Energy loss, can anyone relate?

[thebadmattan]

Hello TB fam,
Lately I've had huge drop in energy levels and overall motivation to train. This is a bit strange for me, normally I love training, It's something I look forward to.

I was coming up on my last week of a Black block paired with Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength (needed the LP) and by my last 5k tempo run it pretty much hit me. I had barely hit the halfway point and my legs were on fire. Following the crappy run, loss of energy and will to train. Initially I wrote it off as over training and decided to take a week or two off to collect myself. That two weeks has since turned into a month. Normally on days I'm not feeling so hot, I just grind my way through the sessions and still complete them. But this type of energy loss has had me avoiding the gym, track, and trails and not performing as I used to during daily unit PT. I haven't gained or loss any weight since this started, either and I've stopped taking all supplements (protein, creatine.) and vitamins. I thought maybe Zinc was the problem (fatigue + sluggishness) so I stopped taking it. I use OptiZinc, 30mg with 3mcg of copper, it adheres to a 10 to 1 Zinc/Copp ratio. That didn't do it either.

My diet is decided by the Chow Hall. I eat what they serve, like it or not. Normally they have everything I need, steak, chicken, etc. But some days the main entrees may only have 20-25gms of protein, no kidding.
My sleep is just as shitty as any other military athlete. Of course I try to get as much of it as I can but sometimes it can't be helped. To put it in perspective, all of last week we were waking up at 0200.

So as I approach my one month anniversary of being a slob, I ask you Tactical Barbell fam, can anyone relate to this?!

[KShea]

Could be a little bit of overtraining going on. You're in the military + Starting Strength (which is great for what it is, but with so much conditioning from the military + TB conditioning + SS... it's a LOT to take on).

Here's an article on overtraining.... https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fawnia33.htm and a quote from that article on symptoms...

Persistent muscle soreness
Elevated resting heart rate
Increased susceptibility to infections
Increased incidence of injuries
Irritability
Depression
Loss of motivation
Insomnia
Decreased appetite
Weight loss

I don't know what other signs and symptoms you may have, but when I am overtrained (it's happened a few times) I've felt a total lack of motivation for a month or two... And I experienced only loss of motivation, irritability and increased incidence of injury.

Even if you're physically capable of getting through all of the training you have going on, that doesn't mean you should.

And sometimes two weeks off and jumping back in full throttle won't help you. You may have to change your training schedule for a bit after a few weeks off... Lighten the load.

Good luck.

[Barkadion]

I agree with Kshea's points. I just want to add the getting into meditation was the game changer for me. You might want to try it and see what happens. I bet it will improve just about everything training wise.

Good luck!

[WallBilly]

LP is great for novices, but at the end of the day, if you are doing it right, you are setting a PR every single workout!

Gee, I wonder why you are getting run down?

And even Rippetoe says that during your LP, you should eat like a horse and do little if any conditioning. His idea is to get strong and fat really fast, then go to a continuation protocol with conditioning.

Consider switching to an approved TB protocol for adequate recovery.

[WallBilly]

Or, if you want to stick with LP, drastically cut down on your conditioning load until you are out of LP.

[thebadmattan]

Could be a little bit of overtraining going on. You're in the military + Starting Strength (which is great for what it is, but with so much conditioning from the military + TB conditioning + SS... it's a LOT to take on).

Here's an article on overtraining.... https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fawnia33.htm and a quote from that article on symptoms...

Persistent muscle soreness
Elevated resting heart rate
Increased susceptibility to infections
Increased incidence of injuries
Irritability
Depression
Loss of motivation
Insomnia
Decreased appetite
Weight loss

I don't know what other signs and symptoms you may have, but when I am overtrained (it's happened a few times) I've felt a total lack of motivation for a month or two... And I experienced only loss of motivation, irritability and increased incidence of injury.

Even if you're physically capable of getting through all of the training you have going on, that doesn't mean you should.

And sometimes two weeks off and jumping back in full throttle won't help you. You may have to change your training schedule for a bit after a few weeks off... Lighten the load.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply, KShea. I'm definitely experiencing some of those symptoms, looks like I overexerted myself. A this point I should put on a hold on anything too high intensity and ease back into my training, I'm thinking run a block of BB. My body will let me know when I should start up again.

[thebadmattan]

I agree with Kshea's points. I just want to add the getting into meditation was the game changer for me. You might want to try it and see what happens. I bet it will improve just about everything training wise.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply Barkadion, I never really thought of myself as a meditation kind of person, but I could give it a shot. Any beginner references?

[thebadmattan]

LP is great for novices, but at the end of the day, if you are doing it right, you are setting a PR every single workout!

Gee, I wonder why you are getting run down?

And even Rippetoe says that during your LP, you should eat like a horse and do little if any conditioning. His idea is to get strong and fat really fast, then go to a continuation protocol with conditioning.

Consider switching to an approved TB protocol for adequate recovery.

Interesting ... my training was probably VERY taxing on my CNS. Taking what you said into account, it looks like its time for me to transition to Operator or Fighter. In my two months of LP I did see some fairly decent strength gains, though I don't know how my lifting hiatus has affected those gains now that I mention it.

[Barkadion]

I agree with Kshea's points. I just want to add the getting into meditation was the game changer for me. You might want to try it and see what happens. I bet it will improve just about everything training wise.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply Barkadion, I never really thought of myself as a meditation kind of person, but I could give it a shot. Any beginner references?

I have started with this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Relaxation-Respo ... ert+benson

It really changed me in a way:)

[WallBilly]

LP is great for novices, but at the end of the day, if you are doing it right, you are setting a PR every single workout!

Gee, I wonder why you are getting run down?

And even Rippetoe says that during your LP, you should eat like a horse and do little if any conditioning. His idea is to get strong and fat really fast, then go to a continuation protocol with conditioning.

Consider switching to an approved TB protocol for adequate recovery.

Interesting ... my training was probably VERY taxing on my CNS. Taking what you said into account, it looks like its time for me to transition to Operator or Fighter. In my two months of LP I did see some fairly decent strength gains, though I don't know how my lifting hiatus has affected those gains now that I mention it.

If you read Rip carefully, both in his books and on his website, he talks a lot about people not succeeding in his Starting Strength LP because "you are not doing the program." He even has an acronym for t. He particularly says that for 3 or 5 months or whatever, conditioning should be little or none and "in the long run, you can get your cardio and conditioning back after LP, it won't kill you to focus for 3 or 5 months solely on strength."

He also says, accurately I think, that "you don't get strong from lifting weights, you get strong from recovering from lifting weights." This means you need recovery between SS lifting sessions, lots of food and lots of sleep. So, if you do a PR in squats, bench and deadlifts on Monday, going out for a 5k run on Tuesday is going to kill you in the end. No wonder your legs were burning!

I came to TB from Starting Strength. After 4 or 5 months of SS I had made tremendous gains for a 52 year old (at the time) dude. I'll be forever grateful to Rip. But it was getting to the point that I was run down all the time. I read Rip's "Practical Programming for Strength Training" and read about his Texas Method. At the end of the day, I didn't want to go in that direction and spend 2 hours or more per workout in the weight room. I wanted something more balanced, and luckily I discovered TB which I have been doing for over 2 years. In addition to the benefits of strength and conditioning, this program completely slayed all the hip pain, knee pain and back pain that comes with normal aging and a sports-centered lifestyle.

KB had a quote that hooked me: "You're not a professional bodybuilder. You can't afford to be sore for a week after "leg day."

So, yeah, Operator or Fighter would be a good transition for you with conditioning in the long run. But you could stick with LP a bit longer if you want to, but you'll have to knock off the heavy running or it will crush you.