I dont feel good anymore. Physically I have been healing up and I feel good. My tendonitis seems to have gone, but Im really struggling with some other things right now. Im starting to have issues (outside the gym) that are becoming more important/serious than lifting. I not only am becoming busier by all the drama, but also am just being mentally beat to death by people (who are part of the issues).
Yesterday I had perhaps the worst lift ever and its all in my head now. Also I almost missed a rep on squats and damn near took a spill (not fun and scared me a bit). I was very frustrated because I was trying to correct my form based on the videos I took (that I have not put up yet), I punched the rack (hurt my hand), cleared off my weights and left after squatting.
I have been doing everything on my own with no help at all. My diet sucks, but I cant do anything about it because I am broke (job got cut at the beginning of the summer and I havnt been able to find one). This means I have to rely on my family for food. This in turn means I eat once a day most days, and usually less than ideal. I have asked vaious people I know for help filming, spotting, and organizing, but nobody seems to have any interest at all. I am seriously considering just packing it up and calling it all off. Im just getting burn out by my life right now.
A workout
Squat 3x5 @ 205 (I am all messed up on squatting)
bench 3x5 @ 175*
deads 1x5 @ 205*
pushdowns 3x12 @ 120*
chinups 7.5/8/7 @ bodyweight of ~181
The parts of my workout that have a * by them took 15 minutes total to complete. It just went up like air. I am very happy with my pullups. I could have gotten better reps on my last set, but its whatever. Not so happy with squats.
A workout
Bench 3x5 @ 175
Squat 3x5 @ 205
deads 1x5 @ 205
t bar row 3x5 @ 90, 2x5 @ 115
pushdowns 10 @ 120, 10 @ 130, 10 @ 130 but cheated from 6 to 10 by not separating at bottom.
Doing my 40 pullups later tonight during monday night raw.
I dont feel good anymore. Physically I have been healing up and I feel good. My tendonitis seems to have gone, but Im really struggling with some other things right now. Im starting to have issues (outside the gym) that are becoming more important/serious than lifting. I not only am becoming busier by all the drama, but also am just being mentally beat to death by people (who are part of the issues).[/quote]
Read all of Jim Wendler’s articles. He speaks more on life than lifting.
It happens to everyone, and is expected.
[quote]I have been doing everything on my own with no help at all. My diet sucks, but I cant do anything about it because I am broke (job got cut at the beginning of the summer and I havnt been able to find one). This means I have to rely on my family for food. This in turn means I eat once a day most days, and usually less than ideal. I have asked vaious people I know for help filming, spotting, and organizing, but nobody seems to have any interest at all. I am seriously considering just packing it up and calling it all off. Im just getting burn out by my life right now.
Any advice?
-Zep[/quote]
Again, I’m not in the field of giving pep talks. Read Jim Wendler’s nuggets of advice.
[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
Heres the deload, and reset.
[/quote]
Looking at that spreadsheet: where are you lifting now? If you’re at workout #23 and are hitting your lifts, you’ve made mind-boggling progress. And if you’re not, not to fear, you’re still doing really well.
Your training sessions are what they are.
If you’re missing on all lifts, or are feeling like shit afterwards, you’re pushing too hard. Deload, take a light session, and start progressing up again.
The rookie mistake isn’t taking breaks, it’s going balls-to-the-wall all the time. Your body just isn’t built to take that. Keep pushing your limits, but gently. Your body’s like a fabric that will stretch if you pull on it gently, but tears if you try to force it. Keep up that gentle tension, and give it time.
I hear you and addressed that in my post above. These are the breaks and it’s part of what we all work through.
[quote]
Any advice?
-Zep[/quote]
Yeah: tell me what the secret is when you’ve figured it out
Thanks for the posts guys. I dont have a whole lot of energy to respond right now, but Ill get back at ya tomorrow.
B workout
squat 3x5 @ 210 (Im kinda happy with how these went today)
press 3x5 @ 105 (Easy reps.)
clean 5x3 @ 105 (very, very easy. I hit my chin on the first rep haha.)
face pulls 3x10 @ 100 (good form and improved tempo)
lateral raise 3x10 @ 25 (still trying to get the tempo)
curls 3x10 @ 75 (got em, but had to pause)
I did about 2 hours of bike riding today. Kept about a 18 avg. Not too bad for me. Definately not amazing, but not bad.
More bad news came yesterday and Im tryin to get over a bunch of stuff. Lifting is really keeping me going right now. I always feel good leavin the gym. Hopefully its enough for now.
No pullups tonight, I am so tired from riding it the heat (it hit 92 today).
[quote]k-dingo wrote:
If you’re missing on all lifts, or are feeling like shit afterwards, you’re pushing too hard. Deload, take a light session, and start progressing up again.
[/quote]
Im not a very good feeler. I just go until I fail to get 5 or scare myself. I will have to work on learning to regulate things better I guess.
I am happy with my lifts, and that they are feeling good and I am seeing what appear to be some results. Everything is just taking a huge toll on me though. I am starting to have a hard time eating solid foods. I think it is because of stress.
I have made a doctors appointment and have scheduled a meeting with someone to talk about things that have been on my mind recently. I just feel like I am falling apart most days. Going to the gym has allowed me to pass the time and clear my mind, and I may go to just keep distracted today eventhough its an off day.
[quote]k-dingo wrote:
If you’re missing on all lifts, or are feeling like shit afterwards, you’re pushing too hard. Deload, take a light session, and start progressing up again.
[/quote]
Im not a very good feeler. I just go until I fail to get 5 or scare myself. I will have to work on learning to regulate things better I guess.
-Zep[/quote]
Well, if you’re scaring yourself, you’re probably too close to your limits.
If you’re not a good feeler, then go by an objective assessment of your performance: Did you make the lift? With good form? The lift went up reasonably easy? Those are good signs. Misses, bad form, struggling – consider any of those a miss and de-load. You’ll do better, long-run, keeping the heat on but below your max limits. Especially if you’ve got a lot of other life stress going on.
A workout
bench 3x5 @ 180
pullups 3 sets to failure (not sure how many reps. I know I got 8 on the first one. I was just waiting for other things to open up)
pushdowns 3x10 @ 130 (working on form now)
t bar rows 3x5 @ 100 (these make the middle of my back feel awesome the next day)
squat 3x5 @ 210? (I think I did my math poorly, but Im not sure. I am disappointed with myself haha.)
deads 1x5 @ 215 (these were hard, but I think it is because of the order in which everything was done.)
I feel like my squat form is improving. The second set was garbage, but I think that its because of my rest being inadequate. The gym is hotter than hell, but I try to keep hydrated well. I think if anything, yesterday I learned that its not fun to squat at the end of a workout haha.
[quote]k-dingo wrote:
If you’re missing on all lifts, or are feeling like shit afterwards, you’re pushing too hard. Deload, take a light session, and start progressing up again.
[/quote]
Im not a very good feeler. I just go until I fail to get 5 or scare myself. I will have to work on learning to regulate things better I guess.
-Zep[/quote]
Well, if you’re scaring yourself, you’re probably too close to your limits.
If you’re not a good feeler, then go by an objective assessment of your performance: Did you make the lift? With good form? The lift went up reasonably easy? Those are good signs. Misses, bad form, struggling – consider any of those a miss and de-load. You’ll do better, long-run, keeping the heat on but below your max limits. Especially if you’ve got a lot of other life stress going on.
[/quote]
I always hesitate to back off the weights. I feel like my squat is the only lift that is stalling out. Hopefully the deload takes care of everything.
Im not sure how much stress takes out of your lifting though. Seems like it would be a good study to do though.
[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
I always hesitate to back off the weights. I feel like my squat is the only lift that is stalling out. Hopefully the deload takes care of everything.
Im not sure how much stress takes out of your lifting though. Seems like it would be a good study to do though.
-Zep[/quote]
A de-load doesn’t have to be all lifts. If you’re just stalling one lift, de-load that. If you’re stalling all lifts, or you’ve got a shit-ton of stress, de-load on all.
If in doubt, de-load all.
This is an iterative game. You’ll get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. You’ll also make more progress lifting below max effort continuously than above it.
The rookie mistake is going too heavy, not too light.
[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
I always hesitate to back off the weights. I feel like my squat is the only lift that is stalling out. Hopefully the deload takes care of everything.
Im not sure how much stress takes out of your lifting though. Seems like it would be a good study to do though.
-Zep[/quote]
A de-load doesn’t have to be all lifts. If you’re just stalling one lift, de-load that. If you’re stalling all lifts, or you’ve got a shit-ton of stress, de-load on all.
If in doubt, de-load all.
This is an iterative game. You’ll get a feel for what works and what doesn’t. You’ll also make more progress lifting below max effort continuously than above it.
The rookie mistake is going too heavy, not too light.[/quote]
Im going to change my progression from “add 5 lbs every time” to “get ten reps then add 10 pounds next time.” Im going to keep the same schedule though. I just feel like Im making better progress on the lifts that I am using the “work up to 10 reps” way.
B workout
squat 2x5 @ 220, 1x5 @ 185
press 3x5 @ 110
clean 5x3 @ 110
face pull 3x10 @ 115 (used different hand setup because the ropes were being used)
lateral raise 3x7 good reps @ 30 lb dumbells
curls 3x10 @ 75
Changing progression to how it was described in my last post. I just dont think my body is responding to the SS way of doing stuff, so Im going to modify that a little. Also my mama is gonna get me a few sessions with a trainer to help me fix my squat form up as a 21st birthday present. Im pumped as I feel like my entire workout is judged on my squat/deadlift.
