First Post: Am I a P***y, a Snowflake, or Just Old?
Long post, sorry.
49 years old, 6’ 2”. Doing the program since March. I have the SS and PP books. I’ve listened to all the SS and BL podcasts. If I’ve missed something in there, again, sorry. I’ve been reading here a while and haven’t posted because I can usually find an answer just by keeping my mouth shut and reading/listening.
I’ve pushed myself through aches and pains and found that by not being a pussy and not thinking I’m a snowflake, those aches and pains almost always get fixed by DTFP (SI joint problems are long gone). But, sometimes it’s tough to tell if attempts to not be a pussy are actually just getting greedy and undermining my efforts.
My problem is that every few weeks I just get beat the hell up, particularly on squats, and can’t manage to hit depth and keep form even though I know I’ve still got more LP in me.
For example, this week I felt like I couldn’t squat at all at 240 even though I cruised easily through 235 on the prior workout.
I ate enough, I slept enough, but nothing worked right. Seemed like everything hurt for no good reason. I felt beat up and know that probably half my reps were just a bit high. Just trying to stay tight even before starting down was difficult.
I couldn’t keep the knees out and was afraid to hit the bottom. Just terrible. I was able to grind it out and finished all 3 sets x5 reps (sort of) but felt like shit doing it.
DTFP and my ego say charge ahead because I’m still a novice, but the chickenshit voice in my head says drop the weight, skip a day of squats, or take another week off because you’re old and hurt. So far, I’ve let my ego win most of the time.
I’m not an intermediate because it’s fatigue and pain (and possibly my head) that make me hit the wall, not running out of LP. But, if I keep backing off every now and then, that’s not really doing LP.
Is there a point at which an old guy can reasonably back off a bit during LP and still be considered to be DTFP or, as the title says, am I just being a pussy?
[Prepared for the inevitable 5 word answer]
Progress:
March 12:
183 lbs.
Squats (3x5): 95
Deads (1x5): 155
Bench (3x5): 135
Press (3x5): 65
Now (after a couple breaks for vacation/injury):
216 lbs.
Squats (3x5): 240
Deads (1x5): 315
Bench (3x5): 250
Press (3x5): 155