I had some pretty great gains over the summer. I’ve had tons of time to experiment with two-a-days, longer rests, “grease the groove,” etc.
It paid off:
-My squat went up 30kg
-I hit a new PR in bench press (my best in 3 years)
-Chin-ups increased from 6 rep sets to 15 on a good day.
-Leaner than I’ve ever been (~12% BF), yet gained 3 kg (~7 lb).
But then around the beginning of September, I started having more “not feeling it” days. I believe in listening to my body, so I figured I needed-- and deserved-- a deload week. I did minimal lifting and enjoyed some R&R.
But it didn’t help. I continued to “not feel it,” and it wasn’t just in my head: When I did push myself to lift, I’d struggle with weight that I normally crush. I tried backing off more, going as low as 2x a week, using lighter loads, etc. but problems remained:
-Low max effort sets
-Weak pumps
-Headaches during/after workouts
-Lack of motivation
-Weak appetite
It’s been over a month since I decided I needed to “deload,” and I haven’t figured out how to get back in the groove. Anyone ever experience this? How do you pull out of a performance nose-dive?