I couldn’t remember where I put the last pages of my logbook, but if I recall they’re all the same for this last month.
After completing the 10K kettlebell swing challenge I immediately went back to 5/3/1 BBB.
Last month I just kinda zoned out and wasn’t sure of myself as far as putting weight on the bar went. So I mostly mangled this training phase, but stuck to Agile 8 warm ups consistently, which helped a ton
But I do have my online template from BlackIronBeast. Just plugged in my numbers and went from there. My squat is the only move I have a most recent 1RM number, so every other movement I just shaved off a bit of weight and used a weight I knew I could get at least 3 reps out of on any given day.
I don’t have any good advice for what you’re going through; right now; it’s just difficult.
However, it’s also worth remembering that how you’re feeling right now is temporary and better times lie ahead of you. It seems trite, but I know from personal experience that it also happens to be true.
The worst part of these experiences is the feelings of loneliness and isolation which always compound one’s feelings of dread. When you’re feeling low this way, I’ve always found it good to lean on your good friends. They love you and want to help you. Reach out to them and spend some time doing fun things with them. They will also help you understand that you’ll get through this and that you have support available to you when you need it.
Thank you hun. I really appreciate it. I also appreciate the support I get from you guys here. It’s been some years now but through every difficult post I’ve made here, I always feel comfortable venting here because I enjoy reading words of encouragement.
I can’t say I’ll feel any better tomorrow, but at least I feel better right now. I did give one of work friends a call this morning so it was nice just hearing her voice and chatting.
I’d broadly echo what oldnattychris wrote. The feelings you feel at a certain moment always ends up being temporary. The lowest lows and the highest highs disappear eventually. The lows may feel like they take way too long to go away, but they amazingly do in the end. The highs never stay long enough.
Unfortunately, I think associating success with happiness is just an ingrained part of human nature, and I think trying to get away from it often just leads to more pain. So I encourage you to perhaps consider looking for success in the small and ‘little’ things. It does not have to be “I want to squat 405lb” but simply “I want to follow this lifting program”. You are successful when you successfully follow the lifting program.
A similar idea to this is to find enjoyment in the simple and daily things. One of my biggest source of joy in my daily life literally is the cup of coffee I brew with my French press in the morning. And recently I added to that by eating some 90% dark chocolate with the coffee. They’re delicious. Losing them will not make me sad, but I genuinely feel enjoyment with this little ritual of mine.
From someone who has traveled on one, you have one hell of a rough road behind you. Its ok to be exhausted after traversing some of these Really difficult parts of life. And its ok to look back on them and say “Damn! That fucking hurt! And kind of still does.”. Maybe even a lot.
The one thing that you seem very good at through it all is finding the beauty in life. That is a tremendous asset.
And a work ethic that is scorching.
I think that if you look inward with the same earnestness that you’ve approached so many other things, you’ll find a beauty that is very lovable and worthy of being cherished.
I find that I have difficulty associating the small things as also being, in a way, small successes. But I think I also have difficulty not viewing things I enjoy on some kind of scale. Like how much do I enjoy this? There’s no scale, I just like it, like that’s the end of the purpose. Just enjoying it. I’ve got plenty of those, but I probably squander them trying to make them these things that I have to enjoy sooooooooo much all the time.
I’ll spare myself the textbook definition of whatever that could fit into because it’s not needed.
Thank you! Squatting is my strongest lift, so I tend to let it overpower a lot of my training lol. Slowly working on decreasing the frequency though. My knees are not very happy with me at the moment.
I’m not sure if squatting is my strongest lift; I’m 6’4" and probably built more for deadlifting. But squat is definitely my favorite, and the one to which I tend to put more effort.
I definitely think you can figure out ways to keep progressing your squat while using lower frequency. I always thought I needed to squat three days a week to make progress, but have recently switched to two days a week and have plowed through some PRs. So with some good programming, I think you can do it. Best of luck!
So I had started coaching from Dave Osborn. Paid for everything, and was trying to get through my first week. Ever since I first emailed him to sign up for coaching, I’ve had issues receiving all the emails he sent. These last batch of emails, I didn’t receive. Checked my spam and everything. Apparently he wanted videos sent in after every session. I had just saved all the week’s training and sent them over to the phone number he provided. I understand he expressed he’s very big on communication, but considering I hadn’t received anything, I was under the impression that the lifter would communicate accordingly. I’m not one to spam someone daily, and since I hadn’t received anything I had it in my head to get training done and recap. I recorded the main lifts, and took note of my set-ups, RPE, made note of diet changes, etc.
After sending all my videos he just replies with a voice note saying he doesn’t think the set up is going to work out and refunded me. He said he made it clear in the emails he sent that he wanted a video after every session. Problem is I hadn’t received them. I wouldn’t have had a problem making a completely new email considering I’ve had consistent problems with my main one, as well as troubleshoot anything else to ensure everything went smoothly and we could communicate faster or more effectively, but given how he handled everything, I figured there was no point. The week hadn’t even ended and he just made up his mind. He just shut me out, refunded me, and said he could refer me to someone else.
I get it, he’s a top level lifter, certified, went to school, has letters behind his name, and a busy schedule, but this made me feel like I was less than. Made me feel like I’m not good enough. Yes I know that’s flawed thinking, but I wouldn’t do that to someone. And I guess that’s why my feelings are hurt. I’ve been programming my own stuff for years now, and given this whole thing, it’s completely thrown me off seeking a coach for a while. It shouldn’t, but it has. I know I’ve been stagnated for a while, but there’s always something to be done and fixed. I’ve made it this far by myself, I can take myself farther.
