The Squat Nemesis Training Journal, Part 3
by Jared Smith
I am in day two of
week three, and my body is definitely feeling it. I’ve never felt such an
insane amount of delayed onset muscle soreness in all my days on this scorched
earth! (Okay, that may be
stretching it just slightly, but you get the point.) My numbers have gone up but not a tremendous amount. The
most remarkable thing is my confidence level as it pertains to max effort
lifts. The level of fear and anxiety over maximum poundage seems to have
diminished for the most part.
There
are some things that don’t happen often, and one of those things is me being
distracted or so flustered by life that my training suffers. This week,
however, my mettle was tested a little. Life will put obstacles in our way
sometimes, and it is up to us to overcome them. It is difficult to put problems
aside and do what needs to be done, but the work has to be done! (Sloan’s note: As my other friend,
Puddin’, used to say: “Time to worship at the altar of the bench press, and
forget all of that trifling crap that we call our lives for just a wee li’l
bit!”) While
some use the gym to forget about things that happened during the day or week, I
like to use them as fuel. I will think about whatever it is that is plaguing my
mind as I approach the bar and put in my earphones. I feel the weight atop my
back as Chimaira plays in my ears. On this day, their song “Down Again” was my
anthem and would aid the weights in setting me free from the worries of the
day. The world may get me down, but in the dungeonous gym I am in control! It
wasn’t the greatest session ever, but I felt as if I had not only beaten the
weight, but also the challenges the world presented me with.
My
legs are aching and mid/lower trapezius muscles are sore from the static
contraction required to maintain the proper position when I squat. I have never
felt too battered from a program, but as I near the end of these three weeks of
hell, I feel a sense of pride. I’ve found that this program is geared far less
for changing numbers or stimulating muscle, but far more about making one
tougher mentally. I used to feel miserable when I had a day off from training.
I’d sit at home and think of nothing but getting back to the gym. Don’t get me
wrong, I still think about it, but I have learned that I should train so hard
that my off days are appreciated, and it also allows me to appreciate the time
spent with my “better half”.
Surviving the Grind
Since
I’ve adopted a closer stance and grip on the bar, I’ve found that after
multiple sessions, my triceps tendons are destroyed from the stretch overload
throughout the week. To circumvent this problem, I’ve begun performing three
sets of twenty reps for any variation of a triceps pressdown—this flushes
plenty of blood into the muscle. Though not working wonders, this has seemed to
aid in the recovery process. As for my legs, I have started doing low intensity
cardio on a stationary bike post-workout to put some blood in my legs without
causing any more muscular damage. Again, this is done to facilitate recovery.
The Home Stretch
As
these three weeks wind to a close, I still attack the weights with tenacity.
There is no time to slow down and no reason! I can see the finish line and I
will attack it as hard as I can. If I never look at something and think “This
probably won’t end well”, I’m probably not going after it hard enough! Onward I
push with no apprehension or fears. I am ready to dominate the day in the gym,
as well as anything else life is willing to throw at me—the weightlifting gods
be damned!
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