I was in a deep and dank pit whose height seemed insuperable. I was weakened, wearied, woebegone, and the light that managed to seep into the dark pit seemed only to tease with days of salubriousness. So unable to inure my inactivity and languid state any longer, I asked the kooky, old, yet erudite medicine man, “What should I do?” He responded tersely, “Rise.”
| This is like a simile, but is a metaphor |
Every devout lifter despises having to take time off. We are a determined bunch and we want continual progress. Often we overlook reprieve in favor of unpunctuated progression. Well, in 1929, in order to improve efficiency during an international battle for supremacy, Soviet Russia removed the weekends and established a five-day work week. How did that experiment turn out? Just go ahead and point out the USSR on a map for me.
| You've got to admit, propaganda always looks awesome |
Yes, eventually progressive overload for a long period of time will neutralize you. I am by no means a perfect lifter. I know I do not allow sufficient time for recovery, deloading, and injury management. This ideology is simply untenable. But slowly I’m learning. After taking approximately 10 days off, I began a new training cycle today. Yes, I was a bit shaky and raw, but was I weaker? Not really. I managed to hit a closegrip bench single which was 10 lbs. away from my all-time PR.
So now for a few desultory points about Overtraining, training, recovery, and whatever else presents itself in my mind.
-I am rather braggadocios to those often ill and with faulty immune systems about how I have not been sick for a handful of years. However, prior to my overtraining I found myself feeling like I was beginning to fall ill. I never truly succumbed to a sickness but I constantly felt a sickness pervading over me. This is simply because lifting puts the immune system in a weakened state. It remains in this weakened state until it is supplied with sufficient rest and fuel. Over time, if your training goes uninterrupted long enough, your immune system will vivify itself more slowly after each session.
| Florida winter is coming, where a bunch of pussys will fall sick in 60 degree weather |
-The day I committed to deloading was when I went in for a bench session and I couldn’t get warmed up, no blood was flowing (meaning no pump was being produced), and I was simply unfocused and could muster no visceral energy.
-Besides obvious explosive movements which determine the health of your CNS, the squat seemed to be my biggest indicator of my overtraining. For a couple of weeks, my squat ceased progression, I couldn’t find my proper groove, the weight felt heavy on my back, and I was sunrise slow out of the hole. Even submaximal weights, I mean around 50-60 %, felt awkward and slow.
| Nervous system, motherfuckers |
-Yes, while inactive you will continually feel week, small, and fat. I couldn’t keep those thoughts from burgeoning in my mind and incessantly tormenting me in the most perfect of warfares. Just deal with it and plan your return with a vengeance.
-While convalescing, try to limit your mental and physical stimuli. I watched a slew of movies, did some selected reading, went on walks, messed around with an empty barbell, and as someone who never plays videogames, I even excavated the PS1.
| Yes. |
-I don’t know about you but if I’m not lifting, I have no urge to stuff 4,000-4,500 calories down my gullet. So yes, I lost some weight during my rest period. Prior to the overtraining, I had maxed out at about 235-236 lbs. Upon weighing myself today, I found I was 226-227 lbs. Again, don’t worry. The weight will quickly return if you desire.
-During training there is no reason to go over 95% max weight. Slow, grinding, taxing, maximal singles do not build strength. Volume work (2-8 reps) with submaximal weight (80-93%) and frequency are what build strength. Never attempt a weight you are not sure you can lift. Your goal is to get stronger. You are not competing in a meet. A more involute article about this will appear in the future.
| 150 lbs? Gotta' grind out some chest flyes |
-Along the same lines, I will be doing my supplementary work even lighter. Expend most of your effort and energy on the main lifts, back off sets, and a heavy accessory. As for my supplementary work, if I can’t do 15-20 reps every minute, then the weight is too heavy. My only intent with accessory work is hypertrophy, prehab, and cardio.
-In order to compensate for my slightly reduced intensity, I will be working out with greater frequency. Now this does not mean major workouts. This means more walking, plyometrics, sprints, stretching, and small workouts.
-This current cycle will run for two months, from now till Christmas (not because I give a damn about some phony Christ or some phony excuse for excessive expenditure, but because all gyms will be closed and that would be another reasonable time to deload), and crazy gains will be made. But what choice do I have? I am the villain that this blog deserves.
| Random cosplay pic |
-Sameer Saklani
