JC Deen - zombified
I know you’ve been there. Perhaps today is one of those days…
You’re stale, weak, and dehydrated from the previous nights (insert crazy activities here). On top of that, you’re running off fumes from some weak espresso you picked up on your way to work. You still have the bitter taste of day-old coffee on your palate.
By lunchtime, you’re famished; but the container of hardboiled eggs, and that soggy tuna sandwich you whipped together will tide you over until you hit the gym for back and bicep day.
As you plow through the rest of your shift, you continually nod off; quickly looking up after each mini-snooze to be sure no one caught you sleeping on the job. In the back of your mind, you know the smart thing would be to head home, get into something comfortable, and chill out for the night.
But that’s the rational thing to do, and we’re not rational beings.
No, we continually find a reason to go against logical thought processes and dive into senseless acts of I-can-do-whatever-I-put-my-mind-to insanity.
Once we get to the gym, one of two things will happen. If, and only if we’re lucky, our workout goes smoothly and according to plan – nothing out of the ordinary and we make it out alive, for the most part.
Nine times out of ten, though, it will go pretty sour.
Recently I was chatting with a client, who was more than halfway through his rapid fat loss diet (ala Lyle McDonald’s book The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook) and he texted me during his workout: “Why was deadlifting 315×5 fairly easy a week ago and today I can’t even get it off the ground?!!”
I responded with “Well bro, you’ve been on a starvation diet for the last 6-7 days – it’s no wonder you’re struggling with the weight – it’s heavy and you probably need some food.”
I then went onto explain that, in the end, it (lifting the heavy weights, or not) doesn’t really matter.
Sure, it sucks that you go in expecting a certain result and that it doesn’t pan out. It sucks to feel like a failure (even though you’re really not) in that moment of supposed weakness.
But guess what? It doesn’t matter. Nobody cares too much whether or not you had a crappy (or awesome) workout.
You’re not doing this for anyone but yourself.
Strength training, bodybuilding, whatever you want to call it – it’s not a team sport. Sure, we might train alongside other people, but you’re not building your ideal physique for the benefit of your teammates or even your significant other.
You’re doing this because it’s something you set out to do – you make the rules, and you live by them.
As a result, you probably don’t have a coach as your dictator, either. You don’t have someone who’s guiding you day in and day out – someone to make the call and say, “Hey buddy, your form is awful and we ain’t even finished your warm-ups yet. Why don’t you do some mobility work, roll around on the foam a bit, and get home to rest?”
That would be nice if we could all have a daily guidance counselor to ensure we get it just right, but that’s a fantasyland. Unless you’re qualifying for Olympic trials, you’re most likely on your own.
As a result, we must know when it’s time to simply walk away.
For the last 12 years or so, I’ve been doing some form of strength training and I can only recall a handful of times in my life I ever took a deliberate training break. Outside of being injured, sick or on vacation, I’ve been a steady gym-goer since I was 13 years old.
However, it wasn’t until the last few years that I developed the maturity to know when enough was enough or alternatively, when to keep pushing.
A long time ago, when linear gains were abundant, I’d go into the gym with an expectancy of doing a certain amount of weight. Without fail, I’d almost always hit my mark, but eventually, those days were gone.
I’d go to the gym for a few weeks and struggle just to add 5lbs to a lift. Once I finally added those 5lbs, it seemed as if I were there for another 4-5 sessions before being able to add more weight to the bar.
I used to get overly frustrated with myself – to the point of being internally upset and wondering what I was doing with myself and how I could correct it.
As you probably know, transitioning into an intermediate trainee can be rough on the psyche. Sure, you’re bigger, stronger, and fill out your clothes better, but you no longer get the satisfaction of seeing constant improvements you once saw as a beginner.
This addiction of self improvement suddenly isn’t what it once was – you can’t get your fix as easy anymore.
Soon thereafter, you realize that every session might not be what you’d hoped. I started to feel like each time I stepped foot in the gym was a crapshoot – I was rolling the dice, praying for a new PR.
Then one day, I woke up. I realized it was never going to get any better and I had to deal with it. I had to find a coping strategy. It was that, or find another stress reliever.
I began the practice of letting go more often and accepting that each session could be meaningful if I allowed it to be.
It was all in how I dealt with it. Here are a few methods.
Option #1 – Hang it up and go home
My first option is very stark – either you’re in or you’re out, no straddling the fence.
What I used to do is take every session for what it was – nothing more, and nothing less. If I got under the bar and did more reps than last time, it meant nothing. If I added some weight, that’s fine. But again, it meant nothing.
I did my best to remain neutral about it. If I couldn’t do more weight or reps than last time, it was the same thing – neutral and didn’t matter. I am not attached to the outcome of what happened in the gym.
It’s only information. Adding weight was information. Regressing, again, was information. However I interpreted the data was up to me.
As long as I went into each session with a goal to improve, but being completely okay with however it turned out, I no longer placed such a high importance on whether or not my progression was linear.
On the downside, there were times when I’d get all warmed up and find myself much weaker than the last session. We’re talking 75-80% of my previous working loads to be very taxing. In these cases, I simply packed my stuff and left. No second attempts, and no talking myself into trying harder. This is when I’d simply hang it up and head to the house.
Why didn’t I try any harder? Because it’s just like I mentioned earlier – it means nothing. There’s no reason to push the limit and risk injury. Being weaker for one day doesn’t mean I’m weaker forever, or that I’m a weak person in general. What I do know is that it doesn’t define my personal fitness levels or me as an individual.
While I don’t typically practice this approach anymore, it was probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done for myself in terms of
A) Actually listening to my body – knowing when and when not to push it.
B) Learning to separate myself from my performance in the gym.
The following method is what I now practice on the regular and it’s very similar to the auto-regulation methods of training I’ve mentioned previously in my writing.
Option #2 – Decrease the load and practice
Alright, so nowadays, I’m training a lot more frequently. My focus for each session is to increase the tension in some fashion. I can do that by adding weight, reps, or a bout of pump sets for a particular muscle group.
I have a template I go by, which keeps me honest, helps me track progress and also gives me some structure.
Every training session starts with a benchmark of 3-4 sets in which I test myself to check progress. The reps are anywhere from 5-12 reps depending on the stage of training I’m in.
I always aim to increase in reps or weight on these first 4 sets. However I do on these ALWAYS determines the rest of the workout.
If I improve by at least one rep or by adding weight to the first movement of the day, I treat the workout as normal and blast through all of my predetermined sets.
If I remain stagnant, I do similarly and make note of how I do on the rest of work sets in comparison to the previous session.
If I happen to regress and am unable to do a previous weight or the same amount of reps, I immediately drop weight by about 10% on everything, focus on smooth movement and getting a quality overload (training effect) even with submaximal weights. This way, I’m still getting some good out of the training even though weights are not maximal.
When I’m feeling incredibly crappy, I’ll cut my workout in half, take it even easier and then get out of the gym.
So What’s The Difference?
I know when to fight and when to walk out. If it ain’t happen’, it just ain’t happenin.’
Gone are the days in which I furiously push through a workout only to make myself feel worse and risk injury.
I’ve learned my limits and understand that it’s impossible for every workout to be perfect. Some days will be great and some will be awful.
In fact, I’ve even set PR’s the day after a long, sloppy night of drunkenness and very little sleep. Then I’ve had my worst training sessions during periods where I was resting and eating exceptionally well.
How you feel is a lie.
We can never know how it’s going to turn out – we can only strive for continual improvement and understand not every day can be perfect.
And here’s my advice for you. Practice this for yourself. Practice objectivity in the weight room and understand that through your advancement as a strength athlete, your gains will slow down. Your progress will come to a screeching halt now and then. You will go 3-4 workouts in a row where you see no progress at all.
You must understand this is perfectly okay and completely normal. Just don’t give up or think something is wrong if you’re not making the rapid progress you once did as a beginner.
Now I’m not saying you should continue doing something that isn’t working – that would be silly.
But just because you stall out for a brief period, it’s not the end of the world; it’s part of being human, getting stronger and becoming a better individual for enduring the struggle.
Embrace the struggle and know when to walk away.
When you find yourself finishing one of those great workouts, where everything goes right, and you have one of those never fell better in your life highs, remember that it was all those average and many of those bad “why am I doing this” workouts that got you there. It takes a bit of that “always having to improve that last workout ” mentality out of it and makes it easier to make rational decisions about how hard to push when the body is telling you to take it a bit easier.
I think it’s always about being adaptable and listening to your body. A lot of us forget that rest is just as important is training. If we don’t let our muscles recover they can’t grow and neither can we.
tru dat. most don’t know that limit, though.
Great article. One thing I like to do, as has been preached by Eric Cressey, Tony Gentilcore, and the like is to deload every 4th week.
Bad espresso should never be prelude to a workout. That’s just asking for failure.
The whole thing is a good lesson as well. You always bring the sanity.
Ironically I think the people who most need this advice are the most likely to disregard it. Lifters who want to force a good day when it just isn’t in them are going to have to be burned by experience.
It’s useful for me to have some more skill/technical work for when I’m feeling weak. If a 245lb dead feels heavy I have no problems walking away to do some handstands or something. And it’s easier to make myself do that than face the option of “deadlift or go home”.
that could possibly be true. what would you do or how would you say it differently to reach those likely to disregard it?
Great read, JC. Even now, when I have a less-than-stellar performance at the gym, it get a little down, but as the old cliche goes: “it’s a marathon, not a race.” I know there will be times that I’m firing on all cylinders, but I also realize there will be times I’ll need to deload and reemphasize technique. As long as I’m going forward.
Thanks for reminding me of that, bro. Cheers!
“How you feel is a lie.” Was that a quote from John Broz? Great article, JC. I wish I could train more frequently too.
nope. Nicholas Horton
I really needed to read this today. I’ve been trying to gain control of a long time, unknown, ill functioning thyroid for about 2 months now and have days that THINKING about training exhausts me. It’s difficult to accept that I’m not 100% right now and that it will take time to get back there. Different circumstances but definitely a similar mindset. Thanks for the bitch-slap!
Absolutely true. We always hit plateaus, and the great thing about them is that it tests our long-term resolve when those quick wins aren’t racking up anymore, without them we wouldn’t really know how much we care or want something. Great post JC.
tru dat. It’s all about the process, the journey. Not the destination
Thanks for this! This article has come at a perfect time for me when I was trying to reconcile those lifting days where I feel totally weak and unable to do what I had done the period prior. Listening to your body is key to health and success. It totally hit home the part of weightlifiting isn’t a team sport – if you don’t progress the way you hope, who cares you will get there eventually and it affects no one but yourself. I guess it’s partly an ego thing, for me, being one of the few (or maybe only) females who is into heavy lifting at my gym I have always had this self-conscious nagging that all the guys were looking at me as if I was too weak or small to get into it. Thanks again.
thanks for your comments. yeah – it took me a long time to finally say “who gives a sh*t?”
but once I got there, it’s as if everything changed. Glad you’re pushing hard – just remember, the individual sessions don’t define you.
This is one of the things that JC has really drilled in to me as my trainer. As a FFB, the issue has always been “i need to EARN my 500 extra calories today” but that’s just not the case. So if it hurts, doesn’t feel right, or whatever, picking one of his two paths is hands down the best way to go. I usually call it quits and just stretch big time instead of dropping weight and doing a light day.
The linear growth blindness has been the hardest part. I added 90lbs to my deadlift in 11 weeks, yet I can’t even consistently squat 225 for 8 in that time period. Growth in one area does not guarantee growth in another and linear growth is short lived. So that first day you don’t add weight, it sucks, it really does, but when you look at your journey so far and HOW MUCH WEIGHT YOU MOVE it all falls in to perspective.
It’s not a race. Well unless it is a race, but I hate cardio.
yeah, I hate it too. and that’s why you ain’t doing it on my plan!
I’ve personally found that it’s even more difficult to do this when you’re not fully recovered from an injury and you’re striving to get back to weights you used to throw around, but that now make your muscles act up and develop trigger points. I’m personally still dealing with issues from a facet dysfunction I had a couple years ago. My squat and deadlift numbers suck now. I’m sure I’d be further along today if I hadn’t tried to push myself too hard when I went back to lifting shortly after the injury. Also doesn’t help that I can’t recover at 38 as well as I could when I was in my 20s.
Goes for any cyclic activity as well. Coming back to rowing my speed for 18k initially was like 1:58 for 18km then it dropped to like 1:53 in about two months and has only just got to 1:52 in an additional four months.
I like it that you didn’t throw the works at the problem like diet and programming change. Ultimately everyone reaches the point of diminishing returns although few of us reach the really stale plateau,
Body intelligence and auto-regulation FTW.
Great post, especially for those new to the Iron game.
No Kenny Rogers reference? I thought for sure there would be.
This was my first thought too, but I refrained out of respect for a good article.
Oh, what the hell…
Accepting that not every gym session was going to result in a PR or significant improvement was hard for me. But now I look at it in a different light…shows that I’m not a super-newb anymore. Good article.
yup – sometimes it just takes a fresh perspective
This is a fantastic article, JC and reminds me why I stay subscribed to your blog.
I dealt with some nasty lower back and hip pain for nearly two years and felt down about myself a majority of the time but kept trying to train through the pain hoping it would someday magically fade away. I kept fighting the internal battle going on between the two halves of my brain, one telling me to back off and address my dysfuntions while the other told me taking time off and researching my issues was bullshit and unmanly. The old mantra of “no pain, no gain” was certainly stuck in my head during that time.
After I graduated from college in May of last year I decided to once and for all take a break and reorganize my life priorities. I took the time off to find new hobbies and realized very quickly just how little gym time one needs to improve and have a solid figure (i worked out with my bodyweight a few times and ate pretty normal and actually lost a few pounds over a period of about 6 months, some body fat gained as well but nowhere close to what I thought would happen) which was definitely lost on me the last few years (always felt like more gym time = more results).
I have been back in the gym for two weeks and am able to train all the major lifts (squats, bench, deads, military, chins, dips) with little to no pain due to taking the time to realize just how important stretching/rolling/mobilizing/strengthening really is to having a body that moves like it was meant to. I am moving weights 50-75% of my best all-time but don’t care and see each day in the gym as a blessing and a privilege which is something I needed and only got after I backed away from the gym for awhile.
I will keep both methods in mind as I move forward. As a matter of fact I wanted to go do some treadmill sprints today but due to being snowed in I decided to stretch/roll and shovel snow for an hour instead. No feelings of guilt or anxiety about missing the gym here. It sure is refreshing.
- Zach
wow, Thanks for writing, Zach.
it’s refreshing to see someone come so far and to find out that missing some gym sessions really ain’t that big of a deal. In fact, I missed my training today because my car broke down. No big deal – I have all the time in the world to train. Now, I gotta find a new car. haha