Short-term impact of increased cortisol

[VNV]

Can stress-induced elevation of cortisol have an immediate effect on one’s lifts?

Trying to figure out why I could only get 3x2 on a 335# squat last Thursday, when I did a strong 330x5x3 two days earlier. And today a 305x5x3 squat felt very heavy. Bench is also suffering. About to deload the deadlift from 390# to 365 given above experience. This is happening while I was rebuilding on a mini-LP.

Could just be bad programming and bad answers to the first three questions. Squats always seem to stick in the low 300’s, and deads in the low 400’s.

Still, the sudden “collapse” puzzles me.

[Mark Rippetoe]

First things first: The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe