Hey guys, I’ve posted on here before, i am a 17 year old lacrosse player and as i am approaching my season I am spending more time on the field and less time in the gym. I a custom to lifting 3-4 times a week strength/hypertrophy style training. Now some weeks I am unable to make it in the gym as i am traveling, practicing and playing.
I honestly feel a build up of frustration anger ofter not going to the gym for a few days. I also worry that i am loosing size, strength, and feel smaller. I know this sounds weird for a 17 year old to worry about and i track all my food eating plenty of good foods every day.
Feel free to rip this apart, I just have a habit of worrying too much…
The Adonis Complex is a pretty interesting read, if for no other reason than that the case studies discussed can lead to some “hey, that sounds like me” moments.
If it is something that is causing you real anxiety or causing you to act out or is otherwise interfering with your life, then consider talking to a coach or parent about it.
Work out your goals, don’t plan based upon a bullshit utopia where you always have time and energy and understand that we can’t do everything we want to do, prioritize and work towards your goals.
You’re better off making many small manageable changes over time than throwing your entire life around all at once.
at your age you won’t lose much muscle even with a long lay off. maybe learn some bodyweight stuff? ever heard of push ups? pull ups on anything that you can hang from? tree branch, doorway? Bodyweight jump squats or jump lunges or just pick up something super heavy and sqaut that shit. be creative because right now you’re just making excuses as to why your weak and small.
[quote]MinusTheColon wrote:
The Adonis Complex is a pretty interesting read, if for no other reason than that the case studies discussed can lead to some “hey, that sounds like me” moments.
If it is something that is causing you real anxiety or causing you to act out or is otherwise interfering with your life, then consider talking to a coach or parent about it.[/quote]
I bet a lot of people here understand feeling frustrated after not hitting the weights for awhile. I mean, working out releases a bunch of feel-good chemicals in our brain. And we all continue to lift because…we like it right? So it’s only natural.
But worrying about your gains and stuff man…don’t worry you’re not going to shrink. Oppositely, worrying too much could hurt your performance! And remember, the body is an amazingly complex beast that we still haven’t figured out, but it seems to have a very good way of balancing things out. Taking a few days off is not going to put you into some kind of recession mode – if anything it could help set you up for better gains and performance.
In other words, try to stay positive and make the best with the time you have. If that’s really not enough, maybe you need to rethink what you wanna do. Weights or lacrosse. Your life, your freedom, your choices…ultimately, it’s your responsibility.
Also make sure you are on a program that is flexible enough and appropriate enough for your goals, which I assume is to be the best lacrosse player you can be. For example it would be pointless to be on a program that requires you to be in the gym 4 times a week every week, when you are probably training for lacrosse on the field 4 times a week, and spending significant time travelling and recovering from games.
Yep, life has a way of getting in the way. It happens, hopefully for the next 60+ years. It sucks but you’ll just have to learn to deal with it. The sooner the better.
You lifted all those weights as a way to get better for lacrosse. During the off-season, you spent lots of time in the gym, and less time on the field. Now, as the season approached, it’s time to shift your focus to the field and “peak” for lacrosse.
Your job in the gym was to lift weights. Nobody cared how many ground balls you picked up, or how many assists you had. It was time to build a big squat!
Now its lacrosse time. Your teammates want you to produce on the field. They don’t care how much you can bench press or how big your arms are.
All of that said, you’re probably doing a lot of running and long sprints. That kind of stuff burns LOTS of calories. Be sure to eat enough, especially enough carbs/fat to fuel all that exercise.
Also, I think L-glutimine is a great supplement for building/maintaining muscle.
[quote]FlatsFarmer wrote:
You lifted all those weights as a way to get better for lacrosse. During the off-season, you spent lots of time in the gym, and less time on the field. Now, as the season approached, it’s time to shift your focus to the field and “peak” for lacrosse.
Your job in the gym was to lift weights. Nobody cared how many ground balls you picked up, or how many assists you had. It was time to build a big squat!
Now its lacrosse time. Your teammates want you to produce on the field. They don’t care how much you can bench press or how big your arms are.
All of that said, you’re probably doing a lot of running and long sprints. That kind of stuff burns LOTS of calories. Be sure to eat enough, especially enough carbs/fat to fuel all that exercise.
Also, I think L-glutimine is a great supplement for building/maintaining muscle. [/quote]