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View Full Version : Two different mindsets...two different results



sergeant_81
06-01-2010, 09:45 AM
I've been reading through the training logs on this site and something struck me. We have a lot of motivated trainees here who do what has to be done, and we have a few trainees who aren't worth the name and will probably never "get it."

The following are quoted directly from the training and log sections:

Exhibit 1:

So like a damned idiot I'm back on Smolov again. I just did the fourth day, which follows the third day without a day of rest. I've been draining my left knee of an old, small effusion and so that knee is a little off already. Last night I was feeling really beat up and questioning the wisdom in following the Smolov plan to the letter instead of inserting rest days. My left knee was especially angry at me.

Looks like a few hours of sleep did the trick. This morning I took some ibuprofen and put on my large Rehband blues over my mediums. The warmth and compression seem to be doing the trick. I have full mobility right now without pain and when I took the knee sleeves off, I still felt fine and was able to squat all the way down without any trouble.

You have to understand that I was feeling extremely old and worn out last night. I also felt foolish for pushing so hard and trying to put 40 lbs on my squat in a month again. It's still probably not the best idea, but competitive powerlifting isn't exactly good for you (though barbell training in general is).

Exhibit 2:

As per last workout, knee still a bit sore, so focusing on avoiding the heavy lifts that use knees.

One of these people has a squat over 400 pounds. The other has managed 280 for a rep or two and looks like he's been stuck there for some time. Guess which mindset goes with each squat?

Eivind
06-01-2010, 09:54 AM
Ever consider that they have different goals? If Mr. Exhibit 2 is just lifting for fun, I don't really see why he'd risk lifting with a shaky knee. Mr. Exhibit 2 is obviously an aspiering powerlifter, so of course he's willing to take some risks to achieve his goals.

So nice going, douche.

sergeant_81
06-01-2010, 09:55 AM
Calling 'em like I see 'em. If that makes me a douche, so be it.

gzt
06-01-2010, 09:56 AM
My squat is over 400# and my last couple workouts have been more like #2. Sometimes you do need to chill a little.

Eivind
06-01-2010, 09:58 AM
There's a difference between doing that and telling everybody on the board that someone "isn't worth the name" and that they are inferior to the rest of us.

Jamie J. Skibicki
06-01-2010, 09:58 AM
"Sometimes you do need to chill a little"

Sometimes being the important part of that phrase.

gzt
06-01-2010, 09:58 AM
And #1 seems to do everything he needs to get done except eat his damn cheeseburgers. He'd progress a lot faster if he'd eat his damn cheeseburgers.

gzt
06-01-2010, 10:03 AM
"Sometimes you do need to chill a little"

Sometimes being the important part of that phrase.
Indeed it is. I figured that after getting up to 395x3x5 on linear progression (the last 30 pounds of which having a complete grind for at least 5 of the 15 reps each session), I deserved a couple days to chill. Tomorrow, though, 400. Or failure. I don't care if I cry afterwards or during. Chicks dig sensitive guys.

sergeant_81
06-01-2010, 10:10 AM
Meh. Guess I'm in a "start shit" mood today.

Flying Fox
06-01-2010, 10:24 AM
Calling 'em like I see 'em. If that makes me a douche, so be it.I think that's pretty much the definition of douchery.

George Noble
06-01-2010, 11:34 AM
I don't even have the motivation to write in my log, let alone train properly.

PVC
06-01-2010, 11:46 AM
Who are the two people quoted in the OP? I wonder...

TTT
06-01-2010, 09:46 PM
Nice work sergeant.

lets look at your log.

03/03/2010
Squat 260x3x5
Bench 170x3x5
Dead 285x1x5

05/28/2010
Squats: 260x5x3
Bench: 165x5x3
Deadlift: 315x5


Well done Douche!

You wanna be Pot or Kettle?

StrongIslander,NY
06-02-2010, 11:24 AM
whats that smell? smells like vinegar? oh sergeant's here! just kidding there douchie old buddy

sergeant_81
06-02-2010, 11:30 AM
Yeah, I got called out on this one, and rightly so.

This was an asinine post, and I own it. Not sure what I was thinking. My apologies to the board.

I think quitting tobacco use is fucking with my judgment.

Jamie J. Skibicki
06-02-2010, 01:54 PM
SGT,

Bigger question is what's fucking with your training

TTT
06-02-2010, 07:48 PM
SGT,

Bigger question is what's fucking with your training

his vagina?

PVC
06-02-2010, 07:59 PM
his vagina?

In that case, his best option is to head North of the vag. If necessary, he can camp out at the bellybutton before heading for the summit.

Patrick
06-02-2010, 09:25 PM
I guess this thread is already heading a certain direction and this observation isn't going that way but I'd like to throw it out anyhow:

I'm a few months off of a 9-month hiatus from consistent training and nutrition. When I realized how far out of shape I'd gotten, I took my ass back to the gym and started off from square one. Let me tell you one thing that will turn a decent day into a shitty one: feeling that your squat form is off and that a 135 lb squat is something that you've got to do rather than something that just happens as you warm up. Most of us were there at some point but I even cringe typing it out -- it's a fucking horrible state of affairs.

My circumstance was different in that I was mostly frustrated at myself for letting the loads of work I'd already put in be lost, but I think it highlights the point that attitude and gym success are very much a chicken and egg type thing. If your attitude blows then your progress will suck, but if your progress suck you can sour on lifting pretty damned fast. I think the thing that matters is what you do when you're down on the circumstance, and I think that's a fair observation even if you're not pulling a metric fuckton.

Gary Gibson
06-02-2010, 10:17 PM
The first attitude can result in all sorts of overuse trauma, resulting in things like severe tendonosis in an elbow, sciatica in a leg and the need to spend months draining excess synovial fluid from both knees daily.

Ah, but it is fun! And having to figure out how to fix yourself after such abuse really builds character.