Sounds like the same as me! I worked out once I was getting in 35 pints a week in on average but thought I was okay because I wouldn’t drink on Mondays. 
Casual throughout the week, big binges on the weekends. Sadly it’s a fairly “normal” lifestyle in many places, and part of the culture (that I’m glad to get away from). I drank about the same as you last year, and haven’t drank yet this year - but I have a wedding to go to on Monday so we shall see. ahem
And just because I train light does not mean I “deload”.
Deload might mean going light, but it also means not intense.
When I use light weights, the goal is still for a PR in sets/reps etc anyway I can find a way to PR.
I never do deload where, oh this is easy day.
I’ll do a light set of squats but go “nonstop” reps for a PR.
So even if I do light recovery days, I PR in some way everyday!
People would argue it goes against the “need a consistant plan, keep the goal the goal, not every session needs to be a performance” rhetoric that is extremely relevant to most trainees to help them avoid “fuckarounditis”. However many of the older guys in good shape I know train like it. It’s definitely a skill that comes from many years in the trenches to be able to autoregulate with a decent enough precision to still move forward.
It’s often the way to train through injuries, but when bodies are older and built up enough wear and tear it becomes a full on training methodology within itself. And I’m for it.
You want to know the most annoying thing about it?
Prosthetics can really increase performance, but only once you go above the ankle. Maybe I’ll get lucky and a shark will bite the rest off or something.
Yeah, you have to lose a lot more to get those springy blade type things. Maybe tie a bit of baby seal to your foot next time you go to the beach?
The big toe doesn’t get much respect. Most people think its just for kicking furniture in the dark, but its really for ballance and weight shifting.
My one old buddy Meatball shot his off playing Yosemite Sam with a .44, and he couldn’t turn left on ski’s anymore.
He’d just go tumbling. Like a meatball.
I shouldn’t admit this on this forum, but a nerd buddy of mine calls me Toedo Baggins.
.
Good nicknames aren’t just given.
They’re earned!
The main mistakes I made when I was younger which carried over to my mindset approaching 40 was-
I felt I needed to hit a heavy dead/squat PR every single week, which stresses the same muscles eg posterior chain AND I was not eating correctly to do such a thing. I thought oh just eat pasta all the time.
So when I was broke it really hurt me.
Speaking of I’m prepping for what’s to come of these gas prices which is what affected me back in 2008.
I’m stocking up on canned protein options like oysters , beans, pasta, nuts etc etc like I’m going overboard on it.
I’m in a much better position now but anyone who did low or even medium pay labor jobs and was around back in 2006 knows what I’m talking about.
This shit ain’t gonna hit in a month, it’s a build up of months and a year or longer.
We are in for a rough road ahead if this current gas issue isn’t resolved and if you train hard, your gonna need fuel.
You always have the best movie references.
The worst mistake I made was not getting my spinal fusion sooner. In my late 30s I started having nasty problems with my hands, which spread up my arms, through my shoulder, into my neck, and then down my back. It took over a year to get a diagnosis of cervical spinal stenosis and then I did a year of massage and steroid injections that didn’t work. I should have just jumped into surgery after being diagnosed but I was scared off by outdated information about complications and put off surgery for over year. By the time I recovered from surgery I hadn’t lifted in over two years. I had some on an offs with lifting in the years after, got back into serious lifting again, then had to stop for COVID, then finally got back in. I lost a great deal of strength due to the time off and I’m old enough that I’ll never get back to where I was without using gear, which isn’t something I want to do at my age. I really wish my neurologist had just referred me to the surgeon the day she diagnosed me.
@Brant_Drake that was a hell of a story!
I’ve had a couple ACLs and a couple lower back surgeries (fractures and herniations). It had consequence (one ended sports, the other ended the army), but some of your stories are pretty big and I’m fine now.
I had a hernia, a shoulder, I think a couple other minor things, and severed the extensor tendons in my left hand - that one was apparently the most miraculous recovery, but that was all due to the surgeon.
My biggest issues now are the ones I think everyone gets - pretty irritating tendonitis in my elbows and cranky hips/ knees from sitting.
As soon as I started using straps on every pull and avoiding any kind of overhead tricep extensions, mine seems to have gone and rarely ever returns. I know tendonitis is finicky, you’ve probably already tried things, and what might work for me might not work for you - but I thought it was worth mentioning just in case.
Spent the first ~8 years of my time lifting eating too little to gain for how frequently/high volume I was lifting
Spent the next 8 years doing the whole “test bloat + 5k calories bloat” being watery and fat, eating way too much.
Now trying to find a happy medium. Gaining lean mass and only lean mass takes some precision.
Also, stretching: it improves my form on every major lift, especially the ones I struggle with most: barbell lifts (especially back squat and flat bench). Stretching before and during (gently) does wonders for my form.
Crashed a motorcycle with significant injuries and almost made a full recovery but had a shattered elbow replaced. I regained majority range of motion but it’s just limited enough that I don’t have full supination and it can also hurt when pressing heavy.
There’s not really a workaround so I just work through it. Elbow sleeves and stability from wrist wraps help pain when going heavy.
If it taught me anything, it’s the importance of recovery and intentional mobility work.
I think I missed this during my hiatus or just from my inconsistent log reading. This explains your programming choices. I’m always intrigued by your workouts because I’m over here in constant pain but too stubborn to let go of my established ways. I see everyone doing similar workouts with similar movements and having success. Success leaves clues, right? So I try to follow suit and I can’t get out of bed without bracing like I’m performing a heavy squat.
I’ve made progress over the last couple weeks because I finally allowed myself to drop deadlifts in favor of cleans (which I love). But there is probably still room for improvement.
How do you feel about your physical abilities? Did you do the barbell stuff prior to your injuries? Everyone uses barbell lifts for athletes but I wonder if your style would work, too? The jumping, running, cutting , etc all has to be practiced in addition to the weight lifting, so it seems plausible that your way of training would achieve similar results in that regard. Perhaps we’ve embraced the barbell due to space, equipment cost, and efficiency for training groups.
I’m happy to give you as much of a diatribe as you want…
I came back to deadlift 500 again after the second surgery just because I wanted to “conquer” it, if you will. I was a little embarrassed I let the injuries derail my military career when there’s dude legitimately still being door kickers with one leg.
That said, I also wasn’t too excited about the prospect of pissing in a bag or the reality of how hard it was for me to get up off the floor after playing with my young kids, and the army was over for me either way, so it was time to change.
I’m not athletic at all anymore, but I really don’t think that has a single thing to do with barbell lifts. I don’t do athletic things. I sit or lift in a straight plane or take walks. It only takes a couple weeks of playing rec basketball and I start moving better.
I was an ok athlete in high school and college - never great, but never a pure grinder either. I probably did the fewest barbell lifts then. We did power cleans, because coaches wanted to see power cleans, and we did some benching and squatting, because you were “supposed to,” but that was kind of it. The majority of our work was jumps, track work, or hills/ stairs. I think the barbell breaks more athletes than it makes.
When I was in, we rucked and carried a lot of kit all the time. I think two huge mistakes I made were getting into the barefoot craze (I’d literally run a 5 mile in those stupid toe shoes in full armor, regularly) and not getting after my lower back - Wenning came on and got everyone smart about the time it was too late for me and gave us all a diet of hypers and reverse hypers.
To your question of “can I be a washed up athlete,” I think… of course! We already have a base of strength and we aren’t motor morons - we can somehow run on a line without falling over in space. I can get as detailed as you want on my thoughts, but I would train movement patterns as interchangeable with equipment (so you’re totally allowed to do a machine press all the way to do a barbell bench), I’d use jumps for my power work, I’d have one day of track/ drills (two if you really care), and I wouldn’t do shit that hurts. On top of that, I think you have to dedicate some effort to your “gaps” - for me, I keep hypers and crunches in, no matter what.
With all that, I still wanted to do barbell movements. I can’t take credit, because I just copied John’s stuff, but I just found it really clever to put that stuff at the end when I’m tired and don’t know what “heavy” should be, do higher reps, bands and chains to make it lighter where it’s riskier, etc.
I should also add, I think you’re spot on about why we gravitate towards the barbell. It’s the most readily applicable tool to the most circumstances; that doesn’t make it the only or even the best in any given situation. If I had a young athlete, or a soccer mom, or even one of us beat-up dudes, for sure we’re learning those lifts. I’m not trying to imply all or nothing.
If I remember correctly, you have an impressive clean too. Pretty snappy and explosive with significant weight.
It’s not too shabby for a power clean. I can easily power clean more than I can front squat because I’m weird like that.
I’ve somehow worked myself to a point where my hang power clean has gotten more efficient than my power clean from the floor.
If it fills the bill (in my opinion, it does) for posterior work, Id never think about another deadlift again.
But I’m significantly shorter and the deadlift is probably more to my advantage. Unless you’re one of those condor winged types like my one ole buddy. 6’4" and like a 7 some foot wingspan. He was born to deadlift regardless of height.
I’m at the point now where im just way over the “You have to’s” and on into the “Cuz I want to’s” with this stuff.
I love the deadlift. I’m just a shade under 6’5" and while my wingspan isn’t 7’, it’s more than my height. But I’ve been in pain since about June of 2024 when I was really pushing the deadlift and my back finally had enough. Hit 555x1 and 465x5. The day I was supposed to hit 495x3 was the day my body quit. I ended up doing three singles and my SI joint area stiffened up after the session. It’s had inflammation/pain/something ever since. If I don’t squat (low bar, of course) or deadlift, it gets better. I think some people call that a clue. So now I’m running 5/3/1 templates with front squats and power cleans.