Training when you feel like crap
“Yes”, Eric answers slightly sluggishly, but still promptly, after I ask him if he still wants to train today. We’ve already gone through our warm up and gone on to our workout. Weights he is normally breezing through for a warm up look slightly heavy. Rest times are longer, grimace faces are more grimacey (note: call websters. Get grimacey in dictionary).
That particular day was a big day for Eric and I. He was going to do 5 sets of 5 with 200 lbs on the trap bar deadlift. This may not be much to write home to Louie Simmons about, but that 200 lb mark is a big one for trainees. Considering we had been doing 5×5’s with 95 lbs several months before, this was a big one. 1 or 2 sets in it was very clear that the 5×5 of 200 lbs we sought after just wasn’t going to happen. So what do you do now?
Anyone that has been working out or training clients long enough has experienced this at one point or another. There are so many contributing factors that can lead to feeling like crap in the gym. Sickness, lack of sleep, stress, under-eating, the dreaded and often misdiagnosed overtraining. All of these can lead to a 10 lb dumbbell feeling like an F-350.
The first answer many have is to pack up the gym bag and go home. While this is sometimes not necessarily the worst answer, it’s not always the best. What happens when your client (or you) still want to train? That need to feel some sort of weight in your hand, that endorphin rush, that relief and sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing your workout. Those benefits that are not simply physiological changes to the body. Not to mention the client wanting to get their money’s worth on top of that.
Barring a situation where staying in the gym would truly be a detriment to their/your health, the answer is to train. Now before you go and try to set a squat PR when you’re feeling like crap (although it has most definitely been done), that’s not what I’m trying to get at. The plan has to change for the day.
Grand illusions of setting a rep pr or doubling your volume should probably take a back seat for the day. Use this time to work on the boring stuff that you don’t generally find yourself doing. This could be technique/form work on lifts you’re not proficient in. Working on mobility requires very little effort but pays dividends in training. Light conditioning/cardiovascular work will help get some blood and sweat flowing while not overly taxing the body. Chances are many of you could use some heart rate elevation regardless.
Even low intensity exercises such as body weight squats, planks, push ups, pull ups (depending on your proficiency), or crawls will get you moving without kicking your ass. That’s your main goal for the day: not beating yourself up. Your body and mind are already having enough trouble battling whatever is currently ailing you. Don’t barrage it with loads of extra stimuli that will ultimately just dig yourself a deeper hole. It’s always ALWAYS better to recover faster and get back to your normal routine than it is to kick yourself when you’re down and keep yourself there. Live to fight another day, as the saying goes.
As for Eric, we took it easy that day. We worked on deadlift technique, did some light goblet squats, then called it a day. The next Monday he smoked his 5 sets of 5 with 200. I’d say taking it easy for a day paid off just fine.
(Picture Info: Golden Age strongman/bodybuilder George Eiferman play’s a trumpet while holding a 135 lb barbell overhead)