I train alone. I mean, I'm in a gym full of people. But I have no training partners on a regular basis. Often, I prefer it this way. I like to focus on my training, without worrying about what anyone else is doing. I take every session seriously. Not life and death seriously - I've reiterated several times that this is all just amateur strongman and not the be-all-end-all of life. But the kind of serious that one should be when one has a top priority goal to improve and get stronger.
But my bff/strongman sister and I also made an agreement to try to train together 1-2 times a month. After all, being on opposite sides of the state is only a hassle if we get hit with a blizzard. We learned earlier last year that we click as training partners....we can be social and have fun, while still staying on task and focusing on the workout. And when the going gets rough, we each know what the other needs to hear to get her head straight.
I can be an asshole when I'm training....I'm of the thought that when hands are on a bar/implement, mouths are shut. I get annoyed with dicking around and frustrated when people seem to be taking their sweet ass time for no reason at all. And I could damn near explode if someone is playing the humble brag game or has to constantly one-up everyone training with them. Therefore, I find it easiest to train on my own and spend time around others as either a coach or cheerleader. Conveniently, Jessie has a very similar working style.
Also rather convenient for this plan: we share a coach. He was more than happy to work with us on this. We give him a heads up for planned training together days, and he sends us the same programming for that day. So this weekend, we got to set the wheel in motion and train together once again.
We busted ass through log clean and presses, after minimal-ish bitching about it. We had to run a stone series through carry and loads.....awkward, but a surprisingly fun challenge. Yoke runs felt great. It was only the second time in this training cycle I've been back under one, but every bit of it felt solid and just clicked. We closed out with a burner of 200 barbell curls. In between sets we shook out our arms and laughed and commiserated on how bad we'd have t-rex arms tomorrow. After training, we went shopping and ate. Through it all, we talked about life and joked around and got in that necessary recharging time you only get when you spend time with certain people. All-in-all, a day that was needed both physically and mentally.
I've now rounded out 5 weeks of training. Heading into week 6, I'm feeling damn good. Most days in the gym are nothing epic. Just go in, put in the work, and go home to eat. I'm not slamming PRs every week. Some of the movements are still a struggle after so much time off (I'm looking at you, dips). But I'm seeing progress. Every week is a little better. I don't fatigue as fast. I'm not wrecked after a workout, just a little sore in the appropriate places when DOMS hits. My numbers are steadily increasing. I'm trusting the programming and trying to appreciate the process. Really putting trust in a program and following it to a T can be difficult when you're newer to strength sports. I've noticed it as a significant indicator of maturing in the sport, in both myself and others. It's hard to resist the allure of constantly maxing and doing the "fun lifts"....the grind of steady progress and struggling with the lifts you suck at (and that often aren't quite as fun to watch on social media) can screw with your mind. But the longterm payoff is so worth it.
What's made the difference these past few weeks? Investing in food prep for my lunches and gym-night dinners has helped keep me eating not only healthy foods, but also enough calories to fuel training and recovery. It's much easier to take care of breakfast each day, and to only worry about cooking on nights out of the gym and weekends. You don't realize what an effect nutrition has on your body and its physical abilities until you make a change and see the payout.
The other contributing factor? My coach. Brandon is the shit. There are a lot of really fantastic coaches out there. I've had some great ones in the past who I still adore and think very highly of. My current coach not only individualizes my training for my goals and adjusts as necessary.....he has a great sense of humor about it. It makes a world of difference when your personality clicks with someone you're working with on a weekly basis. He doesn't just focus on the lifts...he looks at the big picture. I check in with him about my nutrition. More importantly, he knows how I get in my head and some of the mental blocks I've struggled with. He checks in on these things, is supportive when I need it....and knocks me out of my own head when necessary. Just as not every competition is for everyone, not every coach is for everyone. But I do highly suggest to many people that ask me about programming and training that they check out Lift Big Eat Big and have a chat with Brandon.
And so...onward I go.
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