why are we stronger on some days??

[ken Sass]

i eat plenty, get plenty of rest, nice high test, work out regular, bla, bla ,bla, why can i lift good and heavy on some days on other day's i get crushed, wtf?? i don't understand shouldn't makings progress be a steady climb up the hill??

 

[PFM]

Are you training strictly for power or combining bodybuilding reps & sets with strength/power training?

 

[ken Sass]

that's a good question, i would say i overall do some of both, but chest i have been trying to concentrate on strength. this is my chest: flat bench 135x20 225x7 275x3 335x2 only a spot on the last set, with a lift off. db flat bench 2 sets 95xmax (normally 6or7) incline db 3 sets 80xmax (6 or 7) negatives on the smith machine 2 sets 365. pec deck 2sets 100 x 12

 

[TheLupinator]

Idk bro I'm strong everyday lol, but really if you want a steady increase in strength you should look into Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program, I ran it for almost a year then again a separate time for 6months, never regressed in strength (Not counting the deload week)

 

[PFM]

that's a good question, i would say i overall do some of both, but chest i have been trying to concentrate on strength. this is my chest: flat bench 135x20 225x7 275x3 335x2 only a spot on the last set, with a lift off. db flat bench 2 sets 95xmax (normally 6or7) incline db 3 sets 80xmax (6 or 7) negatives on the smith machine 2 sets 365. pec deck 2sets 100 x 12

My early days was for 1RM bench only (I was 12-16 years old) and I trained flat with a bar 15, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 and for small boned skinny kid 250lbs at 16 was impressive. I incorporated Pull-up and then delts and then flyes and raises and then curls and training triceps and my bench didn't progress much until I trained for 1RM in my late 30's.

Moral of my story........figure out what matters the most. Are you a pretty boy (like PFM) or a PL ?

 

[Mind2muscle]

I think it's just a matter of where you are mentally that day. Some days I am more motivated to workout. Some days I have a lot of stress that I need to get rid of which gives me more drive to pound the weight. Have you hit a plateau? Maybe you need a deload week or just a complete week off altogether.

 

[oldschool67]

thats a great question bro, like m2m said, mental, however there are so many variants! time of day, what you ate, how you slept..etc..mostly I, speaking for myself of course, just talk myself into 'getting it', i have had some of my worst feeling days turn into my most awesome workouts!

 

[Tren4Life]

I have been following 5/3/1 for the last 10 months. My feeling is the 135x 20 warm up set is too much work. 3 sets 5 rep on the way up to your working set. I got an app for my phone from amazon of the 5/3/1 and it lays out the warm up sets by percentage. Then you are sure you didnt over work yourself before you get to the working sets. Just my 2 cents

 

[ken Sass]

i do the 20 at 135 because at my age i really need to be warm

 

[PillarofBalance]

So many variables.... It would be interesting to hear from cashout on this... or Grind. Those two guys are like machines and control their variables. That's the only way to answer the question.

 

[DF]

What POB said lots of variables. I know if I'm mentally off so will be my workout. Could be as simple as dehydration or you ate crappy food ect....

 

[ken Sass]

i have never deloaded how is it done? how often?

 

[Popeye]

If youve been at it for years.....three weeks hardcore one week off (meaning drop 40% or so on total reps) seems to be the consensus Ive found

 

[ken Sass]

If youve been at it for years.....three weeks hardcore one week off (meaning drop 40% or so on total reps) seems to be the consensus Ive found

a lite week,,, wow,,,i never thought about it

 

[JOMO]

Time of day, rest, food and mental state all play the part. Also, do a few sets of just the bar to warm up instead of twenty reps of 135. And like previously said, strength, looks..what's your goal. I followed the 5/3/1 program for about five months and the strength increase was awesome. But do you want to push you body that hard and possibly increase the cause of injury?

 

[Chainman]

Thanks for all the great responses above, I have asked myself the same question after feeling “weak” in the gym. What about CNS could that have anything to do with it?

 

[SFGiants]

i have never deloaded how is it done? how often?

that's why your CNS gets too taxed.

Powerlifting 3 weeks hard 4th week deload
Bodybuilding 6 to 8 weeks hard and a week off

 

[DarksideSix]

take a week off bro and come back. you'll notice.

 

[Tren4Life]

POB told me once to do the deload week you'll come back stronger.


I moved my bench day to monday and it helped me add a few pounds to my total.

 

[grizzldsealpoacher]

I feel its mental also. Some days I have an edge where I feel like I could lift even more then what I have been training I can totally tell to when its there . Some days though I am fired up to be in the gym the edge just isn't there. Those days I try and really focus in on the muscle I am trying to work, make sure my form is perfect and try and connect mentally with the muscle and it helps, sometimes some days just fucking suck but yah push through and feel good about it. You always arre doing better then the guy doing nothing