2022 Workload Audit

Mark Brown

March 13, 2022

2022	Low Bar Squat	Deadlift	Flat Dumbbell Press	Narrow Grip Incline Press	Overhead Dumbbell Press	Floor Press	High Bar Squat	Sumo Deadlift	Leg Press	Incline Dumbbell Press	Bench Press	Standing Overhead Press
Week 1	8,475	5,810	3,675	2,785	2,200	2,370	8,560	3,225	29,436	5,085	3,835	2,010
Week 2	8,445	5,975	3,265	3,130	2,240	3,205	8,560	5,640	34,402	4975	4,280	2,415
Week 3	10,830	5,295	3,900	4,010	2,620	5,510	8,580	6,970	33,266	4,075	4,995	3,690
Week 4	10,570	8,865	3,820	4,820	2,865	6,270	10,120	6,615	30,870	3,225	6,600	3,690
Week 5	10,800	7,875	3,385	5,705	2,500	6,450	8,280	9,271	30,150	4,275	6,100	3,690
Week 6	12,395	7,740	3,255	6,105	2,500		14,080	9,210	32,080	4,290	4,045	3,690
Week 7	14,080	9,015	3,370	6,990	2,435	5,285	14,730	7560	36,208
Week 8	15,180	10,240	3,785	5,670	2,520	10,775	15,950	7560	36,208	4,710	7,890	4,310
Week 9	16,270	12,545	4,375	5,670	2,330	10,450	14,730	7560	38,064	4,610	4,815	3,120
Week 10	9,675	4,365

I noticed some trends when I did this audit of my lifting in 2022 to date. These lifts listed are my main and supplemental lifts in total pounds lifted during the week listed.

I have noticed a significant jump in strength in my legs and back over the last couple weeks. That has manifested itself in my squats at my normal “315-345-365-385” splits becoming easier. Earlier in the year I needed to put more effort into my squat reps. That has since changed since week 6, and the chart shows why. I knew I had been lifting progressively heavier under my new format of increased numbers of sets doing 2-3 reps per set, but to see the overall workload when load became part of the equation is absolutely eye opening. I wasn’t expecting to make such a leap on my squat over winter because I don’t have a history of challenging my squat at the gym. The main reason is safety.

To see that workload number on both low bar and high bar squats increase the way it did while working on this audit explained why the lifts at the loads I mentioned above were becoming easier. Also explains why the 405 pound squat, which I referenced in the last blog post, felt way below max effort. It explains why my effort level required to do my “315-345-365-385” split on squat got lower, which means my squat is getting stronger, while those splits on deadlift require about the same amount of effort as earlier in the year. When one considers what the addition of the sumo deadlift brings to the program, it’s plain to see that I’ve just put more effort into squat than I have deadlift. It’s that simple. If my squat wasn’t getting better and stronger than my deadlift, then something would have to be addressed there. The message is clear. If I want to increase my deadlift, I have to pour more effort into specifically that lift.

The week 10 number on squat is interesting to me because that includes 2 sets at 405 pounds. To see the “best 8 sets I could do” on that Monday be so low comparative to the workload of prior week was interesting. It shows me how much the number of sets I was doing during weeks 6-9 were perhaps overkill. The increase in strength was nice but the physical toll on me cause me to take an unplanned break.

Seeing the dumbbell totals vs the barbell total workload numbers is fascinating because I didn’t think the difference between them would be so stark. I have been using dumbbell press lifts as my main lift to produce both muscular development and force my chest and shoulders to work into fatigue later in the session. I thought that the main reason why dumbbell press strength hasn’t translated to bench press was because hand placement is so different. When I dumbbell press, my hands start the bottom of the lift where they would be in a narrow grip barbell press and finishes with the dumbbells meeting above my chest like a dumbbell fly. That helps explain why the narrow grip incline press is seeing improvement. The numbers in the table above also show the how big the difference in terms of workload from dumbbell press to the flat dumbbell press, which I have been doing mainly for maintenance than top end improvement. It’s just really different.

Leg Press numbers also stand out because they are the biggest numbers on the chart. That is completely expected because the nature of the lift. It’s quite amusing to see the workload of it compared to squats because it’s exactly what I’d expect it to be. Leg press is a lift done purely for power output and to get the most amount of work done by the legs. I do it mostly for quad development but there is always some hamstring work in there too.