Training ADD and mental Blocks

I want to check opinions and also ask for help

Training ADD is the act of change training programs frequently, before getting the “results” of a training program. And I always do this, even tho I know it will be bad for my results, I sometimes obsess with some other type of training or that I’m not doing the ideal training program. And I know that the ideal training program is the one you really follows, and that’s the problem, I can’t follow any.

I fell that I get a mental block, I that I cannot go to the gym for doing the next training of my training program instead of doing something that I have recently read about.

I really have ADHD, that may cause hyperfocus about things, but I don’t know how to avoid this and keep myself on the same program for longer that a month, more or less.

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Why not pick programs that only last 1 month?

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First is that I don’t know many, and this constant change is getting in the way of progressing, it’s hard to know how I’m progressing, how much weight I should add program after program, because this constant changes.

Sorry for not adding it before, but my primary focus is strength gain, and hopefully participate on a powerlifting meet someday. Knowing this, I always try to follow more “base strength building” programs, like 5/3/1, or the last one I’ve tried, conjugate method with some modifications from Westside blog. But I always fell this drive to change program.

If you follow programs built specifically for this, the constant changing will be a feature, rather than a bug. This would be basic periodization.

You mention 5/3/1, and that’s a great example. You could do 5/3/1 BBB for a 3 week cycle to build some size, then get on the fat loss and prep program to work on conditioning, then do boring but strong for 3 weeks to work strength, etc.

And conjugate is another great method for someone who wants to always change things. I’m not seeing how this is a problem.

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Well, I’ll try it, doing a quick search I found some programs more limited in time, Sheiko, Candito 6wk. It may be a good idea, I’ll give it a try and update on my training log. It’s still hard for me to deal with being different and that somethings that work for others don’t work for me.

Your solution is so simple, but I had so ingrained that, I am not following one single program so I won’t progress, that I couldn’t think about it

@T3hPwnisher Thank you

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What did your conjugate, or even your 5/3/1 plan look like?

What are some things you felt like you were missing?

I agree with Punisher that you can work almost anything into those programs. Maybe not all at the same time, but going month by month.

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The Conjugate Program: TrainFightFeast Training Log

The 5/3/1 I followed: Boring But Big: Beefcake Training

And my problems is usually not with what the program is missing, but what I maybe needing more. Like, on the conjugate program, after 6 weeks, were I trained only 4 because I got sick 2 times in the middle, I started to fell that I’m not strong or advanced enough for training conjugate. I got afraid of some Max effort lifts because I always lift alone, always things like that.

Many of Christian Thibaudeu’s 12-week strength programs change dramatically every four weeks; some variables change weekly.

His Pendulum Series specifically changes focus weekly. It’s also fun, involves different weekly exercises, and set/rep schemes–hard to get bored.

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Resident ADHD dude.

I’m not a particular fan of 531, but running 531 base then adding whatever else you want as ‘assistance work’ seems like a good way to accommodate.

This will allow you to continue making progress in your strength goals, while also allowing you to program hop. Getting bored with BBB or BtM? Change it to something else. You’ll still be running 531 either way.

A note on handling ADHD: Its not that you can’t stick to a program, its that you don’t want to.
The more you feed into this compulsion, the less you will stick to a program.
The less you feed into this compulsion, the less you will behave this way.

Train your mind to work the way you want it to. No, it isn’t easy.

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Not even joking, until the last decade I didn’t know there were programs meant to run longer than a month. We always just did whatever was in Muscle & Fitness until the next issue came out.

I was in way better shape back then, so that’s irrefutable scientific proof that was a better method.

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amen to that

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There was a website that used to publish an awesome variety of programs that got me excited to go to the gym the next day. I forget what it was called.

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Sounds like boredom to me.

Muscle confusion was a thing for a while. You could Google that and see if it matches your mentality.

Or pick a routine that allows for flexibility in supplemental and accessory selection but keeps you on a track-able progression for target lifts.

Or if it’s more of a self-sabotage thing seek professional help. It’s probably manifesting elsewhere too and a forum full of meatheads isn’t going to be your answer.

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As the poster boy of life long ADD, I have dealt with this problem on a regular basis. Even at my current age, I still deal with ADD issues (or an aging brain?) at work, at home, and yes with workout plans. Currently I have been on my program for 7 months. I do throw in cobra bag work, or (not so much lately) sprints on my Airdyne. I have found shorter, more intense workouts keep me more focused, three days a week, and when possible always starting from 5:00 AM to 5:30 AM. I find longer sessions, more sets/reps, are harder to track and I lose attention.

I believe Njord has given you some good advice. If your situation is that debilitating, see a doc/counselor, and approach your ADD at the root of the problem.

Of course I always end these types of posts with a caveat, I could be full of scheisse.

Good luck to you.

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Questions to ask yourself about programming.

  1. What are my goals?
  2. Are my goals realistic?
  3. Has this program been used by others to achieve the goals I am seeking?

Once you answer those and the answer to all of them is YES. Stop looking for another new shiny toy to play with and put faith in the program and get to work. If you hit hiccups along the way, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and just quit. Ask others who have run the program and had success what they did when they hit the same issue.

We live in a world with tons of information. Especially on a forum like this.

Once you find your program you have to tune out the static and put your head down and believe in what you are doing.

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Maybe this is an issue of the “Approach” or “Method” of training not being a great fit for you.

Conjugate and 5/3/1 use a “Build the Lift” method. You do just enough of the squat/bench/dead to make progress, then you use a bunch of assistance work to fortify your body. And build a body that can squat/bench/deadlift more weight.

Another way is to “Train the Lifts.” To get stronger on the squat/bench/dead, you take the direct route and do the squat/bench/dead to get strong. And because the lifts are big, compound moves, you do them to get bigger too.

It can be frustrating to use the slower Build the Lift approach when you feel like you could just Train the Lifts and get results faster.

And if you’re just starting out and trying to find a rhythm and gain confidence, going weeks without doing the same lifts might not be so great.

Great News! Maybe you’re not ADD, or Mentally Blocked. Maybe you’re not even a pussy! It could be that deep down you just know you’ll kick more ass and get results faster training a different way.

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This is so huge. Every single program works: they just don’t “work” for every single person. The majority of programs are more about finding the personality that resonates with the approach. I’ve known Mike Tuchscherer personally: he’s an incredibly awesome dude, really funny, and one of the most cerebral lifters I’ve ever met in my life. His programming absolutely works: I’ve witnessed it’s results first hand in Mike, and through the results of his clients. I also know that there is NO way it would work for me, because that approach just does not gel with me. Meanwhile, I had the best results of my life running Jon Andersen’s “Deep Water” program, which is absolutely stupid and bonkers, but it just totally clicked for me and brought out the effort, intensity and COMPLIANCE necessary for me to get the results I needed.

We can’t put that square peg in the round hole.

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In 2021 I switched programs every few months and by the end of the year, monthly and I gained close to 30 lean pounds that year and I’d been lifting for 13 years at that point. I did The New HIT, 30-10-30, Fortitude Training, Doggcrapp, Deep Water, my own program and finished the year with 5/3/1. I’m actually super glad I did that because I learned so much from every program and really learned what I like in a program!

Now I pretty much cycle between Fortitude Training and Mountain Dog Training because I’ve found that those are the two programs that resonate most with me with Doggcrapp being a 3rd that I’ll throw in occasionally. These three program also feature a lot of exercise variation and different set types, and I think that’s part of what keeps me so engaged in these programs. So Experiment, try out programs that get you excited and maybe you’ll eventually build a stable of programs that you know accomplish your goals the best and keep you mentally stimulated!

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I think that flew over everyone’s head.

Those were the days, eh?

First, sorry for the late response. And thanks everybody for the effort on helping me.

So, my case is more about self-doubt, and some perfectionism, trying to find the wholy grail of training programs. The issue is that I know it doesn’t exist, but I’m always wanting to try somethin different.

And I’m already on counseling, but thougth a lot of problems, I didn’t got to training problems yet.

And I’ll go with a mix of both “sides” of the discussion. As @Andrewgen_Receptors commented, I need to improve my focus and ability to deal with this type of urges so I’ll try to stay on one program for the maximum amount of time. But if I fail on keeping myself on one specific program, I’ll do like you guys said, just change and just keep progressing.