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Post by yogicleo1 on Aug 28, 2015 8:26:24 GMT -7
Hey fellow climbers, I feel a little...off...so I'll get right to it... The other day...I walked away from a workout...MOD WORKOUT and I'm quite disappointed with myself. I have had the last two weeks off of work (painting houses) and so training on the HB has been a blast! But, work has started back up, I had a long day working (8-4), I went and got adjusted by my chiropractor (5-5:30), then went to the gym and arched for a warm up (7:30-8), then came home and tried to HB (8:15-.....) but at this point it's almost 9pm after full day of moving and (head down...) I got so completely broken by my 5th rep that when I got to grip 6 of 8, I putzed out and walked away from the HB steaming! I almost called my GF to tell her not to come over BC I wasn't sure if I'd be good company..? I felt broken, a little angry (and I'm NOT the angry type) and weak...and that's it. That's the story...any advice? Anything I could channel or use as a motivator for next time? Personally, My mind (ego) is OVER HB'ing...but I'm probably not DONE with my gains...? Anything? Anything?! Taaaaaaaaaaaaake! *sigh* Things that were different: I usually do my work outs around 10-2pm; I did this one at 8:30pm... I always have my set up ready to go; this time I had to rush to set it up (WO sheet, weights, goals, fan, music, etc...) I wasn't feeling it; I isually am waaaay psyched and ready to play hard; I went into it feeling lousy and had this feeling of "worry" about wether or not to do it... Anyways, we all have to fail sometimes, and I know now what I can do differently to prevent this from happening in the future. However, had this particular senario or one similar happened to anyone on here? And if so, what did you do about it??
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Post by jessebruni on Aug 28, 2015 8:58:54 GMT -7
I heard a quote one time that for ever 10 workouts you do, 1 will be incredible, 2 will be good, 4 will be normal, 2 will be bad, and 1 will be soul-crushing. It's easy to stick to the plan during the 3 good workouts, and it's really not hard through the 4 normal ones. Your response during the 3 bad workouts will determine your success with the program. I know for every hangboard phase I've had I've had one of those workouts. I always feel like giving up. The worst I've done so far is skipped my sloper grip (last grip) during one of those days. Best thing I think you can do is just try to forget about it, move on, remember that they can't all be that bad, and try to be consistent with your conditions so things stay good.
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Post by Jon on Aug 28, 2015 9:02:08 GMT -7
Hey Yogi, I think a similar experience has happened to just about everyone who has trained for any sport. My general rule is that I'll write off one bad work out as just something that happens from time to time. Usually when a workout starts off poorly, I'll try to push through, but if it doesn't get better, I'll cut the workout short and live to fight another day. If I have 3 bad workouts in a row, then I'll usually look to make some changes. But my general rule, don't worry too much about one bad workout. It happens to everyone. Two bad workouts in a row is a bit of a concern, but I will still try one more before making any changes.
Good luck,
Jon
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Post by jonfrisby on Aug 28, 2015 11:30:31 GMT -7
Yeah I definitely had a bad, but not soul crushing HB session yesterday. Failed EARLY on three grips. As long as you're not near the end of the phase, just shake it off. If it's late in the phase and this happens more than once, it may be time to move to power
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erk
Junior Member
Posts: 83
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Post by erk on Aug 28, 2015 11:46:27 GMT -7
I have had the same thing happen at least once in each HB phase I have done and I know how much it sucks but you're not alone. It's best to just ignore any misplaced or malicious thoughts going through your mind and try to get through the workout. Just try to think of the rest of the workout as flossing, it's not fun you should do it. When this happens I just take off as much weight as I need to complete enough reps for each set. I've had to take off the equivalent of 4 workout sessions worth of weight. And while that was soul crushing at the time (and for a couple of days thereafter) I was able to bounce back during the later workouts and set some new personal bests. You will live to crush another day!
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Post by slimshaky on Aug 28, 2015 12:55:50 GMT -7
man, i had the same sort of workout the other night - it felt like maybe the worst workout of my entire career. it was soooo bad. i did all of my grips and sets, and only 'sent' 2 of the 21. there were several where my TUT was less than HALF of a successful set. ugghhh.
i like jessebruni's comment about the 10 workouts, and i also like erk's comment about flossing. i will have to keep these in mind the next time i have one of theose workouts.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 28, 2015 13:45:19 GMT -7
I'll just pile on here...it is very common, sorta like ED I don't typically walk away, but I probably should at times. But I have probably one workout per Strength Phase where I mentally quit at some point, and then I just go through the motions for the rest of the workout. In the grand scheme of things one tanked workout will make no difference (and really, completing 6 of 8 grips is hardly a wasted workout--there's a good chance you got something out of those first 6 grips). How many workouts have you done this phase? It may be appropriate to move on to your Power Phase soon. In general, here are some things you can do to prevent this from happening again: -Get everything prepped the day before your workout, so you can just arrive home and get going. The more obstacles you have to overcome, the less likely you are to follow through. -(obviously) try to do your workout at a time when you have plenty of energy. Starting at 8pm is clearly not ideal, which you know already -If that fails, CAFFEINE!!!! It can do wonders for you. -Remember, something is better than nothing. If you feel worked or not psyched, maybe you can't commit to an entire routine, but you can commit to half of it. That's far better than sitting on the couch eating Cheetos. Also, often when I make this compromise, once I get going I get into the workout and I find myself doing the entire routine anyway. -If all that fails, there's nothing wrong with taking an extra rest day and bumping the workout to the next day. I do this plenty. Climbers in generally are usually over-trained and under-rested. An extra day off here and there will probably help more than it hurts, especially if you have a physically demanding job. Anybody else got tips?
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 28, 2015 13:48:35 GMT -7
man, i had the same sort of workout the other night - it felt like maybe the worst workout of my entire career. it was soooo bad. i did all of my grips and sets, and only 'sent' 2 of the 21. there were several where my TUT was less than HALF of a successful set. ugghhh. Wow dude, that is impressively awful! If I failed on that many sets, I would probably start crying. You deserve a big pat on the back for persevering through all those soul-crushing sets. Which two did you send?
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Post by yogicleo1 on Aug 28, 2015 17:38:43 GMT -7
...Just try to think of the rest of the workout as flossing, it's not fun you should do it. When this happens I just take off as much weight as I need to complete enough reps for each set. I've had to take off the equivalent of 4 workout sessions worth of weight. And while that was soul crushing at the time (and for a couple of days thereafter) I was able to bounce back during the later workouts and set some new personal bests. You will live to crush another day! Flossing, yes...soul crushing, definitely...live to crush another day, of course! and i never doubted it at any point. I am just new to this whole "training" for what you love and not just doing it. Which, is where most of/all of my joy has been recieved from. climbing. and at the moment, i'm not, and it got to me, and i broke like a horse...luckily, you guys are awesome and I'm psyched to have such an amazing online community of "coachs" to help me pick up and move on! Thanks! "...In the grand scheme of things one tanked workout will make no difference (and really, completing 6 of 8 grips is hardly a wasted workout--there's a good chance you got something out of those first 6 grips)..."
Thanks, that's good to know! And, I guess it wasn't a total waste...I did graduate to 'body weight' on two of those grips (LG OH EDGE & MR 2F PKT) "...How many workouts have you done this phase? It may be appropriate to move on to your Power Phase soon. In general, here are some things you can do to prevent this from happening again:..."
I believe it's been 11...HOWEVER, I really wasn't "pushing myself" or doing the program correctly for the first 5... :/ I've been doing it properly for 6 workouts now. It's been nothing but huge gains until this last one.
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Post by Chris W on Aug 28, 2015 20:28:23 GMT -7
Yogi, welcome to the human race.
I had a similar workout this summer during my hangboard phase. I just walked away, first time I had ever done that, ever, in all my years of sports. Simply frustrated and angry and dejected.
Recognize it for what it is and learn from it. Tomorrow is a bright new day.
Also, if you haven't, check out The Rock Warrior's Way. Awesome book.
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Post by yogicleo1 on Aug 28, 2015 21:14:11 GMT -7
Yogi, welcome to the human race. I had a similar workout this summer during my hangboard phase. I just walked away, first time I had ever done that, ever, in all my years of sports. Simply frustrated and angry and dejected. Recognize it for what it is and learn from it. Tomorrow is a bright new day. Also, if you haven't, check out The Rock Warrior's Way. Awesome book. Thanks! Yea, I was going to look into that courtesy of the good book. As well as, Vertical Mind, by Don McGrath. Tomorrow morning though, watch out HANGBOARD! Lol, thanks again!
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Post by Will S on Aug 29, 2015 8:46:20 GMT -7
It's to be expected, as everyone else said. I usually have one workout every 3-4 months that is really bad. If it's bouldering, I'll usually try to push through it a little bit to make sure I'm fully warmed up before judging, but usually if I've hit the 1/3 mark in any type workout and it's not getting better, I just bag it and go home, eat, relax and get to bed early.
I take it as a sign that I'm either not fully recovered, maybe fighting off a creeping illness, or too stressed. So I focus on recovery instead of trying to grind through it. If it becomes a pattern, instead of a few times a year thing, I'd probably do something different and try to pin down the root of it.
That said, you definitely can get plenty of benefit from "only" 5-6 sets. My entire hangboard routine for about 7 years was based on a 5 sets of 5 reps scheme. I was using it as a strength focus, with hypertrophy as a by-product, rather than focusing solely on hypertrophy. And it worked beautifully.
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Post by MarkAnderson on Aug 29, 2015 10:55:48 GMT -7
So, I just had an interesting workout. It was my ninth this cycle, and I haven't had a bad one yet, so I figure I'm due.
It started out terribly. My first grip (MR) I barely sent the first set and failed on the 2nd and 3rd. The 3rd set was a disaster--only sent the first two reps, and the 3rd rep failed at ~3 seconds. It felt like I couldn't command my muscles to contract effectively. The next grip (closed crimp) was a bit better, not a total disaster, but I still failed on both the 2nd and 3rd sets (which is rare for this grip). Around this time I couldn't get slim's post out of my mind. Sabotage! The third grip (Mono) was again a bit better than the second. I still failed on both the 2nd and 3rd sets, but my effort was good and I was really close to completing both of them (within a second on the last rep of each set, and sending all other reps).
I think at some point in there I would have been justified in mailing in the rest of the workout. The thought crossed my mind many times. But I bucked up and just focused on the set immediately in front of me. Short story long, I sent all sets of the last 3 grips, including setting a new PR on the pinch (+30). (I switched to new grips for the other two, so I don't really have a PR on those yet).
Granted, the shorter TUT on the first 2 grips may have helped me succeed on the last 3, but it goes to show that even if things start out terribly, it is sometimes possible to salvage some of the workout. There can even be some upside to failing early on.
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Post by jonfrisby on Aug 29, 2015 15:07:01 GMT -7
After the really bad workout I mentioned a couple days ago, I just sent every grip except two. 1) the sloper, I misplaced my hand in the second set a couple of times, which made it a lot harder, and the following set I recovered and sent. 2) the full crimp, I miscalculated the weight removal and actually had 5 fewer pounds off (so tension was 5lbs harder) and still only missed the second set by a second or two on the final rep!!
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Post by joev9 on Aug 31, 2015 6:58:20 GMT -7
-Remember, something is better than nothing. If you feel worked or not psyched, maybe you can't commit to an entire routine, but you can commit to half of it. That's far better than sitting on the couch eating Cheetos. Also, often when I make this compromise, once I get going I get into the workout and I find myself doing the entire routine anyway. this might be the most important advice of all. especially as I get older, I find times when mentally I am more drawn to the couch (and a cold beer) than the garage. Like Mark said, if I just get my ass out there and get over the mental hurdle, once I get going things usually go much better than I would have thought....
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