Our Physical Fitness

[Evaniel]

Wednesday Pull
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 4:31 PM

Pullover (Machine)
Set 1: 150 lb × 11

Pull Up
Set 1: +25 lb × 6
Set 2: +25 lb × 6
Set 3: +25 lb × 8

Bent Over One Arm Row (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 90 lb × 10
Set 2: 90 lb × 10

Bicep Curl (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 40 lb × 12
Set 2: 40 lb × 12

Reverse Fly (Dumbbell)
Set 1: 30 lb × 17
Set 2: 30 lb × 17

Insomnia hit me pretty hard last night, but felt pretty good today. Did drop sets on the pull ups (neutral grip), the curls, and the reverse flyes.

 

[AlexofBarbaria]

To the best of my knowledge the standard for logging dumbbells is the weight per-dumbbell, but anything else is total weight/resistance. So if I'm doing anything with a barbell that's normally going to include the 45lbs for the bar itself, and if (say) I'm doing a Smith machine barbell exercise it's going to be the base 20lb resistance for that +whatever weight I load on it.

Definitely if you're logging total volume (weight x reps x sets) you're going to add the dumbbells together. I used to track that (and came up with rough calculations for body weight exercises), so you're not alone in having geeked out on the numbers.

You might be interested in exertion load, which adds an exponential fatigue factor to the total volume formula that accounts for how close the reps are to failure.

I thought this was a great idea, but I don’t bother tracking it anymore since nowadays I take every working set to around 9–9.5 RPE (so no need to adjust for varying RIR) and keep overall volume pretty low (so don't worry about tracking overall fatigue). So now I just count number of hard sets per muscle per week.

 

[Mannahnin]

Last night I went back for more, but kept it pretty short. Also went pull-focused, with three sets of cable rows (dropping weight slightly and adding a few reps, trying to focus on stricter form than I do with heavier weight), a couple of sets of lat pulldowns, and three sets of cable lateral raises (still dialing the form in, but feeling a bit better on it).

You might be interested in exertion load, which adds an exponential fatigue factor to the total volume formula that accounts for how close the reps are to failure.

Interesting!

I thought this was a great idea, but I don’t bother tracking it anymore since nowadays I take every working set to around 9–9.5 RPE (so no need to adjust for varying RIR) and keep overall volume pretty low (so don't worry about tracking overall fatigue). So now I just count number of hard sets per muscle per week.

I'm in a similar place. I take just about every set (outside of warm up sets) to technical failure, and I don't do a ton of sets. I got some warm fuzzies this week from this Menno Henselmans video on time-efficient training where he recommends what he calls combo sets, which are very much like the circuits which have been my primary training methodology since I started. Of course, I'm also old and don't have a ton of cardiovascular stamina , so I'm not quite as time efficient and tend to rest a little longer.

 

[Evaniel]

I thought this was a great idea, but I don’t bother tracking it anymore since nowadays I take every working set to around 9–9.5 RPE (so no need to adjust for varying RIR) and keep overall volume pretty low (so don't worry about tracking overall fatigue). So now I just count number of hard sets per muscle per week.

This is exactly where I'm at these days. The minimalist/essentials program I'm on now lets me train to "beat the log book" each week without getting fried. I'll sometimes add drop sets to push the volume a bit more. That said, I also like that I don't generally feel like I need a deload week very often on this program, so I'm generally content to follow it as is.

 

[darjr]

My gym time has been curtailed due to the buhurt training. I plan to adjust that so I’m also lifting. Not sure how yet.

When in hell, at least do it in armor.

 

[Evaniel]

My gym time has been curtailed due to the buhurt training. I plan to adjust that so I’m also lifting. Not sure how yet.

When in hell, at least do it in armor.

View attachment 411625

Take care of yourself. We need more combat vids!

 

[eve1]

Start checking in here today and do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day！

 

[Mannahnin]

Benches were all taken when I arrived last night, so I started with three sets of machine pec flies. I think I should have added a fourth or some drop sets, though. After benches opened up I did three circuits of dumbbell behind the head skull crushers (keeping the weight increase though being careful how my shoulders feel), dumbbell inclined curls with drop sets (reps came back down from last time, alas), and seated dumbbell lateral raises.

I'm also continuing to be good on my morning core/lower exercises, though I kind of have to force myself. I'm generally adding a rep each week to the harder ones. I do feel like my hips and lower back are benefitting and feel better the rest of the day. I may need to add another hip flexor opening stretch or two, but overall I'm happy that my discipline is holding up so far post-PT.

 

[Evaniel]

Saturday Upper
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025 at 12:30pm

Bench Press (Barbell)
Set 1: 245 lbs x 6
Set 2: 225 lbs x 9

Lat Pulldown (Machine)
Set 1: 200 lbs x 12
Set 2: 210 lbs x 12

Shoulder Press (Machine Plates)
Set 1: 140 lbs x 15
Set 2: 140 lbs x 15

Seated Cable Row - V Grip (Cable)
Set 1: 180 lbs x 10
Set 2: 180 lbs x 12

Bicep Curl (Cable)
Set 1: 130 lbs x 12
Set 2: 130 lbs x 12

Triceps Extension (Cable)
Set 1: 120 lbs x 15
Set 2: 120 lbs x 15

@hevyapp
[URL

My shoulder started bothering me a bit after that bench press, so I think I’m gonna lighten the weight and keep to an 8-10 rep range. Had a brain fart on the first set of pulldowns, not realizing I need another 10 pounds.

Now that I’m feeling less pain in the shoulder and have a handle on my routine, it’s probably time to turn my attention back to losing some weight. That was my goal a few months ago, but summer travel and a messed up shoulder put the kibosh in that. Now seems like a good time to start back up.