Switching programs

[confuzzl3don3]

I've been dropping my calories and going on a slow cut for about 1 month or so now (dropped about 3-4kg). I've continued to progress on my lifts, however today i had a bad workout (stuff felt shit heavy and i ended up getting only 2 reps for my first set of my expected squat of 119kg, after which i couldn't even do 1. Couldn't even get 100kg after that. Then basically i couldn't even complete my warmup for the bench so i just basically called it a workout.

In addition to this i've recently (this week) experienced some elbow pain (suspect tendonitis) and my upper arm felt funnily like pins and needles (difficult to generate energy too).

Now i'm not sure whether to attribute today's workout as a bad day, or whether i am suffering from overtraining or other recovery issues. The thing is my last workout went well. Hit my 49kg press, and 153kg deadlift so yeah i don't know. What do you guys think?

But yes, I am wondering if i may need to switch to a different program while cutting as I know a calorie deficit is not conducive to SS, however I wanted to continue on a linear progression (especially on my upper body lifts as they have a way to go)

I explained why i wanted to go on a cut in my thread 'Squatty squat squat' in the technique section

[LimieJosh]

One bad session does not mean anything definitive so I would be careful not to conclude too much from just this day. however, should this pattern continue and you decide to alter your program I would caution you to be careful about dropping too much intensity in your program (%1RM). In my experience, doing that while on a calorie cut only exacerabtes the loss of strength. Instead, if you feel the reduction in calories is affecting your progress and you still want to prioritize cutting, then I would recommend alternating days of cutting diet with your previous normal SS diet.

[hatmanii]

I would chalk it up as a bad day and give it another go with maybe an extra days rest and repeat your last successful workout. If you are able to complete this, continue on.
If not, you have some options.

One is to move to a program aimed at conserving your strength while you cut.

Two is to move to some more advanced levels of programming ala Texas Method, Bill Star's, Madcows 5x5, etc... Overall less volume which would benefit someone unable to recover from their SS 3x5 workouts.

Three stop cutting until you exhaust your linear gains and then move to a program that will help work better in conjunction with a reduction in calories.

-Hat

[confuzzl3don3]

Thanks for the tips guys. Yeah i won't make any changes yet, and see how monday's workout goes first. I'm already pretty much halfway there for my cut as i just wanted to drop to the low teens (probabliy be about 70-72kg) so I don't really want to stop now. After it i can then jump back on the proper SS bandwagon and ride it to the end. I'll let you guys know how monday pans out. Might drink some extra whole 'magic' milk

[confuzzl3don3]

Ok so to give a summary on what happened. Basically went back on monday to my uni gym and nailed 119kg 3x5. Got my press for 3x5 at 50kg but powercleans were a bit dodgy (always have difficulty with my form). And i had found that despite trying to eat more in the weekend to facilitate recovery, i still somehow managed to drop some weight (hovering about 75-76kg).

Wednesday was ok. Got my light squats, and set new PR for my dead. Bench failed though with a 4/3/0 on 74kg.

Now today (friday) once again i had a major flop on my squats at 120kg 2/0 and could only pull out 4 reps after dropping 10% (108kg). Press didnt go that great with a 3/4/4.

So i've come to a few conclusions about my recurring failures:

1) The weights at the uni gym are somewhat lighter than those i have at home. I actually bothered to measure my weights using a scale i have at home and they all showed up roughly what they were meant to be. So possibly the weights or bar at the uni gym are slightly lighter but then again i don't think it would be that significant to cause such a failure would it?

2) My recovery is insufficient. So other than my 2 day weekend break, i am not recovering adequately between workouts.

3) Some combination of the 2.

I've been asking myself other questions like whether or not it's the flooring or something, because my squat feels very different at home to when i squat at the uni gym. Or if i shouldn't workout in the morning after brekkie, and instead do it later in the day. What do you guys think?

[LimieJosh]

Have you measured the weight of the bar at both places?

[confuzzl3don3]

Pretty hard to measure the weight of the bar because at the uni gym, the scales are over at the front of the gym while the barbell section is at the back. I'm going to have bulldoze the people in the cardio and dumbell section to get a bar out front, not to mention looking like an idiot . And even then, the bars keep getting moved around so i'll be using different bars and sometimes working on a different power rack if they are being used. But honestly i don't think it would make that much of a difference would it?

[PVC]

But honestly i don't think it would make that much of a difference would it?

It will if you're doing any sort of linear progression. And FYI, Texas Method uses weekly linear progression.

[confuzzl3don3]

Mmm. Then what should i do? I would have thought even a max of maybe 1 or 2kg would mean some missed reps, but getting like 1 or 2 reps for a set, and some not even getting a rep??

[PVC]

At my gym there is only one bar that I'm 100% sure weighs 45 lbs. There might be another one or two, but I know that a few of the other bars weigh less. Also, this one bar that I know weighs 45 lbs is darker in colour than the other bars and is distinctive in that the width markings as very narrow, no more than a millimeter in width (the markings themselves, not the hand placement they measure). So I can always find this bar easily. I refuse to use any bar other than this one. This means that I can only go to the gym when it's not crowded, and sometimes it means that I have to wait for someone to finish with this bar. In that case I do my warmups with one of the other bars, and use the 45 lb bar for my worksets once it becomes available. It's annoying to have to go to these measures, but my gym is retarded and sometimes you've just got to work with what you've got.