Perspective
Sometimes you may want to get down on yourself.
Maybe you’ve become stagnant in the gym. Maybe other aspects of life are not where you want them to be.
You’ve gotta put it all into perspective though.
The Circumstance
My strange sleep schedule and inclement weather kept me from going to the gym for almost exactly 48 hours.
Both days I had actually awoke sore. My lower back slightly locked again. (These things are rare, I may be about to receive “beginner gains” all over again)
At this point having barbell withdrawals, and feeling a flush session would make me feel much better, I headed to the gym.
The gym is about a twenty minute drive. The last 15 seconds of which are after crossing a set of train tracks.
I made good time, and at the tracks the rail crossing guards were down. Strange, normally the train would’ve been gone for 5 minutes. There is already a line, I idle for 15 minutes, the gates are still down, turn around and go to the store.
Having killed 45 minutes to an hour walking Walmart for far longer than it takes to get my one item,I figure the tracks would be clear to cross so I turn around and head back.
There was still a line, an inability to cross, and having nowhere to park my car and simply walk the last 200 yards there I headed home.
2 hours later the barbell withdrawals became worse. I headed right back.
20 minutes later, no cars, but the guards are still down. Damn It!
I turn around, but lucky break I hear a train. I look, barely still in sight, and see the guards going back up. Eureka!
Due to all the BS involved in getting there it seemed like the thing to do would be PR attempt on the fat bar.I mentally flipped a switch from flush session to PR day.
With no BS arrival would’ve 815pm, I didn’t get in until a little after midnight.
Now I love lifting particularly for scream fests between midnight and 1am. There’s no one there other than me. I can jack the radio to anything(people bitch about lifting to country), whoop, holler, and generally have fun.
I turn into the parking lot, and see the lights on, strange, but hey no cars, its still my alone time. Sweet!
As I get closer I see a work truck next to the door.
Shit!
It took me just shy of 4 hours to get to the building. Seeing the work truck made me think the 24hr access keycard may not get me in. Renovations may mean a manually locked door. I swipe the card, beep, yes!
I talk with the workers, my deadlifting is not going to be in their way( One also lived up the street and said the tracks had been like that for 2+ hours). The rest of the session is scrapped though, I can’t use an Airdyne bike thats in their work zone.
Oh well. Time to pull.
Pull Time
I set up for pulls. Due to my weird sleep schedule, actually being sore, and all the BS I decided to play it safe and do some warm up reps. I usually never pull more than singles on max out day, or start below ~300lbs.
The fat bar is 24 lbs, hence the weight increments, the sets were:
- 114×5
- 204×5
- 294×3 attempt overhand, switch to mixed grip
- 384×1 Easy
- 474 Fail at knee, !?!?!?!?!, Bar speed had been great til here, drop down again
- 384×1 Easy (Again) I guess I need more warmups.
- 434 X3 Moderate, no way I can hit this and not hit 474
- 474×1 GOT THE BITCH
- 504, lightest I can break 500 with, I dont have access to those 1.25 I used the other day. Fail, barely off the ground
- 504 ( again) Fail…Fuck
Ok, I have to change the plans, lets work on my deadlifts’s dead zone
Isometrics to knee level and pull against pin superset with fat bar speed pulls.
5 sets each, isometrics 135lbs for the first set, 185 for the last last 4. I pulled into the pins for 6-8 seconds each set.
The speed pulls were 294 for doubles
Post Workout
I got a pretty decent pump from the isometrics. I’ll have to do those more often. I relearned that isometrics help me. Oddly I’ve never done them in the weight room, just when I was equipmentless. I need to mix the methods I know work for me more regularly. This could be the exact way to make some crazy fast progress on my deadlift.
But….
Despite this initially I wanted to get down on myself. I wanted to get pissed that I didn’t PR. I then paused. It had been a decent session. As I said I got a great, but strange pump from the isometrics. The speed pulls felt great. I hit 3 with 434 on a fat bar. I hit 474 as the top set.
Run the numbers here for a second 474/484 is 98%, 474/515 is 92%. On a day where Murphy’s Law was rearing its head I still hit over 90% for a top single on a fat bar based off my lifetime regular bar PR. Although what really changed my outlook and got me to view the session in a good light was the fact that 2 years ago my bodyweight was similar, and my lifetime PR on a regular bar was 425. At that time I sometimes missed 405 on grip.
I went from negative in my head to positive, highly positive simply going back mentally to the old gym at age 20. Two years later I can pull as an everyday max more on a fat bar than I struggled to hold on a normal bar two years ago. Fuck the results of those around you, concentrate on yourself. Stronger is stronger, and shit 8 of those 24 months I didn’t have access to weights, 10 of them no gym. It’s not bad considering all the circumstance, just like the session itself.
What’s There To Complain About?
I had a solid lift. ( And got to take the next day off, due to the construction)
I ran into an old buddy at Wally World.
I’m getting stupid close to the 500 fat bar, and when it happens, it may be for reps.(Which would be a double whammy of a PR)
I can perform well under adverse circumstance, watch and see the shit that happens as life becomes more ideal.
I am getting stronger. Through all the BS, inconsistency, depression, lack of food,stress, etc. I am still getting stronger.
I keep learning shit in the gym.
Passion, Persistence, Tenacity, Perspective,Intensity
I know these lessons and abilities can be applied everywhere else.
As long as i keep going I’ll always get better.
I got this shit.
Conquer. Rise. Ascension.
-J
And Sometimes the universe sends you a message in song. I heard this on the drive home. 1 in the morning, just happened to hit radio on.Mute the part about dress sizes though.
“If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle”