I have a confession....I had/have a stretch of time where I HATED training right now. I actually haven't enjoyed the shit in couple weeks now. And you may be in the same boat.
Why? Could be overtrained. Could be lack of a goal (training to not choke people is not really a goal), could be just pushing through when I don't feel like it. All of that equals up to just good ol' stress.
Well pushing through has finally caught up to me. If you have to have to constantly be pushed to do something in the gym and you're offseason, meaning you're full of food and resting a ton, then there's a problem.
With that being said, I'm not the greatest at managing stress all the time. I can fly off the handle easy when I should let things roll off my back, I internalize a lot of frustration (not healthy) and my goals frustrate me (and all the exterior things that mess with me), as I try to accomplish them. Adding to an already stressful time.
So how can you recover from a self imposed ass beating be combated? Try these steps.
1: Just take time off
I had been grinding pretty hard for awhile in the gym. While my training partner had a bit of a deload between his hypertrophy phase and powerlfiting prep phase, I didn't....because my dumb ass didn't take a few down days. Looking back now I should taken some down days with lower intensity. But like most meatheads, I used "I feel fine" to continue to push. Such is life.
2: Take your deloads
When you run a pre set program, one that you build or use from someone else, try to put in a deload somewhere in the program. Now everyone is different and really shouldn't deload at the same time, but keep them in. General rule of thumb is a deload every 10-12 weeks, BUT this is highly individualistic.
3: Look at your food intake
Here's an aspect many don't look at. We think of training as this individual monolith when it's only part of the equation. Food intake plays a VERY important part of the puzzle. When I say watch your food, in this context, I mean upping it. Are you taking in enough quality protein, carbs, fats? If you aren't, you're digging a hole for yourself. Take stock of what you're eating and up it. That being said, this isn't an excuse to eat like shit, or add to the junk you've been eating. Clean (you what is considered clean, stop bullshitting) and quality food wins here.
4: Quality of Sleep
Fuck these whole "work when you're dead" people. Yeah, there's a little truth to it, but really, you'll screw yourself without sleep. Your recovery, hormone profile and general mood depends on your sleep. If your sleep quality is low, then guess what? Good luck being productive. Make sure the quality of sleep you get is just as good as the amount. GABA, valerian root and good ol' ZMA helps with sleep. Keep in mind, they only help with preparing you to get to sleep. They don't actually put you to sleep. So keep that in mind. And get off the smartphone and DON'T READ NEWS before bed.
My Plan Going Forward:
I went back on Monday after a couple of complete days off from the gym. Moving on I'll be....
1: Reducing my training days to 4 days per week and build up from there
2: Decreasing overall training volume
3: Cut back use of intensity techniques and special additions (i.e. drop sets, giant sets, bands, etc) and go with straight weight
4: Manage my stress better and get blackout curtains for my bedroom.
Pushing hard in the gym is important, but the rest and recovery is just as important to avoid burnout. Don't push until you hate the gym. No when to take the gas off.
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