Weak day at gym, WTF?

[Paincake]

Sup gentlemen!

Anybody else ever have those days where you go to the gym, and it feels like the weights are screaming at you, then you ignore and try lift but it feels like a totally different weight and you might get crushed any moment. Then on other days it feels like a walk in the park.
Its amazing how on different days the strength of your lift can vary by as much as 30 pounds. I remember being a beginner I never had ''weak'' days at the gym.
Could it be that as I've been working out for almost 2 years now, I have learned to train more intense and my central nervous system has learned to deal with poundages at higher percentage then when I first started. Maybe my CNS is being fried.

I recognise now that something that may be holding me back is for the fact that for as long as I have trained I always did 3 times per week Full Body workouts, same routine pretty much. I have rarely switched things up because I didn't see the need for it. I'm not a firm believer in ''routine switching''. I'm not sure but maybe I should.

I am 5'7 length and 190lbs. My goal has always been combination of mass, strength and try stay lean as much. I like to see myself as a bodybuilder that strongly believes in strength gains as priority.

My routine is on average something like:

Monday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Rows
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Seated Cable Rows
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Most of the exercises I do 2 to 3 sets maximum. This may seem very little but the sets are quality sets at high intensity level. Usually I do low reps, 3 to 8 reps maximum depending on exercise. Some exercises like Deadlift I go low reps, and Pull-Ups a little higher.
Training arms is something I've been wanting to do for a while but haven't gotten to it as I was too busy increasing poundage or reps on the basic lifts.

I've been thinking to maybe do a split, but I'm not sure if I will be able to keep strength high. Splits are very traditional bodybuilding centric. What would you recommend, stay with my routine, or perhaps go with a customized split where I will do more sets and rest longer. Maybe the high experienced lifters have a opinion on this, if you do please enlighten me.

My main problem is the weak days at the gym. It has been happening alot more lately where on some days I'l do fine and on others everything feels heavy as ****!

[Romanred]

Yeah, make sure to keep crying and ranting about it. Set your mind up for more failure. That'll help.

[DeanCorp]

Excuse my ignorance, but why are you doing so many of the same exercises in the same week? Shouldn't you give your body a chance to recovery fully, i.e. not doing chest with only 3 days rest between it?

[Zmidouz]

Everyone has their off days

[Oxyuranus]

if you want to gain strength, do SS.

Excuse my ignorance, but why are you doing so many of the same exercises in the same week? Shouldn't you give your body a chance to recovery fully, i.e. not doing chest with only 3 days rest between it?

no.

[I8YourMama]

if you want to gain strength, do SS.

stfu

[bcroger2]

Sup gentlemen!

Anybody else ever have those days where you go to the gym, and it feels like the weights are screaming at you, then you ignore and try lift but it feels like a totally different weight and you might get crushed any moment. Then on other days it feels like a walk in the park.
Its amazing how on different days the strength of your lift can vary by as much as 30 pounds. I remember being a beginner I never had ''weak'' days at the gym.
Could it be that as I've been working out for almost 2 years now, I have learned to train more intense and my central nervous system has learned to deal with poundages at higher percentage then when I first started. Maybe my CNS is being fried.

I recognise now that something that may be holding me back is for the fact that for as long as I have trained I always did 3 times per week Full Body workouts, same routine pretty much. I have rarely switched things up because I didn't see the need for it. I'm not a firm believer in ''routine switching''. I'm not sure but maybe I should.

I am 5'7 length and 190lbs. My goal has always been combination of mass, strength and try stay lean as much. I like to see myself as a bodybuilder that strongly believes in strength gains as priority.

My routine is on average something like:

Monday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Rows
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Seated Cable Rows
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Rest

Most of the exercises I do 2 to 3 sets maximum. This may seem very little but the sets are quality sets at high intensity level. Usually I do low reps, 3 to 8 reps maximum depending on exercise. Some exercises like Deadlift I go low reps, and Pull-Ups a little higher.
Training arms is something I've been wanting to do for a while but haven't gotten to it as I was too busy increasing poundage or reps on the basic lifts.

I've been thinking to maybe do a split, but I'm not sure if I will be able to keep strength high. Splits are very traditional bodybuilding centric. What would you recommend, stay with my routine, or perhaps go with a customized split where I will do more sets and rest longer. Maybe the high experienced lifters have a opinion on this, if you do please enlighten me.

My main problem is the weak days at the gym. It has been happening alot more lately where on some days I'l do fine and on others everything feels heavy as ****!

looks good.

[Paincake]

Yeah, make sure to keep crying and ranting about it. Set your mind up for more failure. That'll help.

If anything your post is a rant with no contribution to my thread. Do you have little dick syndrome coming here telling me I'm a faillure.

[Havu93]

Yeah, that happens when I don't eat properly earlier on the same day.

[comps]

Yeah, that happens when I don't eat properly earlier on the same day.

This

[Oxyuranus]

stfu

no. OP is deadlifting, benching, and squatting 3x a week. he's obviously not very strong. if he was using decent weight he'd be killing himself by now.

[DamianWeber]

I have these every once in a while

[Nullery76]

i wouldnt deadlift three times a week but the others are ok. But you said youve been working out for two years? i think its time to switch the routines

EDIT: but weak days are normal OP.

[Dreamer_]

what percentages are you working with? Is there any progressive loading structured with strategic De-conditioning or are you just using your rep ranged maxes every workout. Given that you feel 30lbs weaker on some days. I'm going to make the assumption that your obviously over training hard. Go to the workout section and if your goal is strength then research 5/3/1 by Jim Weider. If your more interested in hypertrophy, Google "HST" and research that. You'll get better progress if you work with sub maximum weights that lead up to your max over time, followed by a week off then repeat.

[TheGrapeJuice]

damn your workout is all twisted...sometimes when I eat too much carbs in the day I get weak

[Dreamer_]

damn your workout is all twisted...sometimes when I eat too much carbs in the day I get weak

That doesn't even make sense.

[Paincake]

For those arguing against Fullbody routines, not everybody has the same recovery abilities. And training with frequency is a viable training method.
On a good day I will lift 420 deadlift no straps no belt.If Fullbody didn't work, it wouldn't get me to where I am now bringing in the results. Of course the reason I come here for advice is because of a sudden stagnation. If you read my post you will see I acknowledged that maybe its not the way to go anymore because I'm not the same newbie beginner I used to be 1,5 years ago. But the amount of ignorance here attacking my way without constructive criticism doesn't give me a good impression of the community here.

what percentages are you working with? Is there any progressive loading structured with strategic De-conditioning or are you just using your rep ranged maxes every workout. Given that you feel 30lbs weaker on some days. I'm going to make the assumption that your obviously over training hard. Go to the workout section and if your goal is strength then research 5/3/1 by Jim Weider. If your more interested in hypertrophy, Google "HST" and research that. You'll get better progress if you work with sub maximum weights that lead up to your max over time, followed by a week off then repeat.

I do singles for the basic lifts every monday. And Wednesday and Friday I lift 85% of max. I acknowledge that overtraining may be a possible symptom, but it didn't start untill recently and I use such training methods for longer.

Excuse me as I'm not native English, what do you mean with sub-maximum weights? I warm up the same method you warm up with max-ot. Lots of people fatique themselves in their warm up, I don't do that.

[TheGrapeJuice]

That doesn't even make sense.

Hypoglycemia

[Paincake]

damn your workout is all twisted...sometimes when I eat too much carbs in the day I get weak

My diet is generally pretty consistent. My macro is usually 25Fat/35Protein/40Carbohydrates although it may vary slightly. This is what works best for my body, but everyone is different.

My carbohydrates aren't high, but even if I try squeeze in a banana pre workout doesn't matter. It may seem odd to some, but for my body its the fats that provide me with strength. Nothing beats an omelet before workout.
Eitherway, I dont have hypoglecemia or any type of diabetes. I think I'm healthy.

[A7xThomas]

Dude this does not look like a workout that i would even consider! Nothing changes Your muscles have hardly anytime to recover you should know that but i guess your "workouts" are not as intense as you say they are. Maybe start trying a 4 day split and concentrating A combo of working diffrent mucsle each day...

Something defintely needs to change after 2 years!!

[xBONExCROWNx]

ive had days where i could only push 405 for 2. those are my worst days. then on my good days i bust it for 8 or 9.
everyone has off days.
depends on how much sleep youve had, how much and what youve ate, and how much water youve drank.

[MMAgrappler7]

bone crown, you should cut at some point, youd be jacked.

[Rowbro]

ive had days where i could only push 405 for 2. those are my worst days. then on my good days i bust it for 8 or 9.
everyone has off days.
depends on how much sleep youve had, how much and what youve ate, and how much water youve drank.

Listen to this dude he's absolutely right (and he has the proof). I think the most important things are sleep, food (nutrition including vitamins and minerals) and hydration. In the past, if I went to sleep after 5am, I could only squat my 5 rep max once, and the bar would feel extremely heavy. I gotta say now that you're 2 years in, you're gonna have to sleep as much as your body needs each night. This means no alarm clock to wake you up, you have to wake up on your body's time (go to sleep significantly earlier!). Sleep is the be all end all factor in your recovery; eating enough is much easier to do than sleep enough if you have a busy schedule. I also advise you to only take naps if you do something physically demanding and you wanna lift that same day.

[Paincake]

ive had days where i could only push 405 for 2. those are my worst days. then on my good days i bust it for 8 or 9.
everyone has off days.
depends on how much sleep youve had, how much and what youve ate, and how much water youve drank.

At least I know I'm not the only one.

Thanks everyone for the usefull responses so far.

[NZninja101]

Deadlifting 3 times week? I can see why you'd feel burnt out.

[Energized]

Are you getting enough sleep, the right nutrition before workouts and taking a pre-workout sup? If it isn't yes for all those questions then that might be why. Although everyone doesn't want to take a pre-workout sup I think they are vital if you want to feel at your best for workouts. That's if they work for you of course.

[smac898]

i have those days sometimes. i wont be able to reach my max on squats or bench on the last set perhaps because i went slower on the other sets. maybe lingering muscle fatigue from past workouts. doesn't bother me much. i bounce back. If you keep getting them, reduce frequency on the exercise you are "weak on "

[Paincake]

Deadlifting 3 times week? I can see why you'd feel burnt out.

Haha I understand the surprising attitude, most people deadlift once per 1 or 2 week. But frequency can work if you play it ok with the sets. I know Olympic lifters personally that train morning/evening 10 times per week. Bodybuilding community greatly underestimates the potential of human workload.
Although I am not denying that being burnt out may not be a symptom for me. My deadlift isn't what it used to be when I first started and its at this point where I now realise the stronger you get, the less frequency you can take.

Are you getting enough sleep, the right nutrition before workouts and taking a pre-workout sup? If it isn't yes for all those questions then that might be why. Although everyone doesn't want to take a pre-workout sup I think they are vital if you want to feel at your best for workouts. That's if they work for you of course.

I have never really taken a pre-workout supplement tbh. I might drink some thee before workout sometimes and that helps enough. I barely take any supplements not even protein powder since my diet covers it well enough. Only take fish oil but thats it.
I was considering getting Jack3d perhaps. But you know, all these stimulants, its not that good for your body. And you build up a tolerance to it.

i have those days sometimes. i wont be able to reach my max on squats or bench on the last set perhaps because i went slower on the other sets. maybe lingering muscle fatigue from past workouts. doesn't bother me much. i bounce back. If you keep getting them, reduce frequency on the exercise you are "weak on "

Well thats I what I plan to do, I've stuck too long to the same routine. Never crossed my mind to change it.

A small example of what I might do.

Day 1: Bench Press, Military Press, Dips
Day 2: Squat, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Day 3: R
Day 4: Bench Press, Military Press, Dips
Day 5: Squat, Deadlift, Barbell Rows
Day 6: R
Day 7: R

I'l slightly crank up the sets in order to compensate for lesser frequency so more volume instead. I'l see how it goes.

[TrexKare]

Monday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Tuesday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Rows
Wednesday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Seated Cable Rows
Thursday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Friday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Seated Cable Rows
Saturday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Rows
Sunday: Rest

Fixed. HF overworking with your DL 3x week

[Paincake]

Monday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Tuesday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Rows
Wednesday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Seated Cable Rows
Thursday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Pull-Ups
Friday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Seated Cable Rows
Saturday: Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, Military Press, Barbell Rows
Sunday: Rest

Fixed. HF overworking with your DL 3x week

Don't play smarty pants on me. Really no need to get rude, you can constructively post a normal responce.
Soviet weightlifters Squat 6-8 times per week.
Go read a book and then come back. Science and Practise of Strength Training by Vladimir M Zatsiorsky might be a good start for many of you.