I don't get sick very often but when I do, I'm a dumbass and I train, anyway. However, right now I am cruising on TRT and only 3 weeks from stepping back on the peddle, so I decided to be smart and take a few days off.
It wasn't a full-blown sickness, but I was fighting something because I just couldn't get enough sleep. I would sleep like a rock, get up and be exhausted. I would then sleep more and the same thing would happen. I finally was able to just sleep for a solid 13 hours and when I finally woke, I felt like a million bucks again. What was it? I have no freakin' clue. I am just glad that I am feeling better and back in my routine.
I don't know how you are when you aren't in your usual routine but I am a mess. I become very unmotivated and struggle to keep structure of any kind. I don't like to go out and do anything; even a trip to the store is not something I want to do. I even become lazy around the house. And when I am not feeling well or not training for whatever reason, I do not stay on my diet.
I don't blow off my diet because I'm hungry; I blow off my diet because eating my scheduled meals is also part of my structure, and when I am not in my typical routine, I would prefer not to eat. I usually go the entire day and then have one large meal later at night after I find myself ravenously hungry. It's just the way I have always been. Hell, I have to force myself to take a shower. lol I just want to lay around and rest and chill. And please don't take it as my being depressed because that isn't the issue. It is more just a lack of motivation and I think most people who don't feel very good for whatever reason, tend to do the same to some degree.
Some people will force themselves to go to the gym and stay on track as if it is some sort of badge of courage or something. I have trained long enough to know that if I am not going to be 100% at the gym, I'm not going. The added recovery and rest time is far more beneficial than pushing a workout that won't likely be productive and the added risk of injury attempting to do a workout that isn't going to yield anything more than me being able to say, "I worked out today." I have found, in my experience, that this is an excellent way to injure myself. And right now I am still nursing this nagging left supinator, anyway, so more downtime while I am cruising on TRT is not something I am terribly worried about.
I was able to get back into the gym today (Thursday) and figured I would just train through the weekend, take Monday off for the Holiday (as it fits my rotation, anyway) and then be back on Tuesday to go straight through Friday and then be back on my regular schedule. All I have from there is to get through another week and I am off to Chicago for Jr Nationals, anyway. THEN, it's go-time for another 24 weeks of blasting for my off season.
My weight has pretty much held while I have been off and my condition, as well. My left supinator didn't bother me today but I admittedly am still avoiding any flye movements and I am also not doing any type of movements where I have to wrestle heavy dumbbells into position so that I don't irritate it as it recovers. The last thing I want is to take this mild supinator issue into my 24-week blast so I am hoping it is ready to go in just over 3 weeks. Having to press for all of my chest movements is a nice change of pace that I am not accustomed to, anyway, so that's a bonus.
I anticipate that I will be starting this next phase at only a slightly softer 230 than I was when I transitioned to this TRT cruise phase. That means I am hoping to push to a very full and solid 240 ish within the first 4 weeks or so after shifting "gears." You see what I did there? I think you do. This should also allow for some strength gains that I haven't seen since the early 2000s. The plan will be the same in that my main focus is to remain injury free while breaking my ass to continue to grow while staying lean. It is likely that when I hit the 240-mark I will never in my life have been this weight and in such good condition. I may even be able to get over that 240-mark as the year progresses which would be icing on the cake.
I am not going to push the scale weight just for the sake of pushing scale weight. I know better than that and I also know that as my weight goes up, my lower back vulnerability increases, too. I absolutely will not push for gains at the risk of my lower back. Even though I haven't had a lower back issue in over 4 years, it hasn't been so long that I have forgotten how terrible it was and how much it negatively impacted my training and my mindset. It's a fine line and I am going to dance as close to it as I possibly can but if I feel my back giving me any issues, I will be forced to back off.
I hope all of you have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
