FITNESS, INSPIRATION, PROGRESS

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

I haven’t had the iron in my hands for a while now and it is making me nuts.

I learned something about myself very early on, I am not one for moderation. I do things to extremes. This can be problematic because it is a level of intensity and focus that will go somewhere. It can not be changed, it can not be overcome…it is simply part of who I am. I am sure big pharma has a way to make me into a zombie, but that is entirely unacceptable.

Notice The Sleeves

So what does a person who tends towards extremes do? Well, if you are going to go 500 miles per hour you might as well go in the right way. So rather than trying to change an immoderate personality or allowing it to run away with you, changing the focus is the key. My focus is the iron. I don’t have a casual gym habit. I go 5 hours a day, 6 days a week and on the 7th day I find ways of being active.

Trust A Man In A Beater

As it turns out, this takes a massive toll on the body. So rather than pretend I can do a moderate workout routine and leave myself unsatisfied and without an outlet for my high level of focus and energy and, yes, addiction I decide to go at full blast from mid January to Mid August and then take Mid august to Mid January off.

The first few months of this are great. They involve pizza and well needed rest for joints that hurt and aching muscles and, to be honest, a totally blown out CNS. Plus, since metabolism is firing high and you are carrying extra muscle the extra food and laziness doesn’t kill your body right away. Fast forward a few months and now most of the pain is gone, you are a little softer and you are starting to get antsy. After all, you have taken a break from the gym, but not from yourself so the impetus towards excess is still there and trying to keep it in check messes with the mind.

Thankfully my waiting period is almost over. On Monday, January 15th, I will jump back in with fire and fury for seven months of intense training and boy oh boy I can’t wait. I hope you guys will follow the progress and some of you will even join me. In the meantime I am almost all healed. The last bit is my right forearm where I have a bit of tendinitis, but it is getting better.

It is a fairly common meme that the iron is the easy part and the food prep is the hard part and that is true, but harder than both is the downtime for sure — the waiting is the hardest part.

What do you guys do to get past rest days, rest periods or injured breaks from the gym so you don’t go bonkers?

WB FITNESS

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8 Comments

Consolation_of_Philosophy

Tendinitis sucks. I had a 90% tear in my right forearm tendon (right at the anchor point) a few years ago. It happened standing at the dumbbell rack, doing curls. Some huge guy doing huge guy shit caught my eye, and I stopped paying attention to myself. I *heard* my tendon break: a sound like dropping a water balloon on the pavement coming from my forearm, loud enough to cut through my headphones… and then the pain.

Funny thing is, the tendinitis pain is now mostly at the opposite end, in the bicep. It gets especially bad in supination, so I do a lot of hammer curls to compensate. Know any stretches or fixes for this kind of fuckup?

WB Fitness

Fortunately mine is a low level strain just from use. Right now I experience no pain at all in normal activity, but if I grab a big dumbbell for anything from bench press to shrugs to seated oh or arnold presses it hurts bad.

Chiro is doing trigger point massages and using a ultrasound massage and it is getting better plus I ice 5 min on 5 min off 4 times a day and, mostly, rest. Lifts that help avoid the pain are still putting strain on. Tendons just need time to heal. I know the impulse to keep going…see above article lol…but sometimes you just have to give the joints and tendons a break.

I am a big believer in GOOD chiropractors. If you are in NYC I can recommend one, but if not I am sure you can find one near you.

Lou Skunt

Taking mandatory rest is always a tough proposition when you’re accustomed to going balls-out. With age however, I’ve changed my mindset a bit and I can now take the necessary time off without freaking out. It wasn’t always this easy though; when you’re accustomed to a certain routine, taking any time off seems unacceptable.

In recent years, I’ve adopted more of the “instinctive training” principles and I’m much happier as a result. Once I came to terms with the fact that rest is mandatory, taking that necessary time off became much easier. I’ve come to realize that I feel much better after a period of rest, so like anything else, I’ve conditioned myself to “look forward to the rest period” and how much better I’ll feel once I resume my routine.

Over the years, I’ve picked-up a bit of Epicondylitis, mostly from heavy back work. I’ve also experienced a bit of Plantar Fasciitis from walking on job sites and constantly pronating and twisting my feet. Carefully evaluating the cause of the pain has enabled me to take the necessary time off from those particular movements, and modify things accordingly.

When I’m taking that mandatory rest from the gym, I’m still very active… Working around the house, detailing cars, riding bikes, walking the dogs, etc. – still moving around, but not performing any specific movements that will negatively impact those particular areas of my body that require that much-needed rest.

bem

“I am not one for moderation. I do things to extremes.”
I cant believe it took me so long to think of this, for you:

WB Fitness

Terrible. Just terrible.

bem

HAHAHAHAHHAHAH KNEW you’d love it.

J.Nyx

I lose my fucking mind like you do. Ever since we kinda stopped (i kept lifting, 1/10th as intense as before) I’ve felt like a zombie when I lift. I’ll do 3×10 and im all weak and shit, kept some gains, but definitely more fluffy than August. Cant wait for Jan 15!

WB Fitness

Same boat here. Muscle memory is fierce though and we will hit is hard. It will come back super fast. It always does!

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