Measuring workset tonnage/volume

[Stevo]

Rip,

When measuring worksets for the novice routine, should the BW exercises be included in the total amount of weight? For example, my last workout was the following:

Squat - 3 x 5 @ 200 = 2,800 lbs
Press - 3 x 5 @157.5 = 2,363 lbs
Chin's - 8, 4, 2 @ 180 lbs = 2,520 lbs

Total 7,683 lbs or 3.8 tons



This includes Chin's. My guess is you'll say, "...Stevo, you retard, of course you include the BW work!" If you have a more colorful, insulting or viscious response, please give both barrels!

BTW, it gets my girlfriend all hot -n- bothered when I tell her how much tonnage I move! That is, of course, nullified when I follow-up by cutting a loud juicy milk rat.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I'm surprised that you have a girlfriend, considering your inability to spell "vicious". If I were calculating tonnage, I'd probably use bodyweight for my chin calculation like you have done here. The purpose of calculating tonnage is to track work done over the course of a week, month, or year, and you can't leave it out if it comprises a significant part of your upper-body training, so yeah, add in your bodyweight stuff. But pushups will be a problem in terms of tonnage due to the difficulty of determining how much of your bodyweight you actually lifted, and in fact chins might be the same problem. What would be wrong with just leaving it as reps done? It would just depend on what you're going to do with your tonnage calculation.

[Stevo]

I checked the spelling for that specific word with Google. Damn them!

My girlfriend LOVES my strength increase since using your method. She "ooh's" & "aah's" over your pix in SS:BBT. So, if she dumps me for a certain "Mark Rippetoe", I'm coming to get you. Take that back, you'd probably hurt me real bad. You can have her!

[Mark Rippetoe]

If she does, it will be because you spend too goddamn much time on the internet.

[McKirdyP]

Get two scales put a hand on each one, add the weights together, record the weight then do some push ups. Hmm, yea seems like that should work. Though this will add the weight of your hands, wrists and forearms which are not addiing resistance to upward movement, but that should be very little, maybe a few pounds each... But either way it will give a consistent measurement of resistance.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Sounds expensive. Maybe we'll just bench press.