Discordian in training (Log)

[discordian]

In other thread mjh posted a battery of questions, which I decided to answer even though it was probably meant as an internal dialogue thing:

* is your form as good as it can be? have you had it critiqued by a coach or online?

Nope. I posted a vid on the forums. Perhaps there is some essential mistake there. Or perhaps someone asks me to deload because I look ugly, which will help temporarily

* is your rest and recovery as good as it can be?

No. On gym days I sleep extremely badly. Otherwise I sleep 14-16 hours daily. (I went to see a doctor about this, but no clinical reason for it was found)

* is your nutrition as good as it can be?
* are your motivation, comittment and drive as good as they can be?

Nutrition is good as I can make it with the energy I have. Drive? Well. I still suffer from depression, so there is limited amount that I can muster.

Disc

[discordian]

Exercise #30

Squat 80kg - Since I 'fold like lawnchair' I decided to drop the weight just to be sure. I tried to correct the missing depth with questionable success and got a review from one of the regulars who said that he can't see whats wrong with it.
Bench 60kg - Wonder why bench is so hard for me..
Rows 50kg - Decided to drop cleans for now. I just don't have the motivation right now.
Dips 5-5-5

Disc.

.. I'm not doing that great.

[amaeland]

Disc, you're not doing bad at all. The weights you are lifting are substantial even though they might not be objectively "amazing". Keep it up, mate, improvements will come!

Have you tried acupuncture or craniosacral therapy for your depression? In my experience, acupuncture has an excellent anti-depressive effect. It's highly likely that your sleep problems are caused by your emotional state.

[discordian]

Exercise #31

Squats 82.5kg - I decided to keep the deload and try to work a proper depth and form. I think I'm doing this bit too quad dominantly. Following a random advice I tried to point my toes to the ceiling. Felt bit different
OHP 42.5kg - Still at deload, but I feel these too strongly at my mid-back. This may also be due to weak core/abs?
Deadlift 115kg - This was pure joy. I don't know if it was because I went in the afternoon instead of the morning, but I had to actually recount the plates to make sure I had put enough. Felt easier than 90kg last week
Chin/Pull-ups 5-5-4 - These have went down again..

On a related note, I might have discovered one potential source for my lackluster performance. Doctor thinks I might have malfunctioning parathyroid. If that is the case I might get rid of this weird tiredness for good, but that requires getting knifed..

Disc.

[discordian]

Exercise #32

Squats 85kg - This time I blocked the mirror and actually I'm feeling the squats quite differently. Need to have a camera next time
Bench 5-5-3x62.5kg and 5-4x60 - Hmm I knew I couldn't do 62.5, but I think I could've improved if I hadn't stopped at the bottom in worries of clanking the safeties.
Rows 55kg - Oops. Was supposed to be bit less weight but oh well.
Dips 5-5-5 - Quite spent at this point.

Disc.

.. And still wondering if my squats suck or not.

[wolfking09]

Youve gone from 50kg to 85kg in your squats,so no they dont suck. Thats a very respectable increase in 2 months of training.35kg/77lbs.
Same with your deadlifts,youve gone up a huge amount there too.

You seem to be stalling a lot on your overhead presses,and im wondering if its because youre using too much weight? It might be the reason youre getting back and shoulder pain as well,though again 13kg in 2 months is nothing to be sniffed at. If youre actually using a weight your body is struggling with,even though you might be able to lift it, it means youll gradually begin to go backwards rather than forwards.
You could try resetting the exercise entirely and hitting it from a new angle and seeing what happens. Use a wider grip,or change your footing stance and drop the weight down below what you usually use,and do 2 sets each session. Then see how it goes for a few weeks.

[discordian]

Thank you for supportive comments Amaeland and Wolfking09!

Exercise #33
Squats 87.5kg - Still manageable, but I'm not really sure I got to a proper depth still. I dropped 15kg to work on this, but the weight increases so fast I'm not sure I managed. What should I do?
OHP 5-5-4-5-3 x 45kg - Well.. perhaps if I'd have had a bit more rest I could've got it..
Deadlift 4 x 120kg - First DL that I miss! A bit of an dissapointment due to the easy 115kg. The last one just didn't move.
Pullups 5-5-5 - Gah! I'm so not improving.

Disc.

.. Lack of sleep & social contact and excessive stress probably, but I feel really shitty. I'm a f**'n underachiever in life.

[ewerbos]

What I did for the squats in terms of depth was deload 20% and start doing ATG squats... Not sure that's what more experienced folk would recommend, but it was a big headache gone. That was after struggling with getting parallel for a long time and it was making me crazy, though. Mentally, I don't think I could have done anything else, but you may not be there yet. Your squats are still pretty crazy! Congrats.

[discordian]

Hey, Ewerbos, you're back! I will consider that suggestion, but doesn't it mean that I practically need to learn high-bar-narrow stance? I will keep trying for some time and then go that route if I don't get it.

Exercise #33

Squats 90kg - These increase FAST. Anyhow, I think I got a bit better depth due to 2 reasons: 1. They felt much harder 2. I got pain in my behind.
Bench 50kg - My shoulders were bit painfull due wallclimbing so I decided to just deload now instead of struggle with weight I can't bring up.
Rows 3x57.5kg - Getting harder and the bar is shredding my hands.
Hang Cleans 30kg - Decided to practise these. They still go wrong most of the time, but sometimes I get this pleasant *snap* so I think I'm sllightly improving. Will probably send a video when I remember the camera.
Dips 5-5-5 - Ran out of willpower with these.

Also, yesterdays wallclimbing hit me pretty hard. Since there were only two of us we climbed in quite rapid pace and I got pains on my triceps, shoulders and surprisingly, legs.

Disc.

.. I'm starting to form an opinion that good squats = good workout, never mind the other exercises

[Buffalo150]

Disc-

Good Squats = Good Workout...hell yeah!

Look for the positive in all your workouts...speaking from the perspective of being a "glass half empty" kinda guy. I'm finding that if I allow the temporary setbacks to outweigh the long term gains I've made, I start to question my very existence.

This is one area of life where you can fight the battle on your own terms.

I don't want to go to far off on a tangent here, but the structure of 5x5 (or any program) allows you to control your environment and hence allows you to define success for yourself. I'm a happier guy for it. I feel that it comes back to discipline/structure and reflection on my log to see where I was...where I am...and where I want to go. I have found a way to get out of that negative feedback loop.

Keep on keepin' on...

-Bflo

[mae]

Good Squats = Good Workout...hell yeah!

Seconded! (Or, thirded?)

I think the fact that you are so aware of how you're squatting and the minor differences each time means that you're probably improving a lot more than you think. Stay attentive and only count the good reps--it's no crime to stay at the same weight for 2 or 3 days if need be. Take your time, it's not a race.

Sorry to hear about your trouble sleeping, etc. I've been having similar problems for the past few weeks, but it seems to be improving now. I recommend St. John's wort (maybe consult a professional first), melatonin and swimming, but everyone's different when it comes to such things. Anyway, congrats on sticking with the lifting; sticking with something even when it gets tough shows a lot of character...and inspires people like me.

Keep it up, Discordian!

[discordian]

Exercise #34

Thanks Mae & Buffalo150. Hopefully I don't end up dissapointing you. I'm not having it easy currently.

I felt really stiff and tired this morning. Yesterday I went climbing and tried, rather unsuccesfully, some bouldering and my arms feel like someone took a hammer to them. Thus, only way to motivate myself into going was a promise to do only 3 sets this time. I know people here are strongly against that, but I think it is still better than not going. I'm not totally sure whats wrong with me, but I hope I get over this slump soon. I've considered St .J. W. but here it seems to have a sales limited to official drugstores. Also, I've been scheduled an mrt due some oddities doc found so I better wait for that.

Squats 3x92.5kg - Probably just tired, but these felt awkward. I have feeling of getting stuck
OHP 3x45kg - Easy!
Deadlift 5x70kg, 3x90kg, 2x100kg, 5x110kg - I was trying to go for 120, but I was feeling too sore and had to settle with 110.
Pull-ups 5-5-5 - Easy, but then again, I was again breaking rules and just going for sets of 5.

I think I'll try if I can move some of my gym sessions to afternoon, since I seem to wake up with joints creaking and inflexible.

Disc.

[ewerbos]

I seem to remember there being some post somewhere about how you need an hour to hydrate in the morning before working out, to lube up your joints, etc. I can't remember exactly where it was now, though. Is it possible for you to wake up earlier to prepare for the gym?

Bouldering is indeed hard. Do you have specific routes at the gym, or just trying for fun?

[Buffalo150]

Disc-

Don't worry about disappointing me...or Mae.

We comment because we understand some of what you're going thru and have a perspective that might be of benefit. We don't comment with expectations that what we say is gospel and that if you don't, won't or can't listen to our "wisdom" you'll disappoint us.

Do what you can do, plan your work and work your plan...Understand that this is not a linear process and that there will be days/sessions where you regress.

Days like that are not "failures" and are not reflections on you.

Always try to find the positive in each working session, it is always there you just have to open yourself to the possibility that "failing" can be a positive because you tried to do something, found you couldn't do it...but found a way around it, over it, under it or thru it...you learned from the experience.

Keep on keepin on, you'll never disappoint us...

-Bflo

[discordian]

@Ewerbos - Hour to hydrate? I wake up so that I eat one hour before gym, but I never paid attention to drinking much. Perhaps that could help. Bouldering has some routes, usually some 3-4 moves only, but really hard. I can't know if they are rated, but I can't manage a single one. Otherwise I've gone surprisingly much forward and am already at the (I think) 6th easiest route. Just few weeks ago I couldn't manage even #2. I find it impressive when some people have both their toes and fingers at the same hold.

Exercise #35

Squats 92.5kg - But a full set of 5x5
Bench 52.5kg - I think I deloaded too far, but easy does it I guess.
hang-clean 8x3x30kg - Form practise. Sometimes I do it more or less correct but then I regress into swinging the bar in an arc. One more light set and then I try to get a vid&start increasing weight.
Dips 5-5-5 - Too much in hurry to go for a failure.

All in all I was really please to complete a full workout. Evenings seem easier than mornings currently, so I try to overcome the overcrowdedness in the gym for now.


Disc.

.. I do get some anti-epicurean pleasure about forcing myself to gym.