[quote]hel320 wrote:
While reading the threads in our section here I’ve notice a lot of us are very analytical in our approachs to lifting. Detailed plans, logs, schedules, etc. This is probably a good thing but not always IMHO. When it comes to progression it’s great to have a plan but sometimes its there and sometimes it ain’t. We’ve all had those days where the weights just fly up and the next session same weight feels twice as heavy. Shit happens. Key to any training routine is flexibility. Worrying about it takes the fun out of it. Do some experimenting and find your own form for each lift. Lifting should be an escape from anxiety not a cause of it.
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Funny, I just did one of those different days today. And where the written word may come across as anxious, on my part it feels more like caution and a desire to my best in a safe fashion.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Worrying about it takes the fun out of it. Do some experimenting and find your own form for each lift. Lifting should be an escape from anxiety not a cause of it.
[/quote]
07/21/08
Had to start off the day with hel’s comment above. His point made me re-think my attitude and my approach a little. I keep falling into the “immediate improvement” category and get frustrated when I don’t see the weights increasing every session. Just need to slow down and enjoy the journey a little more.
Highlight of the weekend was some dynamic squatting work on Sunday. Improved my form by moving my feet in and balancing the weight better. Worked with low weight, heavy bands, and low reps. I will really need to learn how to “out race” the tension.
Weight is holding at 230. I am going to continue to try and sneak in more high calorie food (nuts, olive oil, natural peanut butter, milk). Calorie intake is right around 5,000 a day (sorry to all those trying to drop weight…).
Body is tired but no real joint pain. The CNS is a little fried after yesterdays dynamic day. A little extra sleep and more food…
Feeling more energized today. Weight is holding steady and the body continues to recover well.
Got in the gym and decided to back off a little and just work the shoulders/traps/rear delts/abs in anticipation of my max. effort upper body day tomorrow. I focused on lighter weight with nothing to failure, everything with good form. I used a lot of warm up sets which seemed to help my shoulder.
Based on other’s input, I am trying to refocus on having a little more fun with my sessions. I even did some sled work for fun this morning. Call me wierd, but I enjoy this kind of thing.
Hope to hear how the workout goes for today. I wish I had the discipline to plan which workouts were going to be max days. that has to be a better way to structure a more effective workout.
Feeling more energized today. Weight is holding steady and the body continues to recover well.
Got in the gym and decided to back off a little and just work the shoulders/traps/rear delts/abs in anticipation of my max. effort upper body day tomorrow. I focused on lighter weight with nothing to failure, everything with good form. I used a lot of warm up sets which seemed to help my shoulder.
Based on other’s input, I am trying to refocus on having a little more fun with my sessions. I even did some sled work for fun this morning. Call me wierd, but I enjoy this kind of thing.
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Hope that the lifts went well today. Persistence and doing things you enjoy are two of the important things in lifting.
As long as you hold both of those together, you will be ok.
Got into the gym yesterday morning for some upper body work. My mistake, we where scheduled to do some dynamic upper body work and not max. effort work. Put the bands on the flat bench and got to work (8 sets of 3 for speed). I got faster as the sets went along. Finally learning how to use my speed a lot better off my chest. This will be key to a big bench number in November. The rest of the session was higher rep chest and tricep work. The highlight was a new PR (for reps) on Decline Bench Press (3 sets 205lb for 10 reps).
Taking everyone’s advice and having more fun with the sessions. I am staying focused but not getting too hung up on the specific weight or reps. This is a much better attitude for me.
I’ve been getting a lot of calories in lately and the body is thanking me for it. I just need to work on the sleep/recovery work a little more. I should have some time for that this weekend.
I echo Jimmy T’s statement. While there are days I dont like, squat day for one, it still has to be fun. I guess it gets back to the journey vs the destination.
Willy, Jimmy T, thanks for the input and the advice. I am a very goal/results driven person. For me the most important part of any endeavor is achieving the goal at the end. I sometimes forget along the way why I am stiving to reach my destination.
I do really enjoy training and getting in the gym. That has to be a primary focus for me.
[quote]hel320 wrote:
mday wrote:
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
There is still a great deal of FEAR surrounding my training sessions. I worry about missing a lift, my form/technique, getting injured, not progressing in weight/reps… I realize that with anything new comes some element of fear, but I need to focus and gain more confidence. With time and experience I hope to learn to use that fear to push myself to new goals.
While reading the threads in our section here I’ve notice a lot of us are very analytical in our approaches to lifting. Detailed plans, logs, schedules, etc. This is probably a good thing but not always IMHO.
When it comes to progression it’s great to have a plan but sometimes its there and sometimes it ain’t. We’ve all had those days where the weights just fly up and the next session same weight feels twice as heavy. Shit happens. Key to any training routine is flexibility.
Worrying about it takes the fun out of it. Do some experimenting and find your own form for each lift. Lifting should be an escape from anxiety not a cause of it.
[/quote]
I’ve been thinking a lot about that statement. I think it is time to take a short break (only a week or so) and then come back, detune (i.e. drop the weights I’m using by 5-10 lbs) and focus on form and safety.
Got into the gym yesterday morning for some upper body work. My mistake, we where scheduled to do some dynamic upper body work and not max. effort work. Put the bands on the flat bench and got to work (8 sets of 3 for speed).
I got faster as the sets went along. Finally learning how to use my speed a lot better off my chest. This will be key to a big bench number in November. The rest of the session was higher rep chest and tricep work. The highlight was a new PR (for reps) on Decline Bench Press (3 sets 205lb for 10 reps).
Taking everyone’s advice and having more fun with the sessions. I am staying focused but not getting too hung up on the specific weight or reps. This is a much better attitude for me.
I’ve been getting a lot of calories in lately and the body is thanking me for it. I just need to work on the sleep/recovery work a little more. I should have some time for that this weekend.
[/quote]
It’s a great feeling as the nervous system gears up in the last half - those bands are something else.
Nice to hear you’re taking in the kcals and that it isn’t a chore. Sounds like you’re eating to appetite and not having to force feed. I love days like that.
Did some DL on Friday, strongman stuff on Saturday, dynamic squats Sunday, and then max. effort upper body this morning. I am in severe need of a few days off. I need to push throught this week and then I am scheduled for another deload week.
My weight is still at 230lb. This has always been a big plateau for me in terms of bodyweight. I continue to try and sneak more calories in but I can’t seem to break the 230 mark.
I just got the Wendler, Three Days a Week, E-book. I may seriously consider this type of routine for a four week period just to see how my body responds. Might be what I need to get the weights moving a little faster.
Mood is starting to decline a little and my appetite is so-so. I will really need to focus on the recovery stuff this week.
About 14 weeks out from the meet. I am starting to wonder where I will be when November rolls around. I need to focus on the journey and not the destination…
Let the chips fall where they fall. Plateaus are tough, without a doubt. I am getting lots of urging to simplify my training and concentrate my efforts. Maybe you are having the same issue.
I’d be willing to bet you will be fine at meet time.
235lb on the scale this morning…big jump due to my wife’s chocolate chip cookies. Her ability to bake, is my wife’s 2nd best skill.
The next couple days should be very interesting. We have a squat day tomorrow, an upper body accessory day on Thursday, a DL day on Friday, a day off on Saturday, and then dynamic squatting on Sunday. The grocery bill alone for the next few days will be scary.
I will give a detailed wrap-up each day. I am aiming for a good 315lb squat tomorrow…
“My weight is still at 230lb. This has always been a big plateau for me in terms of bodyweight. I continue to try and sneak more calories in but I can’t seem to break the 230 mark.”
235lb on the scale this morning…big jump due to my wife’s chocolate chip cookies. Her ability to bake, is my wife’s 2nd best skill.
[/quote]
That was pretty easy. There’s your plateau-buster: The triple-C solution.
Messed up again…We did rack pulls (below the knees) and not squats for our max. effort work today. The good news is that I managed a new PR (455lb for 1). We also did some good morning work, ab work, and some lat pulldowns. I feel like my deadlift and squat focused exercises continue to improve. I just need to make progress on my bench.
Some GPP and lower body work tomorrow (prowler, sled, GHR, banded good mornings) and then dynamic effort squat work on Friday. A lot of lower body work lately but it seems to be helping my strength and weight.
Weight is holding at 235 so I may have finally broken through another plateau (230lb). Fat gain is still minimal so I am happy about how I am growing.
I’ve finally managed to refocus a lot of the anxiety/apprehension that I initially experienced on this program. Everyone’s input really helped me to remember to have fun with my training. Also, I am more comfortable with the lifts so I am less concerned about getting injured. My body just feels much better this four week cycle as compared to the first four weeks.
I cannot wait to see what type of gains I will make in my third four week cycle (after a deload next week).
Good work mday. I suspect you will bang the hell out of all your goals during the next cycle. I know we all are looking forward to following your progress.
Messed up again…We did rack pulls (below the knees) and not squats for our max. effort work today. The good news is that I managed a new PR (455lb for 1). We also did some good morning work, ab work, and some lat pulldowns. I feel like my deadlift and squat focused exercises continue to improve. I just need to make progress on my bench.
Some GPP and lower body work tomorrow (prowler, sled, GHR, banded good mornings) and then dynamic effort squat work on Friday. A lot of lower body work lately but it seems to be helping my strength and weight.
Weight is holding at 235 so I may have finally broken through another plateau (230lb). Fat gain is still minimal so I am happy about how I am growing.
I’ve finally managed to refocus a lot of the anxiety/apprehension that I initially experienced on this program. Everyone’s input really helped me to remember to have fun with my training. Also, I am more comfortable with the lifts so I am less concerned about getting injured. My body just feels much better this four week cycle as compared to the first four weeks.
I cannot wait to see what type of gains I will make in my third four week cycle (after a deload next week).[/quote]
Improvement tends to seesaw back and forth twixt lower and upper. If you’re hitting lower hard it tends to suck away progress in the bench. If you scale back lower efforts then the bench can move up. That’s been my experience in the past, anyway, when I actually used to make progress in anything.
The good news is that I managed a new PR (455lb for 1). … I feel like my deadlift and squat focused exercises continue to improve. …
Weight is holding at 235 so I may have finally broken through another plateau (230lb). Fat gain is still minimal so I am happy about how I am growing.
… Also, I am more comfortable with the lifts so I am less concerned about getting injured. My body just feels much better this four week cycle as compared to the first four weeks.
[/quote]
That is great news all around, Mday. I am glad to see that that joint pain seems to have subsided. Your journey is definitely inspiring.