There is to much focus on recovery.
I’ve seen adult males enter powerlifting meets to “officially” have hilariously not so funnily bad numbers.
Shameful levels of strength weakness in grown male bodies.
Now I did not make the most of my 300lb weight set and rickety stands and bench as a teenager.
I admit this.
The downfall was too much reading into powerlifting and starting strength* on internet forums.
It would’ve been better to have never heard of recovery, which I didn’t think of during the survival mode that is your first wrestling season, but did “balancing” the running of JROTC’s PT with starting strength’s squats precedingly in the fall that year.
“I’m the PT stud, but this running and squatting within a day or each other is so difficult, like my legs are fatigued.” – paraphrased thoughts of weakness (cause you were already “tougher” than the rest of the cadet corps- a bullshit excuse!)
Yet within five minutes of an uncle’s dare I’d squatted 8×300 shortly PRECEDING attempts at programming and having read the internet when the school year started.
Stronger goofing around at squats in the summer than trying to use a popular program in the fall!
I was pound for pound stronger, and had better numbers without the training “knowledge”.
A mind bug on “recovery” set me back.
This principle plays for many inside of gyms. They’re thinking with a focus on limits, instead of expecting greatness as a given.
Thinking → Limits
Thoughtless 100% Action → True Potential
Fuck recovery! Find out what you CAN DO!
Hopefully you wrestled in your youth.
I pray, for your sake, you’ve held a labor job at some point.
Go and be strong. Just go and be strong. You have permission to do so.
Go clean & press more than you weigh.
Go do sets of over 20 pullups.
Go run a ≤6:00 mile.
Go bang out a few hundred burpees, squat 20+x405+, shoulder big rocks.
Pull 30 reps with “reasonable” 8rm weight. Human forklift status!
Go be great.
It’s not difficult.
It’s natural.
Greatness IS a given.
Persistence & Tenacity
*by all means read starting strength to learn form, don’t wed yourself to the programming especially for life, don’t accept 95lbs as a press reset poundage – it’s my way to do more and more volume and frequency, find your abilities, don’t accept limitations typed up on forums by those weaker than you. Rippetoe is right having you squat thrice weekly to start, then when you’ve learned the form…go bonkers. And always play sports. I’m okay with starting strength if there’s volume calisthenics and sports play daily. It’s fine to introduce you to the weight room.