BWare's Intermediate Training Log

[Bruce Ware]

4/23 Session 17-4, Squat

warm-ups:

45 x 5 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 1
315 x 1

working sets:

375 x 2 x 3; 5 mins rest between; set 1 felt like I was stopping a bit short of full depth, and set 2 felt like I was not pushing the hips back far enough, using too much knee to get to depth; set 3 though got it all together with good depth and hips back; bar-speed was solid for all reps; I felt like I could have done more reps on all sets, but with the movement pattern variations, it's hard to say how many. Next cycle of 2's will increment 5 pounds.

Rack pulls - 365 x 5; I had gotten 3 reps last time, so this was a nice improvement
Chin-ups - 10

Duration: 0h+50m

This ends my week of 2's, and the end of round 4 of the 8-5-2 variant. My metric so far:

Squat increased 225 pounds on this round, for a total increase of 1560 pounds.
Deadlift increased 225 pounds, for a total of 1665.
Bench Press increased 210 pounds, for a total of 1080.
Press increased 225 pounds, for a total of 1065.

I am extremely pleased with this continued progression; I do expect to see some "flattening of the curve" as I get closer to my theoretical maxima for these lifts.

[Bruce Ware]

4/26 Measurement Sunday

Total weight -- (spot) 201.6 (-1.2); (week avg) 201.3 (-0.6); (long avg) 202.1 (-0.1)

LBM -- (spot) 182.0 (-2.1); (long avg) 181.9 (+0.1)

Fat -- (spot) 19.6 (+0.9); (long avg) 20.2 (-0.2)

Yields a BF est of 10.0%.

All measurements within normal limits of variation. Last week's big jump in LBM was matched by a pretty big drop this week. Probably due to eating issues -- I've had a few days this week where I skipped lunches, and the avg daily cals intake dropped. I'll spend this week fixing this. Also apparently had a fairly low consumption of fat in diet last week --

123 g P, 213 g C, and 80 g F for an avg of 2065 kcals in

Nothing spectacular to report this week, except that my est 1RM for the Squat has achieved my interim goal of 2x body-weight. Now, my end of June goal is to actually do 5 reps at 2x body-weight on Squat, and not to rely on calculations of theoretical one-rep maxes. Based on current trends, the Squat is the only one of the 4 lifts where I fully expect to achieve my 2020 goals. I'll be close for Bench and Press, but the Deadlift still has a lot of poundage to achieve before that target.

Today starts my week of 8's. I'll post that session later.

[Bruce Ware]

Sunday 4/26 Session 18-1, Chest Press

warm-ups:

45 x 5 x 2
135 x 5
155 x 1

working sets:

172.5 x 8 x 3; 5 mins rest between; all 3 sets good solid form and control, last set last rep was a bit slower but not excessively so; didn't feel like I could easily have done more, but maybe a few more without totally losing my lock; next 8's increment will be +5, to push a bit harder on my limits.

Press (vol) -- 115 x 5 x 5
BB Rows -- 200 x 8 x 3

Duration -- 1h+05m

Using my new Polar 10 heart rate monitor -- avg 109, max 150; spent 10 mins in warm-up zone, 43 mins in training zones 2 & 3, 8 mins in zone 4, and 2 mins in max zone 5. From what the manual says, my peak hr's occurred during the BB Rows, most of the lifting was in zones 2 thru 4 with nice peaks and valleys showing stress and inter-set recovery, and the general trend was for improved muscular efficiency and sustained intensity. We'll see how things look tomorrow when I do my deadlift 8's - should be very interesting, from a science-geeky perspective.

[Bruce Ware]

Monday 4/27 Session 18-2, Deadlift

warm-ups:

135 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 1

working sets:

290 x 8 x 3; 6 mins rest between; all 3 sets, good form, control, and bar-speed; felt like each set could have done 1 or 2 more without too much trouble; next 8's increment will be +5.

Box squat -- 210 x 8 x 3
Chin-ups -- 12

Duration: 0h+55m

HR stats: avg 126, max 167; 2 mins in Z1, almost 48 mins in Z2 thru 4, and about 5 mins in Z5+ -- the graphic display clearly shows 7 peaks above the Z5 top-line, one for each set of deadlifts, box squats, and the chin-ups. Recovery valleys were still in the sustained endurance training range. A very different representation of the stress of today's workout compared to yesterday's. The conclusion appears to be that this workout is concentrated very much in the "anaerobic threshold" training zone.

[Bruce Ware]

Wednesday 4/29, Session 18-3: Press

warm-ups:

45 x 5 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 1

working sets:

122.5 x 8, 8, *7*; 4.5 mins rest between - probably not enough, since I missed that last rep; good bar speed and form/control throughout (except the last one!); will hold this same weight on next iteration of 8's.

Floor Press -- 165 x 5 x 5

Duration: 0h+50m

HR Zone times: avg 108, max 153; z2 thru 4: 40 mins; a half-minute peak in z5 (the max hr) when I was struggling to get that 8th rep on st 3; rest of time in z1 (warm-ups primarily).

[Bruce Ware]

Thursday 4/30, Session 18-4: Squats

warm-ups:

45 x 5 x 2
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 1

working sets:

325 x 8 x 3; 7 mins rest between; all sets/reps good control, form, depth, and bar-speed; had to take a couple of extra breaths on reps 7 and 8 for the first 2 sets, but slowed down my cadence on set 3 to keep the breathing even throughout; adding 5 pounds next time 8's come up.

RDLs -- 235 x 8 x 3
Chin-ups -- 12

Duration: 1h+00m

HR Zone times: avg 121, max 163; z2 thru 4: 48:45 with 3 spikes in z5 (the RDLs); z5: 7 mins with 4 spikes above z5 (the 3 squats and the chin-ups); remainder of time in z1 warming up.

This completes my week of 8's, fifth round. This morning's <non-official> weigh-in showed that calorie consumption is exceeding calorie replenishment (lost about 1.5 pounds from yesterday's weigh-in, continuing trend for the week; need to eat more) during this week. Curious on what the tendency for next week's round of 5's will show.

[Bruce Ware]

5/3 Measurement Sunday

Total weight -- (spot) 201.0 (-0.6); (week avg) 200.6 (-0.7); (long avg) 202.0 (-0.1)

LBM -- (spot) 180.8 (-1.2); (long avg) 181.7 (-0.2)

Fat -- (spot) 20.2 (+0.6); (long avg) 20.3 (+0.1)

Yields a BF est of 10.0%.

All measurements within normal limits of variation. Eating issues continued this week -- I skipped lunches and ate less on my training days, and tried to use my rest days to make up for it, but wound up a bit short still.

120 g P, 242 g C, and 103 g F for an avg of 2375 kcals in - a bit better than the week before, but still not good enough to reverse the slide. Now it is a very slow and shallow slide - no signals on the process control charts to indicate any major change has occurred, but it is still a matter that I need to adjust to prevent any such signal from triggering. Week of 5's starting later today.

[Bruce Ware]

5/3 Session 19-1, Bench Press

warm-ups:

45 x 5 x 2
135 x 5
165 x 1
175 x 1

working sets: 192.5 x 5 x 3; 6 mins rest between; all 3 sets solid and proper movement pattern/form; first set bar-speed was very slow and a hard push on rep 5; second set was better with a good pace for all 5; third set was slow on last 2 reps but not too hard of a push; I did not feel that I had any good-form reps left in the tank on any of the 3 sets; next 5's increment will be 2.5 pounds.

Press (vol) -- 117 x 5 x 5
BB Rows -- 205 x 8 x 3

Duration: 1h+05m

HR Zone training: avg 117, max 154; z3 and 4 -- 43:37 with 9 spikes in z5 (2 of the 3 bench presses, 4 of the 5 OH presses, and all 3 bb rows) worth about 2:39 in that zone; rest of time was in z1 (warming up) and z2 (some inter-set rest time).

Reading up on "zone training", it appears that one "should" spend about 80% of total time in the zones 2 thru 4 region for "cardio" training or else run the risk of "de-training" the aerobic capability. I don't know how valid this is, or whether my normal heart-rate cycling around during the strength training sessions (active and recovering) is sufficient to be called "training in zones 2 thru 4", but I do seem to be getting 80% or more of the time there. <shrugs> If it is not sufficient, I think I will discover that when we finally get out on the water and start the crew workouts again this season.

[Bruce Ware]

5/4 Session 19-2, Deadlift

warm-ups:

135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 1

working sets: 325 x 5 x 3; 6 mins rest between; all 3 sets had good form and control and good bar-speed - although the bar moved slowly, it was steady and even, a good 3 seconds up each time; I felt as if I could get 1 maybe 2 more reps on each set; next 5's increment will be 5 pounds.

Pin Squat -- 205 x 8 x 3
Chin-ups -- 12

Duration: 1h+00m

HR Zone metrics: avg 114, max 154; z5 had a total of 2:55 during the spikes on the main lifts; z1 was 4:56 on warming up; the rest of time was z2 thru z4. The app reports I had 24:51 in the fat-burning region, and 35:04 in the fit training region. Not sure what that all means, but it might become a useful metric.

[Bruce Ware]

5/6 Session 19-3, Press

warm-ups:

45 x 5 x 2
95 x 5
115 x 1
125 x 1

working sets:

135 x 5 x 3; 5.5 mins rest between; first 2 sets were solid form and movement pattern, good bar-speed (not fast, but not slow), and I felt like I could get maybe 1 or 2 more reps on both; third set was a bit slower and a pretty hard push to get the last rep to lockout, and I did not feel like I had any more in the tank. Very happy about hitting this goal. Next 5's increment will be plus 2 pounds.

Floor Press -- 167.5 x 5 x 5 for volume

Duration: 0h+55m

HR Zone metrics -- avg 104, max 136; there was no time in z5 and only 37 seconds recorded in z4; there was 9:25 recorded in z1 (warming up and early rest intervals) and the bulk of the time went about 60/40 in z2. The fit/fat times were 13:17/41:43, so I guess that indicates I spent a lot of time in the "fat-burning" region during this training session.