Utter Failure

_vernacularbarnarchitecture

I tried to do “more push-ups” than I did last week, and I completely fell on my face. But, I’m ready to try again tomorrow. What gets you through failure?

Corina1143

I don't fail. I'm just challenged for another day. I may need to do some more preliminary work to get ready for the big push. But if my eye is still on the target, I'm still trying!

Retroguy2000

That's a good failure, not a bad failure. Now you know you that X reps is failure, aim for 1-2 before that, and when that feels comfortable, add 1 rep, rinse repeat.

SweatLikeDog

Don't go for max reps. Do multiple sets of lower reps slowly with long rest intervals.

AnnPT77

Failure is totally giving up on acting in ways that are likely to cause progress toward larger but realistic goals. (Even punctuated progress is progress.)

Not being able to accomplish X in a particular workout despite effort, or eating more than my goal in an unusual case, etc. . . . that's just stuff that happened one day, nothing remotely like failure.

Just my opinion, though.

littlegreenparrot1

I don't fail, it's always just work in progress.

I had to get away from an 'all or nothing' mindset, otherwise the fear of failure will mean I never do anything.

Hobartlemagne

That wasnt failure, just a miscalculation. Strength training doesnt give you the kind of improvements that fit on a neat straight line on a graph. Its irregular.
Make sure you're eating enough protein for your muscles to heal overnight.

drmwc

I exercise for the long haul. Short term fluctuations are inevitable.

I'm a climber. If it becomes clear it's a high gravity day, I'll try to come up with some drills to make sub-maximum effort climbing more interesting. For example, can I jump to every hold? Can i put a foot on every hand hold before moving on? Can I flow with no hesitation at all between the moves?

I'm also a bit of an idiot, so I'm a ridiculous optimist on my climbs. Have I failed 17 times in a row? No worries; a micro- shift in footwork (say) is bound to get it on the 18th go. This is actually remarkably effective.

J72FIT

I like to do pushups and other body weight movements in a ladder format.

Example, Pushups.
I set a timer to beep every 30 seconds then...
00:00 - 2 Pushups
00:30 - 3 Pushups
01:00 - 5 Pushups
01:30 - 10 Pushups

I repeat this 4 more times for 100 pushups...