So yesterday was my first lifting day of the week, and needless to say it was crap. Over the weekend we were very busy celebrating our youngest kiddo’s birthday. Woke up Monday very tired and decided I would go back to sleep and start my week on Tuesday. So basically my workout consisted of the following.
Squat up 260x5@8-9
Back off 245x5 (one set)
I unracked the bar for my 2nd set and it just felt incredibly heavy, so I pulled the plug. So then as a result I have the following thoughts floating in my head……
1) Did I air mail it in?
2) Have I overshot my RPE thus far?
3) Simply an off day and I should have worked with what I had…
4) Am I doing the right program?
5) How do I improve my recovery levels?
Honestly when I have a bad day, I always default to #4 which explains why I am at my current level of development. I’m calling myself out as a program hopper!!
Tomorrow is day #2 of the week, and I’m hoping that I’m back on track. Have a great day guys!
1. Mailing it in is fine - just like having especially good days, you will have days it’s just not there. So you just dial it down and do the bare minimum. That is not the same as quitting entirely. That is only the right move when injured or sick, or the session will be so compromised it should be postponed until it can be completed properly.
2. Probably not, as it sounds like you suspect recovery.
3. You should have (if not hurt or sick). Sometimes that means taking 20lbs off the bar, or cutting sets, or heavily trimming accessories. I have had days where I did ultimately just squat & leave, but it’s because I had emptied myself on them and taken so long there was nothing left.
4. If you generally vibe with the layout and it overall keeps you interested to show up, it’s a good program. **** programs can make great lifters if they believe in what they are doing & train hard. The best program on paper will not work though, if the lifter just goes through the motions. You have to want to progress that way, because it will get hard at times in ways that will challenge your resolve.
5. Get enough protein, calories, water, salt, and quality sleep to prepare for the next session’s demands. Try to minimize stress, & find relaxation/coping methods to help offset all of the inevitable stress life offers.
Recovery capacity varies wildly, but the older you get and the more you have on your plate you can expect to impact things. These are the tradeoffs we make - you cannot ignore them, nor allow them to become excuses. You must find a way to plan your training in a way that allows you to progress at the speed of your available recovery.
Sometimes that means doing less in a session, or less days per week, or frequency of exposure to a stressor. Or spreading out a training week (microcycle) wider than 7 days. Like you have 4 different training days in a microcycle, and every time you train you do the next day in the rotation. Instead of marrying the squat to a particular day of the week, you do it as the first session after completing bench day, for example.
Other times, you just have to suck it up and give it a fair go as written for a while. Most of us are not extremes/snowflakes, and will fall somewhere on the bulk of the genetic bell curve in training response.
. I’m not against getting more feedback on my 1-5 haha!
