Reply With QuoteDo you enjoy the benefits?
Member
Thinking too much about lifting/not enjoying it
I seem to think about the next workout too much. I start to worry the day before the workout about hitting my three sets of five. Anxious about lifting the next heavy weight.
Is this normal or is there a way to chill the f*ck out?
Separately does anyone else not enjoy strength training? In the past the exercise I enjoyed was playing sport, it was just fun. I'm doing strength training purely for the health benefits, both physical and mental. I don't enjoy it, during or even after.
Thanks
TMPHBITEU
Do you enjoy the benefits?
Member
To be honest I haven't really noticed any increased muscle on my frame to the naked eye, though know I must have put some on as the weights keep going up.Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
I have bipolar which is pretty severe (I've spent time in mental hospitals a bunch of times and take five different types of medication) so my moods are all over the place. I just don't feel any better during or after training. I know it must be good for my health so I keep plugging away. I suppose the only thing I notice that it feels good to keep hitting PR's during this novice phase but its like a 5 out of 10 feeling of happiness/achievement.
Member
Well at the moment I'm not seeing the aesthetic benefits (maybe they are to come) and it doesn't improve my mood that I can observe.
When I play soccer once a week I look forward to it, enjoy it while playing and feel good after.
Maybe I can't change it and just need to keep going.
Member
I feel like squat anxiety can be pretty normal. It's probably the scariest lift in the program for me. Maybe one day when warming up try just taking the empty bar down and setting it on the pins, to show yourself that's all that really happens if you fail? Missing reps isn't something you should allow to happen, but eventually it will, especially when you are pushing the LP hard toward its end. For the most part though, you have to overcome that anxiety and just do what you're supposed to do today. It's part of the process and probably a larger benefit for life in general.
Member
T-levels checked?
TMPHBITEU
Very important.
Member
I can get that done.
What numbers do I want (im 37)?
Thanks
Member
Squatting sucks. I just wrote about this in another post. I'm thinking about the next 5RM days in advance. Warming up with 250lbs feels heavy already, even if the workset is gonna be 500.
This mostly applies to low-bar. It's more physically and mentally demanding lift than high bar. When I've done high-bar it's kinda fine.
✓ Member
Based on your NLP update at the end of April, you really aren't at the weights yet where you will notice a significant change. Especially not at your height and weight. You might notice a bit in your waist band, but that's it.
One issue is fighting the other, as you've described. Focus on those 5/10 moments, and eventually you'll notice is 6/10, then maybe 7/10... But those are subjective observations, unlike +5lbs on the bar, which is objective.
Because you are playing. That's supposed to be fun. I think back to playing ultimate frisbee—the games were fun as hell, although exhausting. But the work (8-12x400m repeats, etc.) between the games weren't fun. Nor was my heavy bench press workout today. The fun part will be at the end of the year when I run a mock meet and set new 1RM PRs across the board. Until then, the work each week is not fun, but a key component to making that fun part happen.
That's the -5/10 part talking. Do as Dr Manhattan mentioned (that's pretty crucial for you now at 37).
Keep putting weight on the bar and keep putting the work in. Then look for a powerlifting meet near you, enter it, get whatever your result is, and realize that can be the fun part. By then you'll see the aesthetic results.
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