Recovery from a Nightmare year...
CarlKRobbo
Posts: 390 Member
Hi,
I'm posting this here, to see if anything jumps out at anyone, I'm abvioously missing something, with my lack of progress, and ability to train, so i've put it all down in a "Say it out loud kinda way"
So this year has been a nightmare training-wise. I've pretty much lost most of what ever i've gained this year through mulitple minor injuries.
I've also trained this year, with no real goal. I think that has played a mojor part in a lot of this. I just trained as i wanted, no target, and little planing
It's lead me to sit down, and think a lot about what i've done and missed out on, and it's lead me thinking about my lack of goals\targets, which in hindsight, may have caused my major issues:
What i see as those are:
Injuries Galore! About 15 this year, at a guess. Cause TBC, but primary could be my lack of Mobility\Flexibility. Need to get a sports massage a lot more often, and get analyzed somehow, to see any potential problems.
Other issues:
Bodyfat - I'm not competing for a few years. So maybe i should look at getting more towards to 15% Bodyfat range. I'm good at re-comping, suck at cutting, and lean bulking.
Fitness - Yeah, ok. Being a powerlifter, meant i needed to be able to smash PB's on Comp Day = 9 Lifts, Potentially 6 1RM attempts (3 easy openers, UP TO 6 1RM attempts, always depending on feel on the day). I think that's made me lazy at the moment, High rep work is harder on cardio than muscle, but i'm now out of breath doing basic day-day stuff - Not huffing and puffing, but just not where it should be.
Diet - It's always better when i train - Now i'm not, it's shocking! Need to sort this once and for all
So the plan now:
1 - Spend December doing Mobility and stretching - Set a Goal based on Mobility\Flexilibility for next year. Goal will be training this x times a week.
2 - January will be back in the gym (As my main one will be closed anyway untill 1st week back) - Training plan - I made great progress on this when i did train, so i don't think that's a major requirement to ammend - It' basically the 3 main lifts, heavy, then lots of reps, only going to heavy triples, then sets of 12's etc...
3 - Diet, I'll research first this month. But this will be the key in dropping bodyfat.
4 - Bodyfat can drop as a result of Diet changes, and Added Cardio to improve overall fitness.
In terms of Prioritising Goals:
1 and 3 are immediate. 2 is the short term. 4 is a long term, target will be Birthday (Mid-Year).
Thing's I realise i'll need help with -
Diet - Although here would be the best place\start for that.
Mobility\Injuries - I'm actually unable to do certain streches Full-Stop, so i need some help in getting to that point. I'll self analyse a few moves myself, and go from there:
As an example of Mobility - 2 things i can't do properly. 1 - Sit Cross-Legged. 2 - Kneel, then sit on my heels
I konw this is a bit of a rant, but you know sometimes you say things out loud, and some-one points out what your're missing\wrong on... That happens more from these, than me asking for help..
Any advice\Critque of this much appreciated.
I'm posting this here, to see if anything jumps out at anyone, I'm abvioously missing something, with my lack of progress, and ability to train, so i've put it all down in a "Say it out loud kinda way"
So this year has been a nightmare training-wise. I've pretty much lost most of what ever i've gained this year through mulitple minor injuries.
I've also trained this year, with no real goal. I think that has played a mojor part in a lot of this. I just trained as i wanted, no target, and little planing
It's lead me to sit down, and think a lot about what i've done and missed out on, and it's lead me thinking about my lack of goals\targets, which in hindsight, may have caused my major issues:
What i see as those are:
Injuries Galore! About 15 this year, at a guess. Cause TBC, but primary could be my lack of Mobility\Flexibility. Need to get a sports massage a lot more often, and get analyzed somehow, to see any potential problems.
Other issues:
Bodyfat - I'm not competing for a few years. So maybe i should look at getting more towards to 15% Bodyfat range. I'm good at re-comping, suck at cutting, and lean bulking.
Fitness - Yeah, ok. Being a powerlifter, meant i needed to be able to smash PB's on Comp Day = 9 Lifts, Potentially 6 1RM attempts (3 easy openers, UP TO 6 1RM attempts, always depending on feel on the day). I think that's made me lazy at the moment, High rep work is harder on cardio than muscle, but i'm now out of breath doing basic day-day stuff - Not huffing and puffing, but just not where it should be.
Diet - It's always better when i train - Now i'm not, it's shocking! Need to sort this once and for all
So the plan now:
1 - Spend December doing Mobility and stretching - Set a Goal based on Mobility\Flexilibility for next year. Goal will be training this x times a week.
2 - January will be back in the gym (As my main one will be closed anyway untill 1st week back) - Training plan - I made great progress on this when i did train, so i don't think that's a major requirement to ammend - It' basically the 3 main lifts, heavy, then lots of reps, only going to heavy triples, then sets of 12's etc...
3 - Diet, I'll research first this month. But this will be the key in dropping bodyfat.
4 - Bodyfat can drop as a result of Diet changes, and Added Cardio to improve overall fitness.
In terms of Prioritising Goals:
1 and 3 are immediate. 2 is the short term. 4 is a long term, target will be Birthday (Mid-Year).
Thing's I realise i'll need help with -
Diet - Although here would be the best place\start for that.
Mobility\Injuries - I'm actually unable to do certain streches Full-Stop, so i need some help in getting to that point. I'll self analyse a few moves myself, and go from there:
As an example of Mobility - 2 things i can't do properly. 1 - Sit Cross-Legged. 2 - Kneel, then sit on my heels
I konw this is a bit of a rant, but you know sometimes you say things out loud, and some-one points out what your're missing\wrong on... That happens more from these, than me asking for help..
Any advice\Critque of this much appreciated.
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Replies
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Hey man!
Some things I'd be curious about would be whether or not you're recovering adequately for the training you're doing, how frequently you're training north of about 85% RM, what your overall program structure looks like, what your technique looks like both on rep work and then in situations of high fatigue.
I'm asking all of these things primarily due to the injury situation. I ALSO get injured fairly often and so this is something I pay close attention to (doesn't make me an expert by any stretch, just to be clear).
As far as mobility goes I think you need enough mobility to execute the lifting techniques in a safe manner and to be able to hit depth/etc. If you can do that I don't think additional mobility is going to necessarily help to prevent injury.
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Hi SS,
Thanks for the reply.
Form and Technique are probably my best things TBH - If i do a single bad rep in a set, i'll not even count it. Or I'll force myself to repeat the week. I do the exact same form\setup. Warmup to Max, and back down. Rep work is the same as heavy, and as i konw it's a weakness, i always get a spotter, so it's normally verified. Even a few of the PT's in the gym miss my form if it goes wrong.
Program wise:
Squat Day - Quad Focus - Heavy Squat 3x3, Reps 4x12. Front Squat 4x 8-12, Single Leg Leg Press 4x12, Quad Extension, 4x12
Bench Day - Heavy Bench 3x3, Rep Bench 4x12, DB Bench 4x12, Weighted Dips 3x5, Rep Dips 4x8-12, Volume SOP 3x8-12, Tricep work (Rope pull downs normally) 4x12
Rest Day
Deadlift Day - Hamstring Focus - Deadlifts Heavy 3x3, Volume 5x5, SLDL 3x8, RDL 3x8, KB swings = Heaviest KB 3x20
Extra Day - SOP Heavy 3x5, Volume SOP 3x8-12. BB Rows 3x8-12, Pull-ups 3max (always leave 1 in the tank), Rear Delt Rows, Technique work for weak lifts - Front squat, Overhead Squat
Random - "I've missed training so I'll do a few challanges":
Squat Day = Work to 1 Heavy, then drop to Max Sets of 20 reps...
Bench has caused injury, so i don't mess on that.
Deadlift Day = Sadiv Sets....
THAT ^^ is not the best idea, and while i'll still do that, I'll not go near them till March!!
Percentage wise, I've not really worked that out... I probably should, and I probably go ober 85% quite frequently.
Max Lifts have been: Squat 232.5KG, Bench - 155KG, Deadlift 277.5KG
The way I'll train it is:
On Return:
Squat Upto 170KG, Bench Upto 110KG, Deadlift upto 240KG.
If they are good clean reps, I'll up it according to feel - Heavy and squat goes to 175KG, Easy it goes to 180KG. All 3 sets must have 3 perfect reps, or I'll repeat it next week. If the squat set feels heavy I'll stop, and Lower - Last time i did that with 200KG. Got 3, 2, then re-racked and lowered it0 -
So I'm not going to say that this will suddenly cure all your injury problems so please don't take that as me claiming such.
Have you considered higher frequency on the main movements?
So just for example instead of doing a squat day where it is all like focused and heavy on quad movements, you could consider squatting two or three days per week with a lower amount of volume per session .
I also think you should evaluate how frequently you are going above 85 or 90% one rep max.
Certainly some people can get away with it and there's even programs designed around daily max training, however I don't think it's a good idea for everyone and some people just happen to get more beat up from heavy work than others.
I can go up to about five weeks on volume kind of work before I really have to de load but intensity phases where I'm touching 90% I can only last a couple of weeks before I start feeling pretty beat down.
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