View Full Version : A little discouraged right now. need some advice
As I was doing my squats today I was on my last set, and on my very last rep I got down, and just couldn't get up. I went down and let the bar hit the safety rack on the bottom, with multiple people coming to my aid asking if I was ok. I was fine, and thanked everyone for their consideration and help if anything had happened. I'm just really freaking disappointed in myself right now. It was a weight I've done before. I was well hydrated, motivated, and had some good music playing to push me further. I just don't know how it happened. Im a shy guy, and having all that attention with me not being to do it really made me uncomfortable. I keep to myself when I work out, and having something like this happen was honestly pretty eye opening. I'm not going to stop squatting just because of this, but I don't know how I'll feel the next time I approach the squat rack. What do you guys think?
We all have our off days Brother... no different than watching that treadmill junkie miss a step and land 1/2 on and 1/2 off the Belt, shoe and Belt squeeling. =) They just look around real quick, start running again and crank up their music to get their focus back.
You gotta do the same. It's a mind game: you don't mind, the crowd doesn't matter. Just grab your wraps, your belt... crank your music up and say F* em! When that bar is bending over your shoulders nothing else will matter.
BubbyLight
04-14-13, 5:07 pm
Yo Man
We All have missed. either squat, deadlift bench. even a few curls or two. But its what you take from that. like, what went wrong? Where did you lose it? focus on those things. give a few weeks. work on those sticking points and get back at it and crush those number.
Good Luck with everything.
Listen to your body. Biggest thing I have ever learned.
We all have our off days Brother... no different than watching that treadmill junkie miss a step and land 1/2 on and 1/2 off the Belt, shoe and Belt squeeling. =) They just look around real quick, start running again and crank up their music to get their focus back.
You gotta do the same. It's a mind game: you don't mind, the crowd doesn't matter. Just grab your wraps, your belt... crank your music up and say F* em! When that bar is bending over your shoulders nothing else will matter.
Thank you for your kind words
Yo Man
We All have missed. either squat, deadlift bench. even a few curls or two. But its what you take from that. like, what went wrong? Where did you lose it? focus on those things. give a few weeks. work on those sticking points and get back at it and crush those number.
Good Luck with everything.
Listen to your body. Biggest thing I have ever learned.
Thank you so much man. Should I do less weight for my next squat session, or do what I normally do?
Cant be 100%, 100% of the time, bro.
That's what makes it so sweet when you hit a new Personal Best. Don't overthink this shit, get your calories in, get your rest in, stay on point with hydration, & make it happen next time.
I know you said you were shy in your original post, but I bet none of the guys who came over to see if you were OK would have a problem spotting you if you asked them. Over time I have met some of the friendliest, most clued up people when lifting who will happily give me a spot or training/ diet advice after talking to them. It can be hard sometimes, (I've had a guy spot me on the bench who warms up with my 1 rep max), but I bet they'd rather help you out instead of see you potentially hurting yourself.
Cant be 100%, 100% of the time, bro.
That's what makes it so sweet when you hit a new Personal Best. Don't overthink this shit, get your calories in, get your rest in, stay on point with hydration, & make it happen next time.
I know you said you were shy in your original post, but I bet none of the guys who came over to see if you were OK would have a problem spotting you if you asked them. Over time I have met some of the friendliest, most clued up people when lifting who will happily give me a spot or training/ diet advice after talking to them. It can be hard sometimes, (I've had a guy spot me on the bench who warms up with my 1 rep max), but I bet they'd rather help you out instead of see you potentially hurting yourself.
"Cant be 100%, 100% of the time, bro. " Love that. That really means a lot.
@Rainman I think I will next time. I'll probably lower my weights next week, but once I start progressing I know to have a spotter handy just in case. And thank you for your words
JHOORNSTRA
04-14-13, 7:15 pm
I agree with everyone else, sometimes we just have off days. Could've been anything, fighting off sickness, not enough good sleep, stress, exhaustion, anything. It happens. It'll get better...head up.
JHo
I agree with everyone else, sometimes we just have off days. Could've been anything, fighting off sickness, not enough good sleep, stress, exhaustion, anything. It happens. It'll get better...head up.
JHo
Thanks man. I appreciate it. Im definitely looking forward to moving forward and using this as a learning experience.
JHOORNSTRA
04-14-13, 7:56 pm
Thanks man. I appreciate it. Im definitely looking forward to moving forward and using this as a learning experience.
It's all you can do...
KettleBellFreak
04-14-13, 8:01 pm
Sometimes it's all just mental. You have to tweak every piece of your form, know it and feel it on those bad days. Mentally force every muscle involved to contract. There was this one day I was feeling 250% and I was about to squat 275 after 225, which isn't abnormal or even really heavy for me. I hit the floor and the bar hit the safety slides, and this repeated three times, and dumbfounded as fuck I put 255 on dropped ATG three times, immediately loaded two 25's for 305, got under the bar and felt my traps get tight against the bar, my grip get tight, my arch get solid and I drove my feet into the floor like a madman and boom, dropped my ass past my knees without fear. Three reps at 305 after four fails at 275, proceeded to hit 315 for 3 that day.
There is nothing you can't do that you know you can do.
Cellardweller
04-14-13, 8:49 pm
Something similar happened to me a month ago on the bench.
***** Did my 5 reps with 225 (a warm up set) and missed the left peg reracking. Crash. I was tired and wasn't into it today. I was thinking of backing off as I sat on the end of the bench with my head down. I had read MACHINE'S new article this AM on my cellphone before I went to the gym.
http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?40645-Ode-to-War
This started going through my mind. "the fight has not left me yet; the cannon's roar has not shaken my firmament sufficiently so that I could ever be stricken from my battlefield." Was I shaken? Fuck no. I'm an ANIMAL. I SNAFU'd a bit but I wasn't out of the game. Loaded up 275, Boom. 315, Boom. 340x3 just OK. I got up after that set and this guy was right in front of me looking down. That's when I realized it. There's blood in the water today ... and it' MINE. All those little fucking piranha's were expecting me to fail today. They all wanted a piece of me. Fuck you bitches. Stealing dreams and snuffing out fires became the buisness of the day.
We all have off days. We all fail and fall. It's almost cliche but when you fall you have to get up. Don't back down or give up. Don't be shaken or shellshocked. It's what seperates us from the rest of the crowd. You bungled it a bit. So what? Use that to light a fire under your ass next time you're under that bar.
Something similar happened to me a month ago on the bench.
We all have off days. We all fail and fall. It's almost cliche but when you fall you have to get up. Don't back down or give up. Don't be shaken or shellshocked. It's what seperates us from the rest of the crowd. You bungled it a bit. So what? Use that to light a fire under your ass next time you're under that bar.
Wow. This is awesome. Thank you for sharing.
korn_fed
04-15-13, 1:08 am
Why be discouraged? You failed. That in itself tells me that you worked your body to the absolute limit, to the point where it could be driven no further. Failure is an ACCOMPLISHMENT my man, and an accomplishment not many can achieve. In that respect, I take my hat off to you. Don't be discouraged by failure, it only means that your body has no where to go except forward. I guarantee you that next week, or whenever you go back to do squats, you'll blow the weight you failed on straight out of the water.
I dont know you or anything about you; however, I know athletes and how they think...I try hard to get them to think less for their own good as a matter of fact. I could give a thousand pieces of advice and none would be wrong. But simplicity can be powerfully expedient
so here goes...know yourself, your goals, and execute your plan for each training session flawlessly. Love the gym and treat it like when you were a kid shooting baskets in the driveway...never go in...I dont care if its midnight...without making that last shot of the night. If you are uninjured, never bomb a set and skulk away mumbling "gettem next time" its bad for your program and worse for your confidence. In this game you need boatloads of confidence, ultra self belief is all that will carry you through...your dick needs to enter the room two minutes before you do...no offense to anyone. Never leave like that; re-rack and reload the barbell, bare down, and get a good set even if you need to reduce the wieght by 10 or 15%.
Thats the way I do it and that is how I continue to grow every training session ~ MACHINE
Reyhan,
I don't think there is anyone here who hasn't experienced something like this. The struggle (even with weight we have moved before) is all part of the journey. Since September, I've been doing 5/3/1 and have had success with it, but that success came with a handful of steps back, including incidents like yours where I held the weight, went to move it, and just couldn't. But its better to take that step back, it gives you time to focus even more, concentrate on something like form, or breathing, and you'll blast right past it without knowing.
Don't give in brother, no shame in trying, compared to not trying at all. You'll get there, we all will.
I dont know you or anything about you; however, I know athletes and how they think...I try hard to get them to think less for their own good as a matter of fact. I could give a thousand pieces of advice and none would be wrong. But simplicity can be powerfully expedient
so here goes...know yourself, your goals, and execute your plan for each training session flawlessly. Love the gym and treat it like when you were a kid shooting baskets in the driveway...never go in...I dont care if its midnight...without making that last shot of the night. If you are uninjured, never bomb a set and skulk away mumbling "gettem next time" its bad for your program and worse for your confidence. In this game you need boatloads of confidence, ultra self belief is all that will carry you through...your dick needs to enter the room two minutes before you do...no offense to anyone. Never leave like that; re-rack and reload the barbell, bare down, and get a good set even if you need to reduce the wieght by 10 or 15%.
Thats the way I do it and that is how I continue to grow every training session ~ MACHINE
Thank you for your words, Machine. They genuinely mean a lot. I'm going to keep this in mind every time I step into the gym.
Reyhan,
I don't think there is anyone here who hasn't experienced something like this. The struggle (even with weight we have moved before) is all part of the journey. Since September, I've been doing 5/3/1 and have had success with it, but that success came with a handful of steps back, including incidents like yours where I held the weight, went to move it, and just couldn't. But its better to take that step back, it gives you time to focus even more, concentrate on something like form, or breathing, and you'll blast right past it without knowing.
Don't give in brother, no shame in trying, compared to not trying at all. You'll get there, we all will.
Thanks man I appreciate it.
Thank you guys for your kind words of advice and motivation. It means the world to me.
Firefist
04-15-13, 2:40 pm
If I had a dollar for every time someone had to pull weight off me, I wouldnt have to work through college haha.
Think of it this way. If you've never felt failure, how would you ever know what success tasted like? If you never failed, where would the hunger to beat the weight come from? Failing and succeeding go hand in hand. I'm not sure how old you are, but there are many things in this world that you will "fail" at that will make this weight seem like pillows on the sides of a PVC pipe. Don't get yourself down brother. All in all, success and failure are both learning experiences, and you will experience both in life. Take them one at a time. Stay humble in your wins, stay hungry on your losses.
If I had a dollar for every time someone had to pull weight off me, I wouldnt have to work through college haha.
Think of it this way. If you've never felt failure, how would you ever know what success tasted like? If you never failed, where would the hunger to beat the weight come from? Failing and succeeding go hand in hand. I'm not sure how old you are, but there are many things in this world that you will "fail" at that will make this weight seem like pillows on the sides of a PVC pipe. Don't get yourself down brother. All in all, success and failure are both learning experiences, and you will experience both in life. Take them one at a time. Stay humble in your wins, stay hungry on your losses.
Thank you brother. I appreciate it
Aggression
04-16-13, 4:19 pm
If one never fails, one can never truly appreciate success.
Why do we fall.....?
To learn how to pick ourselves back up..
Stay Strong brother.
God Bless-
BB-
You are not alone brother. Shit happens sometimes, it's about how you respond to it.
Don't let it get you down, re-focus and get back to work.
Keep at it bro.
Merc_enary
04-17-13, 5:08 pm
Keep your head up brother. It happens to all of us. Remember "Its not about how hard you hit but about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward" <--- best movie quote ever lol
Cellardweller
04-20-13, 10:29 am
I found this saved on my computer this morning. Funky posted it up in his Journy awhile back. He's not around so much lately but he's a true Animal.
Why do I Succeed?
I succeed because I am willing to do the things you are not.
I will fight against the odds.
I will sacrifice.
I am not shackled by fear, insecurity or doubt.
I feel those emotions--drink them in and then swallow them to the blackness of hell.
I am motivated by accomplishment, not pride.
Pride consumes the weak--kills their heart from within.
If I fall--I will get back up.
If I am beaten--I will return.
I will never stop getting better, I will never give up--EVER.
This is why I succeed.
Funky