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Thread: Repeating sessions

  1. #1
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    Default Repeating sessions

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    M, 28yo, 6', 225 lbs, SS LP

    Yesterday I had a "horrible" squat session. It felt incredibly heavy and was super super grindy. Had issues with keeping knees out, staying in hips, ect. Just a real ugly session. It was probably due to poor sleep the previous 2 nights and not eating the way I needed to be. I was squatting 275 3x5. I was at this weight before I got sick at the end of last year, and I was beltless the first time I hit it, so I know it's not that I'm needing a programming change. I made it to 305 3x5 before failing at 310.

    I am wondering if I should repeat 275 tomorrow because of how poor my form was yesterday. What do you think?

    Thanks for your time

  2. #2
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    Since you completed the sets / reps, I vote no.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Hill View Post
    Since you completed the sets / reps, I vote no.
    Okie dok. Is the idea that eating and sleeping enough the next couple days will produce a productive session, even though it will be heavier?

  4. #4
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    You're going to have bad days. You have to learn to work through them. This is a weight you have already lifted previously. Eat, sleep, you'll be fine.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Hill View Post
    You're going to have bad days. You have to learn to work through them. This is a weight you have already lifted previously. Eat, sleep, you'll be fine.
    This is the learning curve. I thought I knew what a bad day was... but that, THAT day straight up blew chunks. Thanks.

  6. #6
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    Eat, sleep and eat more. There will be bad days, and there will be good ones. I've had some of my best sessions on 0 sleep and minimal food. It can go either way.

  7. #7
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    Popping in here because I field this question a lot in the non-forum world. I'm not a fan of repeating sessions for Novices and earlier Intermediates. If you had a bad session because you've accumulated too much fatigue or your form truly sucks and needs a serious fix, then you need a lighter session or multiple lighter sessions to work on glaring technique issues or let the fatigue dissipate. If, on the other hand, you just had a bad session because of the vicissitudes of life - as happens to us all - then do your best to be ready for the next session in terms of recovery (food, sleep, etc) and go up the next time. Repeating a session at this stage is similar to doing 255x5 as your last warm-up set for a 260x5x3 workout. It's hard enough to potentially make you tired and effect the workout, but you've already adapted to it so it doesn't add much, if any, benefit.

    At the later Intermediate and Advanced stages, when you're no longer adapting so quickly and are accumulating work over a longer period, that doesn't apply of course.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Michael Wolf View Post
    Popping in here because I field this question a lot in the non-forum world. I'm not a fan of repeating sessions for Novices and earlier Intermediates. If you had a bad session because you've accumulated too much fatigue or your form truly sucks and needs a serious fix, then you need a lighter session or multiple lighter sessions to work on glaring technique issues or let the fatigue dissipate. If, on the other hand, you just had a bad session because of the vicissitudes of life - as happens to us all - then do your best to be ready for the next session in terms of recovery (food, sleep, etc) and go up the next time. Repeating a session at this stage is similar to doing 255x5 as your last warm-up set for a 260x5x3 workout. It's hard enough to potentially make you tired and effect the workout, but you've already adapted to it so it doesn't add much, if any, benefit.

    At the later Intermediate and Advanced stages, when you're no longer adapting so quickly and are accumulating work over a longer period, that doesn't apply of course.
    Thanks. Yeah, that makes sense. I'm thinking it is indeed just from the vicissitudes of life as you say, because the jump in difficulty from 270 to 275 was tremendous.

    I've done this weight before, and I'm done much more than that in fact without needing a program change. I failed at 310 before I got sick. I figured 275 would be even easier this time around, but to no avail. I'm back in tomorrow, so we'll see.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by tfranc View Post
    I'm back in tomorrow, so we'll see.
    Did you make 280, 5x3?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nermin View Post
    Did you make 280, 5x3?
    Thanks for asking. Should have updated this to help others anyway. Yes, I made 280 much more easily than 275. I supposed it was, indeed, a bad day afterall.
    Last edited by tfranc; 01-16-2017 at 08:39 PM.

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