You Can't Always Get What You Want (But You Can Get What You Need)

Sometimes, I need to remind myself of exactly the things I tell my clients all the time.   Today was one of those days.

Not very long ago, I hit a personal deadlift record at just over double my bodyweight (205lbs), and, of course, I wanted to repeat it and try to surpass it.  So I decided to try to try to repeat my PR today, and guess what-- I couldn't budge it.  Nor could I budge 195lbs, which I can usually pull.  I settled for 5 sets of one repetition at 185lbs, and I was very disappointed. 

But the fact of the matter is this:  Sometimes, I'm just not going to be able to lift at full capacity.  Some days are just going to be "weaker" days.  I have to remember that I did an insane amount of swings last week, and I may be in recovery mode for a little while.  I may not have gotten enough sleep, I may be fighting something off, or my body might just not be ready to do a maximal lift right now for some unknown reason.  So for now, I'll just do lighter lifts, do plenty of "greasing the groove" work (working on form with around 70% or so of my max), and try a max lift again in a week or two. 

Frustrating?  Yeah, kinda.  I love my heavy lifts.  But these are lessons we all have to learn.  Rest is just as important as work, lighter lifts can be very valuable, and the body will perform maximally when it is ready to do so.   We simply can't perform at 100% all the time. 

So I'm just going to have to listen to my own advice, suck it up, and back off for a while.  My body will thank me in the long run, and my lifts will get better as a result. 

Oh, and I need to remember that there was a time not very long ago that I couldn't budge 185lbs, either.  Progress is progress, no matter how you slice it.