So, everything has been rolling along quite well and training has been great other than struggling to gain more size at a rate that I feel is best. Out of the blue, I start to feel run down and very tired.
One day turned into 3 days which turned into almost a week. I still don't know what it was but it kicked my ass. This brings me to the point of this coach log:
There are times to push through and train and there are times where you play it smart and take the time off to rest and recover. I will push through minor things and then with others, I play it smart and take the time off. I don't just workout to "get it done." I train only if I feel the session is going to be productive. If I don't think it will be, I'm not doing it.
Shortly after my training session last Tuesday, I just didn't feel right. Felt run down, tired, achy, and had a head cold. I was congested and had a mild sore throat. Because of the overwhelming feeling of being tired, I figured I would sleep it off.
After sleeping for almost 10 hours, I got up and only spent about 6 hours awake before going back to bed and sleeping for another 7 hours. I ended up repeating this schedule for almost 5 days where I would only be up for 6-8 hours before having to go back to bed, again.
The sore throat went away but the congestion stayed. I wanted to train but knew it wouldn't be a good idea because I hadn't eaten much for 4 of those days and was not very hydrated, either, evidenced by my cracked and slimy lips when I would wake up from sleeping.
The sleeping issue subsided and I was no longer as exhausted as of Sunday so I took the day to eat and hydrate so that I could get back to the gym on Monday. When Monday arrived, I still didn't feel 100% so I waited until Tuesday and finally I am back on track and feeling better.
During this time, I played around with my split as I have been feeling that the current split is not as good as it can be to support the goals that I have. This down time allowed me the time to play with it and get it figured out. It was complicated to figure out and to put together but I anticipate that this new split will be what I continue to use for the last 4 months of this off season.
I put it together to give more attention to my back and also to my legs. These two areas are my main focus as they are my weakest links (with my back being far and away my weakest link).
This is the split that I put together:
It is a rotation in that I am training for 2 days followed by 1 day of rest. So, the days of the week that are training days will always rotate. It is a 2-week rotation that focuses on back and legs as weaknesses but backs off on arms as they are a strength of mine.
It looks like this:
back/rear delt
chest/delts
REST
arms
legs/abs
REST
back/rear delt
chest/delts
REST
legs
back/rear delts
REST
chest/delts
arms
REST
legs
back/rear delts
REST
chest/delts
legs
REST
REPEAT
The main reason for the change was to get more frequent back and leg sessions.
I will high-carb on the rest days and every 3rd rest day, I will Skipload.
This schedule also leaves open the option for taking 2 rest days in a row if I were to feel that I needed it.
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