Shingles and Overtraining

[thalakos84]

35M, BW 190lbs, 5’9”
Recently switched to SS from 5/3/1. Thought maybe I was a novice. Been doing SS for two weeks and I’m extremely fatigued. I have small hands, so I prefer not to power clean as I cannot get a hook grip on the bar. Instead I alternate deadlifts with chins and back extensions. I’ve just recently crashed and burned though. I Developed a case of shingles.

Thalakos’ Shingles - Album on Imgur

I have been sleeping 8 hours, supplementing my eating with GOMAD, and have gained 5 lbs in this two weeks lifts went from:
Squat: 265x5x3 to 305x5x3
Bench: 200x5x3 to 210x5x3
Press: 125x5x3 to 135x5x3
Dead: 265x5x3 to 300x5x3

I haven’t missed any lifts, but I just can’t seem to recover. Crashed hard now. Is it time to switch to Texas Method? I feel like the intensity is grinding me to a pulp.

[Mark Rippetoe]

If I were you, I would not try to train through a shingles outbreak. This is a bad idea.

[thalakos84]

I completely agree. I drove my immune system into the ground. Any recommendations or modifications for when I finally do resume training?

[AndrewLewis]

If I were you, I would not try to train through a shingles outbreak. This is a bad idea.

I trained through shingles in December 2018. It was a bad idea.

I completely agree. I drove my immune system into the ground. Any recommendations or modifications for when I finally do resume training?

Well first of all, do NOT stop taking your antibiotics until you fully run out, even if it looks like the shingles are gone.
You're going to have to come back lighter than you want and for lower volume than you want, but it's all going to depend on how long of a lay off you take.

[thalakos84]

Took a full month off. Tried to start again yesterday. You were right, going to have to come back WAY lighter than I had hoped.