Lindsey’s Training Log – December
posted on December 14, 2018
Earlier this week, one of our members approached me about feeling burned out and fighting with your body: how do you train through this?
Normally my answer would just be “DON’T,” but I think it’s more nuanced than that. Why are you burned out? Are you taking care of the basics: eating enough, sleeping enough, hydrating enough? Do you find some joy in training or even just being in the gym?
If the answer to those questions is yes (and in this case it was), I’d say yeah, get in the gym. This is where I find myself recently. My body isn’t being cooperative. In years past this would have left me a mess, because training and getting stronger was such a core part of my identity. At this point, I just accept it.
For me, the key is to make a point to get some movement in that 1. Appeals to me on that day, 2. Can be done in a timely fashion, and 3. Leaves me smiling by the end (like this, where I get my first headstand without landing on my butt finallllllly)
I still hate going into the gym with absolutely no plan, so with all this in mind, I put together a mini “burnout training template.” It’s not very specific on purpose – I just plug in whatever movements sound good on that day. I am sure to start off with something playful and fun – lately that’s been working on headstands and arm balances and stuff I’m picking up at yoga! And I end with something that gets my heart rate up and feels really good – some kind of short conditioning circuit or some time on the rower. I put time constraints on everything else. This means my rest periods are short, so the weights I’m using are relatively light, which gives my body a break for the heavier loads I might normally use. It also means I’m wasting less time. I’m still working on my olympic lifts, but taking a little breather until the new year by focusing on technique and super light weights. I can get this all done in just over an hour when I don’t get distracted by work!
Here’s that template. If you ever find yourself lacking motivation but still wanting to get some training in, something similar may work well for you.
| Upper Focus | Time | Suggestions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-up | Cardio, deep squats and hip openers, shoulder openers | ||
| Play | 5 mins | headstands, arm balances, hanging stuff, skillllllz | |
| Oly Technique | 10 mins | jerk footwork, snatch balance, muscle snatch | |
| Upper Horizontal Push, superset with: | Bench variations, low rep start, high rep finish | Choose a focus for the day: | |
| Upper Horizontal Pull | 10-15 mins | seated row, bent over row | Either horiz. or vert. group get barbell |
| Upper Vertical Push, superset with: | Z-press, strict press, push-press | opposite is high rep FB/DB work | |
| Upper Vertical Pull | 10-15 mins | pull-ups or chin-ups/ pulldowns | |
| Upper Accessories | 15-20 mins | chest + triceps or back and biceps (aim for 4 exercises of 3-4 sets each) | |
| Conditioning Play | 5-10 mins | use weird implements – battle ropes, prowlers, d-balls | |
| Lower Focus | Time | Suggestions | Notes |
| Warm-up | Cardio, deep squats and hip openers, shoulder openers | ||
| Play | 5 mins | pistols, jumps, lands, footwork | |
| Oly Technique | 10 mins | clean/snatch pulls, high hang snatch, OHS | |
| Squat | 10 mins | front or back or zercher | Choose a focus for the day: |
| Pull | 10-15 mins | sumo (or chair) or conventional (or RDL) | Either squat or pull heavy, light for other |
| Accessories | 20-25 mins | FB and bodyweight work (aim for 4-6 exercises of 3-4 sets each) | |
| Conditioning Play | 5-10 mins | use weird implements – battle ropes, prowlers, d-balls |
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