2018

Beltless Squat: 315x5x5@6
CG Bench: 205x5x5@6.5
SG Deadlift: 225x8x3@6.5
Pull-up: BWx3x5

Just some light work after Saturday's maxes. I'll be starting the Bridge, but due to how my schedule works out, it's best if day 1 is a Friday. So I'll do some more fluff on Wednesday and then get down to business.

Video-wise, I'm not going to be doing them every session anymore. I'll probably go to once a week, though I haven't decided the format yet. I think I've gotten familiar enough with using the basics, so now it's time to start looking at more detailed instructions if I want to get better at video editing.

Seems like you're too advanced for the Bridge. Maybe you should get the HLM template if you like the 3 days per week format?

Possibly. Actually, I don't prefer 3 days per week, but I do like keeping things simple, and I think it'll help me get back to where I should be (i.e. not 50 lbs off my best bench) before moving on to anything more complicated.

[PatrickDB]

What are you using to film your sets? Just a smartphone?

[SeanHerbison]

What are you using to film your sets? Just a smartphone?

GoPro Hero 6 Black

[SeanHerbison]

Wednesday, 3 January

Hmm, how do I write this down? Like this I guess:

[All lifts done E2MOM, in an circuit: squat, press, deadlift, chin-up, repeat... for a total of five sets each]
Paused Front Squat: 225x3
Press: 155x5
Sumo Deadlift: 365x3
Chin-up: BWx4

I would call this basically CrossFit, but the WOD for 3 Jan was actually the CrossFit total. But I already did that (plus bench) on Monday, so I was ahead of the game.

Actually, I did this because I realized I didn't have much time (early meeting), so I did my lifts as planned, just in a circuit. From first warm-up to last chin-up was a few seconds short of an hour, so I'd say it worked. Wednesday morning meetings, though, are part of why I'm starting the Bridge on a Friday, so this won't be an issue going forward.

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

Hey, @unruschuh , lookie here. Thanks.
Oh, hey! It does work on the Starting Strength Forums as well. Cool, I'll use it for both. Good news, since it still lets me copy-paste.

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

Aaand I screwed up RPE from the very first set. I'm trying to make my RPE a bit more objective, so I targeted more of less based on the percentage chart, which said I'd start around 400 for a set of 5@6. I should really customize that chart, rather than relying on it as is, considering how poorly I track with it. I regularly out-perform my e1RM, but this unfortunately goes both ways, and I under-perform on reps, according to the chart. So I'll work on that.

Rack pulls were probably even worse, buuuut the GoPro app, as it seems to do at some point during each workout, screwed up. And unfortunately, this time it messed up the camera as well, even when disconnected from it, so the footage is corrupted and I can't watch my pulls. I don't know if it's my unfamiliarity with the lift or what, but a set of 7 should not be @6+ with less than 400. Not when my max is over 600. I figured it was mental and moved to 405 after 315, but stopped after 2 reps, because I was definitely feeling my back start to round. Dropped back down to 355 and went from there, but I don't really know if the RPE is close to accurate.

Then again, I do suck at deadlifting for reps anyway, even compared to my normal suckage at reps. Then again, again, that's not surprising, given my overall low-volume approach to deadlift for most of my training history. That'll have to change though. I want 700.

[SeanHerbison]

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

I tried with the overhead light both on and off today, and compared the shots. The ones without it are more consistent on color temperature, which makes sense given the different lights, but they're too dark overall. I'll look into buying a bulb for that that matches closer to my stand lights.



I shot this at 100 fps, but when I go to render, it only gives me the options of 23.976, 24, or 30 (3:2). Does anybody know why that is? I expected an option of 50, like I've been doing, if it wouldn't let me do 100.

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

I'm using Unruhschuh's handy table format now, which makes for much nicer reading. Thanks man.

Pretty happy with these lifts overall. There was a bit of form breakdown on the paused squats as they got heavier and I got tired, but my back stayed pretty tight, which was my main focus. Though I did find a new way to cheat rows, I guess. Since I was trying to minimize the hip movement, apparently my wrists decided to take up the slack and curl it a couple inches closer to my chest. Pretty sure that's a new one for me.

[SeanHerbison]

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

Not much to say. I don't think I'll be doing ab wheels going forward. I tried them again today, and they just don't seem to be a good exercise choice for me. Aside from being unreasonably hard for some reason (and no, I don't think it's just my height), they seem to focus all the effort into very particular areas, while leaving others relatively untouched. For instance, my upper abs cramped when I sat down afterward, and are quite sore now (14 hours later), while the rest of my trunk doesn't feel like it did anything. *Also, I forgot to hit record, and I wasn't keeping track as I did them, so I don't really know how many reps I did.

I'm starting to use the RTS dashboard and its various apps, and I think that will help in quantifying and visualizing some good data. I'm also working on designing and combining some spreadsheets for my own personal use, and I may end up with one mega Excel sheet for food, sleep, lifting, and a few other trackable training aspects. Should be helpful, if I can avoid letting it all overwhelm me.

[SeanHerbison]

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

Deadlifts were rougher than they should have been, mostly because I was having trouble bracing. Because ab wheel sucks.

Bench was fine. Overshot just a little.

Front squats. Well, the program calls for 303 tempo squats, but no. For the most part, I'm planning on following the program just as it's written, but I don't get tempo squats. I don't see a reason for them, unless you're concerned with TUT, or think they'll help your technique. For the latter, maybe that works on the eccentric, but trying to stretch out the concentric to three seconds screws up any benefit to technique I may have gained on the way down. Basically a lot of the same things that were mentioned in The RPE Thread. So front squats.

[TimK]

For the latter, maybe that works on the eccentric, but trying to stretch out the concentric to three seconds screws up any benefit to technique I may have gained on the way down. Basically a lot of the same things that were mentioned in The RPE Thread. So front squats.

Do you think they might have value for someone who has problems with hips rising faster than the bar on the concentric (asking for a friend)?

[SeanHerbison]

Do you think they might have value for someone who has problems with hips rising faster than the bar on the concentric (asking for a friend)?

Possible, but I doubt it. To me, the main problem is the 03 part of 303. Having no pause followed by a slow concentric doesn't even seem doable, for me at least. I never got much out of them, so I can't speak with much authority there.

[AaronM]

When I ran The Bridge I couldn't do the tempo squat stuff without significantly reducing the weight. I'm naturally slow on the way down, but slow on the way up isn't happening without using really light weights. For TUT maybe 5 seconds on the way down would be good? Couldn't do the paused squats either, because they made my inguinal hernia repair sites really, really mad.

[SeanHerbison]

For TUT maybe 5 seconds on the way down would be good?

I think a 3-5 second eccentric can be useful for training technique with a focus on smooth control, and for really trying to feel the stretch, but for TUT... maybe? Honestly, I'm not really sure how much TUT plays a role, especially for strength purposes. We like to treat "training stress" as one big thing and "adaptation" as another, but really, they're each a bunch of different processes all working together.

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.

[mgil]

You sign up for IG also so you can win that belt?

[SeanHerbison]

You sign up for IG also so you can win that belt?

I do have one... technically.

[platypus]

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?

During overhead press and bench press I have to concentrate on using my lats to squeeze my humerus in towards my sides or else my arms flare way out. The actual cue is "tight armpits." I've heard "elbows in" before but it never helped me.

[SeanHerbison]

The actual cue is "tight armpits." I've heard "elbows in" before but it never helped me.

Thanks, I'll try that.

[Les]

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?

During overhead press and bench press I have to concentrate on using my lats to squeeze my humerus in towards my sides or else my arms flare way out. The actual cue is "tight armpits." I've heard "elbows in" before but it never helped me.

I really like that cue. You're right, if someone says arms in it really doesn't say much. This is especially true when you are under a lot of weight and can't really feel where you arms are half the time anyways. Thinking tight armpits, you can feel that squeeze the whole the time. If you don't, you probably aren't doing it enough.

[SeanHerbison]

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.

I really like that cue. ... Thinking tight armpits, you can feel that squeeze the whole the time. If you don't, you probably aren't doing it enough.

Between these and rows, I'm starting to think I just don't know how to use my lats.