is paitence a sign of maturity or is this just laziness?

[1400total]

Yesterday was squat day and I had been feeling pretty good.
As with every saturday I went to breakfast with some school buddies, we eat at this awesome dinner that actually has a "bodybuilding breakfast" of 6 egg whites and 2 chicken breast which is what I had.

After that I headed to the gym, which happens to be Ryan Celli's gym, and let me tell you there is no shortage of powerhouses there!!!

I was early and was waiting on the guys so I got in 45 minutes of low intense tread mill walking.
Then after some stretching and warming up we started squating.

I have been following my log and trying to add about 10 to 20 lbs on my weights per set each week. So if I did 500 for 2 last week I would attempt 520 for 2 and so forth all the way to my top set, which last week was 655 for 2. The other goal has been to make sure my form is good. I don't just want to hit the weight, I want depth and no dipping or leaning in the front.

Before my last meet I would hit a weight and it would look sloppy, the following week I would hit the same weight but with better form, then go up.

so my approach is a little different this time around.

ok, ok, enough of the boring details.

I hit 685 for 2. but they looked sloppy (champion suit straps down, with belt but no knee wraps). For some reason when I looked back at my log my jumps were completely different from last week. Much higher then 20 lbs more.

I felt like I should have attempted the 685 for another set just to hit 1 solid good one, but I stopped at my last set and went on with my workout.

others were a little surprised I stopped and some gave me advice like going down in weight to hit a set of 4.

But what i have learned is that it is better to it right week to week then wrong and try and recover later. I believe this makes for better strength gains in the long run.

so is this a sign of patience or laziness?

what would you have done?



thanks guys as always much respect to the WBB crew.

[Fuzzy]

You ask a weird question that would seem more appropriate form someone moving a quarter of that weight.

That being said, it takes maturity to hit a good weight, and then stop yourself there before going for an even bigger PB. Best to consolidate the day and leave it for next week imo. When I squated 530 all I wanted to do was 550m, but no point risking it, so I just left it there, went home and ate my steak.

[Sensei]

Actually, I was writing a piece on this very subject last night and entitled it "Patience or Apprehension?". I don't think apprehensive or lazy describe you at all.

[Ryan Celli]

I would have simply asked Ryan what to do.
:hello:

[robchris]

1400,
It's a matter of choice bro... Meaning, there's more than one way to skin a cat! And yeah, I would call it maturity. I have less injurys now than when I was younger b/c of having patience...

In the past, Ive done both. If I hit my goal weight/reps, sometimes I shut it down. Other times if I feel particularly good or "froggy" I'll push it a little harder. Remember, we're Powerlifters not BB'er's...No training to failure for me that is. Save it for the platfrom bro...

IMO, it's better to leave a few in the bank and come back stronger the next round. Stick w/ your routine and as long as you're hitting your numbers & progressing you're on the right track. Plus, a lot less risk of injury!
RC

[nsnyder]

I agree with Ryan i wouldve asked him.

[douglasoh5]

Ya I totally agree with ryan...no use and training with world class lifters if your not going to try and learn from them

[formerbencher]

i would never think of doing 45min of light cardio before doing any heavy work first off

[1400total]

I gotta say Ryan is awesome to train with and side by side. I have learned sooooooo much from the man its amazing. You know joke a little at the gym but I always say "I owe my strength gains to Cellisfitness center." But sometimes you need to respect his needs too. He is getting ready for the fit expo and I wanted him to get the most out of his workout.


Having said that there are a lot of opportunities to learn. Here on this board is one way.

In retrospect I should have done the following

1. reviewed my log sooner
2. paid more attention to my form
3. not made such aggressive jumps
4. not done the cardio (??)

but that is what life and lifting is all about. If you know me you know I believe that life is about the journey, not the desitnation. Therfore I will come back and do better next week.

I will make sure i post to see what happens

[OGROK]

If being patient gets you stronger than being aggressive why not be patient? I mean in the end you do what works, right? Try both approaches and keep your log and see what works, that's my 2cents.

[Sean S]

If you've been training a while and had some decent results, you should have a pretty good idea of what you need to do. Sometimes it's better to cut it short if you're not feeling it rather than risk injury or setback. I've ignored my gut feelings a couple times and ended up with a minor injury for my trouble.
As long as you aren't always cutting things short, you will be fine.

[chris mason]

I would have simply asked Ryan what to do.
:hello:

Lol!

[ironwill727]

I certianly think you need to be patient to met your goals not just in strength but in life. However, if you are having one of those great days then I would push it to see how far I can take it. On the other hand if you feel like cr@p you need to back off a little bit.

Personally, I would not do anymore than 5 mins of any cardio prior to lifting. I think adding 10-20lbs a week is great as long as it continues to work. In my mind progressive overload is still king.

[JSully]

I have a hard time believing low intensity cardio (110-120bpm heartrate) had anything to do with it. Even if you're thinking you may have drained glucose stores, I doubt it would have been much considering low intensity burns free fatty acids in the bloostream since you really aren't calling upon loads of energy. Regardless, you still smoked 685x2 which is f-ing awesome.

I think you're "mature" in backing off at that time. If they (the reps) were as sloppy as you say they are, I may have gone with a single to hit a good solid rep, but really it's not needed. I think you did the right thing. Go in next week and tighten things up! SFW!!!

[AdamBAG]

I'm not exactly sure what you are getting at man.

I will say that if your head is not 100% in a lift then walking away is not a bad thing to do.

If you are doing 685 for doubles then not being tough enough or being mentally soft is not an issue. If you've gotten this far you know when to push it and when not to push it.

[joey54]

I think the fact that you are where you are at with those weights and still concerned with if you pushed yourself enough or not is a good sign. The fact that you knew to back off is an even better sign.