Starting off, what is tonnage? Tonnage is just another term for overall training volume, which can be calculated by taking the number of sets, reps, and the weight you are lifting and multiplying those three numbers together. For example, 3 sets of 10 reps at 315 lbs = 9,450. Now, this is an overall stimulus, so taking the number 9,450 is the amount of stimulus you were exposed to in that training session for the exercise. This can be applied in a few different training contexts, including hypertrophy specific, strength specific, pre-season, in-season, etc. To narrow it down, I'm just going to stick with the strength sport specific population and the training contexts they are exposed to when talking about the relevance of tracking tonnage.
This is basically going to be me convincing you it's not worth it, just a heads up. The first way I started tracking my training sessions was through writing down what I did exercise-wise, including the sets, reps, intensities, and then wrote their tonnage out to the side. When doing this you really only need to track your bigger compound movements. Please don't track hammer curls with tonnage. Based on what block you are in, there will be wildly different numbers. In a block with little volume, you will see there is a smaller number associated with that session’s or week’s tonnage. If you have used this approach before and have been consistent with tracking your workload, then it might be useful to use tonnage as a reference for how much was best handled during this block. If you haven't done numerous blocks that equate out to a lengthy bit of time, you probably don't have any tonnage references and would have to use an average taken from demographics that may not apply to you. The goal of hitting a certain workload does not allow for much auto regulation either, and that's because you are usually using a tonnage goal that was formulated during a point in life that isn’t current. As a result, you could be dealing with more of a workload outside of training that adds unregulated fatigue, you could be switching techniques (which wouldn't have the same effect on recovery if the changes are drastic enough), etc. It really just gives you another number at the end of training.
Just starting off with the sets and reps that you know are beneficial and commonly used for that block and that block’s focus would be enough. If you know a max, be that 1 rep, 2 rep, or 3 rep, you can make an effective set rep scheme based around the percentage being used. Sure, you can use a calculated tonnage to reinforce a session or training block in its whole for future use or you can just be aware of the progress made based on overall perceived difficulty and actual weight lifted. Progress won't really show itself through tonnage outside of an increased number, which could just be purely a reflection of more sets, or weight, or reps, who knows and does it even make that significant of a difference? Tracking KPIs (key performance indicators) with their respective blocks as a whole would be way more helpful in l than tracking tonnage. These key performance indicators would be weight lifted for a specific amount of reps in conjunction with RPE. Beyond that, I don't believe much more is needed to reinforce a training approach’s effectiveness. Tonnage on its own, useless.
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