went to the gym and just couldnt do it

margannmks
margannmks Posts: 424 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ive been working out 5-6 days a week fairly intensely1-11/2 hours each time for the last two years ,mostly strength in the last 8 weeks but today i was achey so i got on treadmill for 40 min nothing intense and then went to do some upper body. Ive noticed that ive stalled on my weights so i went even lighter 17.5 instead of 20 dumbells for shoulder press after 3 reps my left shoulder was saying no,so i got 15s tried some shoulder raises, they were ok,so i was gonna superset them with bicep curls which i use 15s for anyway ,couldnt do more than 3. Now im like whats the point if i cant do a decent workout im wasting my time. Just go home. I know this is a warning sign to cut back, give your body a break then regroup. But ive never experienced this and i know its part of the trying to lift heavier and progress so what do i do. Ive heard the term deload but not really sure how and im not that far into this new lifting to think thats the case. But hell im old or i felt it today anyway. I am gonna try a beginner yoga class tomorow i feel like i need to stretch more,and maybe sit in the sauna. Anyone else feeling this. Thanks

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    time to take a break.. and yes it happens to everyone not only do your muscles need to rest and recover but also your joints and tendons. i find that i need to take a week off every 6-10 weeks depending on how intense my workouts are.

    in fact i just decided to make that week off this week. i worked out last sunday, hit a new post overweight body PR on the bench and squat. took the monday off as normal. i was going in on tuesday to do body weight stuff and it wasnt even like things hurt, i just couldnt move correctly, couldnt get my leg up past my ankle for a pistol squat, couldnt support myself for pushups (and i can do pushups normally).

    i basically decided to cut my workout short that day, spend 30 minutes stretching and take the rest of the week off with just light exercise and a lot of stretching plus eating closer to maintenance, that's also part of the recovery
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    First off, 20kg? or 20#?

    It sounds like you need a few days of rest. Eat well, rest ,relax, and try again in a few days.
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    First off, 20kg? or 20#?

    It sounds like you need a few days of rest. Eat well, rest ,relax, and try again in a few days.
    pounds . Ive been fighting a sinus thing this week and my beloved dog isnt well so ive not been sleeping good i think it was just a bit much for the week. I agree its just hard to give in sometimes. Thanks
  • navygrrl
    navygrrl Posts: 517 Member
    If you're ill and also not sleeping well, that will really affect your lifting. Sometimes a break is good for your body. I think the New Rules for Lifting for Women has built in recovery weeks, so it's important to take time for rest and recovery.

    I hope you feel better!
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
    Why do you feel the need to work out 6 days a week? Could you not accomplish your goals working out 3 or 4x a week instead?

    You need to get on a structured weight lifting routine for beginners. And just as important, you need to learn to rest.

    With what you're doing now - lifting 6 days a week, with only 1 day of rest, it's no wonder you burned out and stalled.

    Check out a full body beginner routine. I personally suggest the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 routine, but there are similar ones out there that you might enjoy more.
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    Why do you feel the need to work out 6 days a week? Could you not accomplish your goals working out 3 or 4x a week instead?

    You need to get on a structured weight lifting routine for beginners. And just as important, you need to learn to rest.

    With what you're doing now - lifting 6 days a week, with only 1 day of rest, it's no wonder you burned out and stalled.

    Check out a full body beginner routine. I personally suggest the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 routine, but there are similar ones out there that you might enjoy more.
    First off im not a beginner ive been doing this off and on since before you were even born. I work out 6 days cause i like to eat real food and at my age,height,weight im not happy on less than 1400 calories a day, and i prefer weights over cardio. I do lower body mon wed fri and upper body tues thurs with cardio on sat. This is what it takes for me to maintain the muscle ive built and lose 1-2 lbs a month. Im not burned out im just bummed out.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
    Why do you feel the need to work out 6 days a week? Could you not accomplish your goals working out 3 or 4x a week instead?

    You need to get on a structured weight lifting routine for beginners. And just as important, you need to learn to rest.

    With what you're doing now - lifting 6 days a week, with only 1 day of rest, it's no wonder you burned out and stalled.

    Check out a full body beginner routine. I personally suggest the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 routine, but there are similar ones out there that you might enjoy more.
    First off im not a beginner ive been doing this off and on since before you were even born. I work out 6 days cause i like to eat real food and at my age,height,weight im not happy on less than 1400 calories a day, and i prefer weights over cardio. I do lower body mon wed fri and upper body tues thurs with cardio on sat. This is what it takes for me to maintain the muscle ive built and lose 1-2 lbs a month. Im not burned out im just bummed out.

    You've never heard the term deload, yet you claim to be doing this for a long time (I guess more than 22 years?). Sorry, but from your original post, it doesn't imply that you have much knowledge about how rest and recovery go. And my bet is that if you are recovering from being ill, that is a big part of your problem. But since you have been doing this so long, surely you already would know how illness affects your lifts.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Why do you feel the need to work out 6 days a week? Could you not accomplish your goals working out 3 or 4x a week instead?

    You need to get on a structured weight lifting routine for beginners. And just as important, you need to learn to rest.

    With what you're doing now - lifting 6 days a week, with only 1 day of rest, it's no wonder you burned out and stalled.

    Check out a full body beginner routine. I personally suggest the Ice Cream Fitness 5x5 routine, but there are similar ones out there that you might enjoy more.
    First off im not a beginner ive been doing this off and on since before you were even born. I work out 6 days cause i like to eat real food and at my age,height,weight im not happy on less than 1400 calories a day, and i prefer weights over cardio. I do lower body mon wed fri and upper body tues thurs with cardio on sat. This is what it takes for me to maintain the muscle ive built and lose 1-2 lbs a month. Im not burned out im just bummed out.

    In that case, I am honestly not sure what it is you were looking for from this post.
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    My post clearly states that ive heard of deloading but wasnt sure how to go about it considering the program im doing is only 8 weeks in. I fully understand rest for muscle repair thats why i alternate lower and upper body. Thats how ive always trained, and never had a problem. I wasnt sick i just had sinus blockage. And my question was specifically how do you go about doing a deload. Do you back down on every lift or just the ones your stalled at ? How long do you keep at the lower weight before moving on, is there a magic rep number if your currently doing 8-10 do you stay there or do more reps cause now your lifting lighter? I think i was pretty clear on the knowing my body was telling me to backoff and wasnt under the impression that it wasnt to be expected from time to time,this just happens to be a first for me, im sure in the past i wasnt pushing myself as hard but ive come to find out it takes alot more at this age than it did 10-15 years ago.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
    My post clearly states that ive heard of deloading but wasnt sure how to go about it considering the program im doing is only 8 weeks in. I fully understand rest for muscle repair thats why i alternate lower and upper body. Thats how ive always trained, and never had a problem. I wasnt sick i just had sinus blockage. And my question was specifically how do you go about doing a deload. Do you back down on every lift or just the ones your stalled at ? How long do you keep at the lower weight before moving on, is there a magic rep number if your currently doing 8-10 do you stay there or do more reps cause now your lifting lighter? I think i was pretty clear on the knowing my body was telling me to backoff and wasnt under the impression that it wasnt to be expected from time to time,this just happens to be a first for me, im sure in the past i wasnt pushing myself as hard but ive come to find out it takes alot more at this age than it did 10-15 years ago.

    Actually, your post isn't clear at all. I don't know if you are typing from your phone or what, but it is really hard to read. So I apologize if I didn't recognize 22+ years of lifting knowledge in your OP as I was wading through your odd spacing, sentence structure and spelling.

    The sentence in question that makes me think you are not familiar with deload:
    Ive heard the term deload but not really sure how and im not that far into this new lifting to think thats the case.

    That doesn't imply that you know how to deload, just that you have heard of the term. Sorry, I can only go by what you wrote in your own words.

    I also am not sure what you are asking here. Is anyone else feeling this way? Yes, other people do. I am recovering from a bout of bronchitis and some sort of sinus issue and my lifts totally sucked this week and I was wiped out on all of my deadlifts. Like to the point of losing my breath wiped out between each and every rep. It's because I am sick and not fully recovered. My head is a ball of snot and sinus crap and my body is weak. So to answer your question (I guess), yes, other people feel the way you do.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    Well, first off, deloading is not the same as taking time off (be it a week or a day). Deloading means decreasing the weight you use for a given lift by a certain amount (say 10% or 25% if you're using lighter weights) and working your way back up. It's often used to help push through a stall in progression or when coming back after a time of inactivity.

    I would take at least part of this week off until your health and sleep patterns are back to normal, then start back at a lighter load to work back up, personally.
  • TheNewMe99
    TheNewMe99 Posts: 24
    Give your body a break. It may need it.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    You are right in that training in your 50's is different, recovery is slower and you've had a lot more years to gather an impressive array of old injuries (well I have anyway!).

    I pushed really hard for the whole of last year and made some surprisingly good gains but eventually my progress stalled out at about 90% of lifetime bests. And then followed three consecutive months of injuries and frustration.

    What worked for me was taking a really easy week to fully recuperate (50% deload), plus changing my routine to give me more recovery time. When I got back to full training the difference was huge - all those niggles and twinges I had been working through had gone away and I had some great workouts and hit some new PB's.

    Now I try to have one deload week every 5 weeks or so (20% deload) but also try to listen to my body more. When everything feels good I go hard, when it's a struggle I ease off and don't push to failure. One day a week is also a rest day.
    Yesterday was a good example of being flexible, knew from first set it was a "good day" so dropped from my usual 10 rep sets to 6 and hit some really good numbers (for me!) and set a new PB.

    One other thing is I never shoot for lower than 3RM, from experience I know that 1RM attempts just cause injury flare ups.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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  • retrobyte
    retrobyte Posts: 169 Member
    Do your weights before you jump on the treadmill for 40 mins. Nothing worse than trying to lift with proper form when you are already fatigued from doing cardio. If you must do cardio, do it in a zombie-like state while you are recovering from your strength workout.
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    Thank you all for the positive comments. Ive decided to follow the advice of doing 3 day a week full body workout concentrating on compound moves with no cardio and do light cardio the other 3 days. Sorry if there was any confusion in my original post i do tend to ramble.Things are definetly different now in terms of both mobility and strength its just something i need to address.

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