Ahhhh moment of epiphany....I'm just not strong enough.....yet. "WHAT?!" you say. Yes, you heard me correctly. I am just not strong enough yet. Strong, yes. Strong enough, not yet.
Yesterday while perusing one of my favorite websites (Everything Strength) to nerd out on strength & conditioning reading, I came across an article that really got me thinking. It just so happened that I read the article right before getting my lift on. As a consequence I went Beastess AND made some realizations about my training.
Realization #1: I am stronger than I have ever been. My training over the last 5 months has been on the upswing. I've PR'ed more in the last 5 months than the last 5 years of training. I can consistently snatch and clean & jerk what used to be my "demon" weights and in turn have opened at meets with bigger numbers than ever before.
Looking at my training I've really started to iron out some kinks in my technique. Of course there will always be some fine tuning when it comes to technique. I still like to fall back into some old bad habits occasionally. Besides working on that technique though, I've really pushed my strength lifts up. I have been squatting, pulling, and deadlifting more than I ever have before.
Realization #2: I am not strong enough yet to clean 100k. I have cleaned 98k and honestly it really wasn't that hard. So 2k more shouldn't be that hard either right? Hahah that's what you think! Again taking a look at my training I've realized over the last 2-3 weeks I haven't touched over100k in any of my lifts in general. Not in squats, pulls, deadlifts, not-a-one. Outside of attempting to clean 100k on three miserably failed attempts, I haven't touched over 100k recently. Call it burn-out, over training, or just plain old being complacent lately, the fact of the matter is that I haven't moved 100k in any form recently.
That kind of realization is one of those moments where you feel pretty sheepish and stupid. If I haven't squatted or pulled or moved 100k in some fashion demonstrating that I am in fact strong enough to move 100k, what in the hell makes me think I can clean 100k? Hellooooo if I don't push the threshold in the strength lifts it's pretty ridiculous to expect to move that kinda weight explosively.
Realization #3: I need to get strong as F***! I know that I am capable of much more than I've limited myself to lately. I need to get bigger, I need to look like a lifter and not just some pale scrawny twig. I need to pick up some heavy shit and not just because I should, but because I can. I need to constantly and consistently push that threshold higher and higher.
Realizing that I've been complacent in my strength training the last couple of weeks makes me pretty damn angry. How do I deal with that anger? I lift weights. Yesterday I made the absolute 100% commitment to moving more than 100k in at least one lift. I ended up squatting 90x5, 100x5, 108x5, and for a bit of variety, and mild self-punishment, I did barbell glute bridges 100 for 3x8. I anticipated being a little sore today and probably unsurprisingly I am not in the least bit sore.
So what does that mean? It means it's time to Go Beastess! It's time again to listen to that voice in my ear, that little devil, that says, "Ang, do something crazy in your training today."
Strong, yes. Strong enough, never.
Yesterday while perusing one of my favorite websites (Everything Strength) to nerd out on strength & conditioning reading, I came across an article that really got me thinking. It just so happened that I read the article right before getting my lift on. As a consequence I went Beastess AND made some realizations about my training.
Realization #1: I am stronger than I have ever been. My training over the last 5 months has been on the upswing. I've PR'ed more in the last 5 months than the last 5 years of training. I can consistently snatch and clean & jerk what used to be my "demon" weights and in turn have opened at meets with bigger numbers than ever before.
Looking at my training I've really started to iron out some kinks in my technique. Of course there will always be some fine tuning when it comes to technique. I still like to fall back into some old bad habits occasionally. Besides working on that technique though, I've really pushed my strength lifts up. I have been squatting, pulling, and deadlifting more than I ever have before.
Realization #2: I am not strong enough yet to clean 100k. I have cleaned 98k and honestly it really wasn't that hard. So 2k more shouldn't be that hard either right? Hahah that's what you think! Again taking a look at my training I've realized over the last 2-3 weeks I haven't touched over100k in any of my lifts in general. Not in squats, pulls, deadlifts, not-a-one. Outside of attempting to clean 100k on three miserably failed attempts, I haven't touched over 100k recently. Call it burn-out, over training, or just plain old being complacent lately, the fact of the matter is that I haven't moved 100k in any form recently.
That kind of realization is one of those moments where you feel pretty sheepish and stupid. If I haven't squatted or pulled or moved 100k in some fashion demonstrating that I am in fact strong enough to move 100k, what in the hell makes me think I can clean 100k? Hellooooo if I don't push the threshold in the strength lifts it's pretty ridiculous to expect to move that kinda weight explosively.
Realization #3: I need to get strong as F***! I know that I am capable of much more than I've limited myself to lately. I need to get bigger, I need to look like a lifter and not just some pale scrawny twig. I need to pick up some heavy shit and not just because I should, but because I can. I need to constantly and consistently push that threshold higher and higher.
Realizing that I've been complacent in my strength training the last couple of weeks makes me pretty damn angry. How do I deal with that anger? I lift weights. Yesterday I made the absolute 100% commitment to moving more than 100k in at least one lift. I ended up squatting 90x5, 100x5, 108x5, and for a bit of variety, and mild self-punishment, I did barbell glute bridges 100 for 3x8. I anticipated being a little sore today and probably unsurprisingly I am not in the least bit sore.
So what does that mean? It means it's time to Go Beastess! It's time again to listen to that voice in my ear, that little devil, that says, "Ang, do something crazy in your training today."
Strong, yes. Strong enough, never.
Strong(er). What I am(what I want to be).
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