"Owning" the weights

[close_fox]

To answer your question directly, I "own" a given weight when I complete an entire block at the high end of "authorized" volume AND my conditioning went well AND I feel good about the block in total. In other words, Operator at 4-5 sets (depending on the week). HIC at high end of reps/effort. E at high end of distance/time. SE reps are snapping. And I don't feel beat down after all that.

I would suggest considering how you feel at every week/percentage, not just 90% or 95%. For example, with regard to Operator, I have consistently found Week 2 (3-5x5@80%) the most challenging week by far. I find 1-2 reps at 95% much easier than 5 reps at 80%. If I force progressed based only on performance during the 95% week, I would almost certainly be over extended during the 80% week. The percentages are there for a reason, so it makes sense to consider all of them.

Finally, progress can take many forms within TB. If I feel "own" a weight at the lower end of volume (3 sets), I could increase my TM and call that progress (which it is). Keep the weight the same and increase volume (sets). Give extra attention to my conditioning efforts, with or without a lifting weight/volume increase. Finally, what if I change nothing. Repeat the block as-is. Make sure I'm ready to move forward. Increase my confidence in and experience with TB. That would also be progress.

[Walrus Freud]

To answer your question directly, I "own" a given weight when I complete an entire block at the high end of "authorized" volume AND my conditioning went well AND I feel good about the block in total. In other words, Operator at 4-5 sets (depending on the week). HIC at high end of reps/effort. E at high end of distance/time. SE reps are snapping. And I don't feel beat down after all that.

That's a significantly more "holistic" view than mine. I tend to look at my different training modalities as separate entities and evaluate the progress accordingly. I went back and read my training logs for the last couple of months and saw that I more often than not have ended up doing five strength sessions a week (instead of the four prescribed in Zulu), but also that I have had a hard time really pushing the pace in HIC sessions. I obviously without having thought of it tend to prioritize strength at the expense of conditioning. And since I evaluated only the strength progression, I haven't really thought about the whole picture. I need to balance things out a bit better. Thank you!

I would suggest considering how you feel at every week/percentage, not just 90% or 95%. For example, with regard to Operator, I have consistently found Week 2 (3-5x5@80%) the most challenging week by far. I find 1-2 reps at 95% much easier than 5 reps at 80%. If I force progressed based only on performance during the 95% week, I would almost certainly be over extended during the 80% week. The percentages are there for a reason, so it makes sense to consider all of them.

Again a good point. For me, weeks 3 (3-5x3@90%) and 6 (3-5x1-2@95%) are the hardest to actually finish, but week 2 is the most draining one. Possibly because I need to put a little more emphasis on conditioning and give myself more space between strength sessions. I'll take them more into account from here on.

Finally, progress can take many forms within TB. If I feel "own" a weight at the lower end of volume (3 sets), I could increase my TM and call that progress (which it is). Keep the weight the same and increase volume (sets). Give extra attention to my conditioning efforts, with or without a lifting weight/volume increase. Finally, what if I change nothing. Repeat the block as-is. Make sure I'm ready to move forward. Increase my confidence in and experience with TB. That would also be progress.

I agree. I just love to lift heavier things than I have before Thanks for a great reply!

[WallBilly]

For example, with regard to Operator, I have consistently found Week 2 (3-5x5@80%) the most challenging week by far.

Agreed, and Week 5 is the 2nd most challenging for me. Same thing with Zulu as well.

[StayGrey]

To answer your question directly, I "own" a given weight when I complete an entire block at the high end of "authorized" volume AND my conditioning went well AND I feel good about the block in total. In other words, Operator at 4-5 sets (depending on the week). HIC at high end of reps/effort. E at high end of distance/time. SE reps are snapping. And I don't feel beat down after all that.

I would suggest considering how you feel at every week/percentage, not just 90% or 95%. For example, with regard to Operator, I have consistently found Week 2 (3-5x5@80%) the most challenging week by far. I find 1-2 reps at 95% much easier than 5 reps at 80%. If I force progressed based only on performance during the 95% week, I would almost certainly be over extended during the 80% week. The percentages are there for a reason, so it makes sense to consider all of them.

Finally, progress can take many forms within TB. If I feel "own" a weight at the lower end of volume (3 sets), I could increase my TM and call that progress (which it is). Keep the weight the same and increase volume (sets). Give extra attention to my conditioning efforts, with or without a lifting weight/volume increase. Finally, what if I change nothing. Repeat the block as-is. Make sure I'm ready to move forward. Increase my confidence in and experience with TB. That would also be progress.

Great points especially re conditioning.