Okay, I’ve gone for quite a while without a break. I know, I know, I should have been taking some “off” weeks or “active rest” weeks throughout the past few months. But my motivation was high and training was going well. But this week has been a disaster. I’ve turned it into an off week because I have had no energy, no desire and no motivation to train. But I’m hoping to get back on track next week. I’m just not sure where to go next. I was checking out some of Ian’s new training programs, but they didn’t appeal to me. The new “Booming Biceps” articles and programs looked good, but I just don’t know if I have the energy to hit the weights four days a week right now. I’m thinking of doing something to focus on my weak areas (arms, shoulders, hams) and only three days in the gym with the other two days for fun stuff (mountain biking, in-line skating, and/or kettlebell work). I want to start putting on more mass, so I’m taking a breather from Renegade Training. But I really need a quick in the ass right now or something to help me get my energy levels up! Thanks!
I’ll send you a picture of me without my shirt. My man-tits ought to get you back into the gym in, oh, say 20 minutes tops. grin
I have taken a week off (totally off) here and there when I was tired or sick, and I always come back motivated and feeling good. Usually during my week off, all I can think about is getting back in the gym. If you are still not motivated after taking this week off, take another week completely off - just do fun stuff like skate, bike, etc. Set some goals, make a new workout plan, and then hit it hard. Or maybe your pierced nipples are affecting you…(kidding, 
). Don’t worry though, remember you have your whole life to train, so a week here or there off is actually good for you. And by the way, I am in the middle of my first Ian King workout (Limping and Super Strenght) and I love it - lots of variety, fun, and good gains.
It must suck to be you nate. I have difficulty getting into the gym 2 times/week and you’re complaining because you’ve overtrained yourself. Must be nice to have that much time. Can you donate some to me?
Hey Nate,damn it sucks to be overtrained doesn’t it. I usually have a hard time with that myself. What I do now is never go more than nine weeks without a “recovery break”. I don’t just sit on my ass, but I do other things then lifting. Biking, basketball, tennis, whatever. It doesn’t matter if you don’t lift for a week. You won’t lose your size and what strength you lose comes back within a week. Sometimes these breaks really help. Hell, if I were you, I just drive that bad ass boy in your driveway for a week. Anyway, I know your a smart enough cat to figure these things out. Maybe you should check out some westside stuff. Anybody who reads my posts know I just rave about these boys, but I think their methods are just fun to do. I’ve been getting really good gains from them. Anyway, you have my address, let me know if I can help in anything.
I’m in the same boat. I had let my training and diet slip(ate a box of Krispy Kreme for dinner one night) So I cleaned up my diet ala Massive eating protocols, and slowly started getting my calories up. Well four days of perfect eating and I caught the flu. So I’ve been getting less cals and protein than Jared from Subway for the past few days. ANYWAY I’m looking to get back on track, and I’m actually torn between doing Alessi’s routine or going the old school route and hitting one of John McCallums routines from Keys to progress.
yes it must suck to be nate, knowing all those hot girls and no drive to go to the gym. Well let me tell you something get your ass in the gym or none of those hot girls are going to want to look at you.
Nate Dogg, all that I have to say is that you should follow some of your own advice… dont tell me youve forgotten? EAT SOME PUSSY. If you were a fat, soft, out of shape lard ass do you think you could ever get the chance to eat pussy again?? I think not - or at least not that choice “grade A” pussy that we all enjoy so much. Hope this helps.
Enjoy your week off by being “normal”. Revert to a lazy lifestyle. Don’t follow a planned diet or workout regime. Do it for a week and you’ll never want to do it again. You’ll be fired up to be so much more than average, that you’ll be forcably removed from the gym and empty the grocery store.
I am curious about your results. How much muscle/strength have you gained on how long of a time?
My advice is very simple and comes with a money back guarantee. Listen to a motivational speaker…Yourself…Just list on paper all the qualities you like about yourself and all the qualities you would like to be. State these things as fact to yourself every morning. Ex. This is one of mine. “I am an honest, sincere person with specific goals.” It has been proven many times that this process actually stimulates the production of all the goodies like serotonin and norepinephrine and gets those neurotransmitters firing. If you just listen to your body and take a little time off and read your qualities every now and then it will help prevent BURN OUT. I’ll give you one more just to get you going…this is also one of mine…“I get stronger and sharper everyday, I stay away from activities which dull the blade.” Say that five times to yourself in the mirror every morning. You have nothing to lose using this silly technique so give it a try. And if anyone ever asks you why you talk to yourself just say “I like to talk to intelligent people and I like to hear intelligent people speak” late.
before you do anything, take a quick look back at what led you to being in this overtrained state…was it sheer volume of work, diet slipping, nervous system fatigue, etc. Knowing what may have led to your state is very important so that you can avoid similar problems in the future…
As far as routines, try the OLifting stuff again. Whenever I’m in the mood for a change, that’s one of the options i consider. Efficient exercises (most muscles used per unit time), train three days a week, get strong, get powerful, and maintain or gain mass. Do clean and jerk one day, Snatch the next, and alternate poundages (ie heavy day, light day). Hope you get out of the slump!
PAIN IS ONLY WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY!!! Take your time to sleep and eat like a fat bastard. Get all nice and bloated and undertrained. Read all your old Muscle Mags and watch your Muscle Flicks! But DO NOT WORK OUT. Just eat and sleep. After about 2 weeks - then hit the gym like an animal on a mission! Go freaky and put fear in the eyes of the gym management!
Nate, I’m shocked. You were such a stud for showing your picture a while back. Hey, it happens to all of us. Its nice to hear even the most hardcore asking for help. I’ve been at this for over 25 years and I asked Cy Wilson who is younger than the years I have been training to design me a diet. I train people all the time, but even I get tired of doing it at times, not to mention training me. Here are some tips: 1) try doing something you enjoy for a week or two instead of lifting. I like to swim. 2) try doing your lifts for 4-6 reps max, after a warmup and taking a 3 minute rest after each set. 3) loosen up on your diet for a few nights. I don’t think a full week is in order if you include the other items suggested. Good luck, you stud!
You guys are the bomb! There is some very good advice on here. And some of you had me laughing my ass off! I’ll tell you know lie, I have been so burnt out this week that I didn’t have the energy to even do the fun things I enjoy (in-line skating, mountain biking)! So I know that I’m seriously overtrained because of that. Normally, if I don’t have the energy to hit the gym, I love doing some skating! So I must have really needed this week off. I’m just relunctant to take a second week off. I’m constantly thinking about working out, and I feel so shitty when I take time off! So I want to get back to it next week.
Aikigreg, no need to send the picture! That already put a little pep in my step! Oak, I agree completely about coming back more motivated and doing fun stuff during the time off. As for the pierced nipple affecting me, that could be a small part of it. As I have tried doing some pushups and pullups earlier this week, and that hurt! I could feel it stretching the area around my nipple. Not a pleasant feeling.
Scott, you must be much busier than me to only make it to the gym twice a week. I'd be more than happy to loan you a little time so you can get in there more! Siscokid and racingsnails, thanks for the advice. Xracergs and cunning linguist, you are correct. I can't let all these hotties see me down in the dumps. And you know what, maybe all I really need to do is EAT SOME PUSSY!! In fact, I have someone coming to visit me today and for the rest of the weekend. She's a hottie. So if things go well, maybe I will take delight in eating some pussy. And you know that will set me straight!!! LOL
Big Bruva, even when I take time off, I find it hard to get lazy with my eating and lifestyle. That would make me feel like total shit. But I guess that could help motivate my ass to get back in the gym quicker! Colin, it’s hard to say how much strength/muscle I’ve gained because since June, I’ve actually gone from 16-18% bodyfat to 11% bodyfat and lost about 8 pounds. My strength was higher in June and early July. Once I started Renegade Training, my strength went down, but my conditioning and speed went up. I was recently tested for my V02 Max, and even without any specific endurance or cardiovascular training, I scored a 47. This is a little above average. And that’s just from Renegade Training. For recent pics of me, be sure to check out my web site. You can see pics that show the difference in my physique from June until late September.
D_END, I like the advice. Motivational talks to yourself are a great tip and one I didn’t think of. I like what you said! I’ll have to try that and see if it works! Cam, I am actually going to take a break from the Olympic lifts. I’ve been hitting them fairly consistently while doing Renegade Training. I think my next program will be more of a bodybuilding routine with some higher reps and medium intensity with more focus on arms and shoulders!
Big D, thanks for the advice as well. It echoes what a few others have said. Bodz, you are never too good to ask for advice from others! No matter how advanced your physique is or how many years you have under your belt, you can always learn something new! Everyone has offered some great advice. And it has motivated me. So I hope to be back in the gym on Monday to kick it up a notch! Until then, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the weekend and have fun! Besides, I have my little hottie arriving soon! And she loves my body, so you know I can't disappoint! ;) Thanks everyone!
Nate, bro, after some much deserved and needed rest, I suggest you go to your local supermarket. Stnad in the junk food aisle. See all the fat, bloated, disgusting hog-humans purchase doughnuts, taking their precious time to bend over because it’s too great a struggle to get the box at the bottom of the shelf. Eventually their lard-layered abdomens crease over to the point of no give, and they are forced to choose the disgusting, fried and sugar coated garbage that they will undoubtedly have consumed by the time they reach the minivan. Then watch them struggle to pull the seatbelt around their disgraceful excuse for a carcass. Smile, and then go invest in whatever company makes Insulin. Lata.
"MB Eric: Using the “Chris Shugart I-used-to-be-fat-so- I-can-call-them-whatever-I-want method since 1996.”
-Eric
ok… now lets hear about the hottie that came down this weekend???
Uh…let’s not talk about the hottie. Let’s just say that she wasn’t quite what I thought, and it would best that we just remain friends. On the other hand, the girl I had started seeing a month ago, but then stopped seeing because of “outside parental control” is now back to seeing me again. So who knows what the hell is up with my “hottie” situations. I did notice that many little hotties enjoyed the fact that I have my nipples pierced. As I was at the Gator game today (shirtless) and as I was leaving, one girl was like, “Sexy nipples!” That was pretty funny. And she and her friends were hotties. Of course, her one friend was like, “OW! That would hurt!” LOL! Oh well, I’ll keep you updated on the hottie situations as they unravel.
As for training, I'm feeling much better now that I've had some time off. I believe I will get back to the gym Monday with renewed motivation! I think I'll even do arms and shoulders on Monday so I can begin working some of my weak spots!
Nate…did you say “I really need a quick in the ass”??..Shucky scratches head…mumbles something about pierced nipples and turning fruity(har). Anyway I enjoyed the new link on the website, looks like you guys had some fun!!
Shucky, no way bro! My ass is exit only! So a kick in the ass is all I need! Not something stuffed in my ass! LOL! Glad you enjoyed the new link.
Now that I’ve rested up, it’s time to hit the gym today! Gotta tear it up again and remember to follow Ian King’s guidelines about rest weeks! I don’t want to feel overtrained again! That sucked! But I’m feeling good now, so we’ll see how it goes today when I hit arms and shoulders.