This year has been very humbling. I succumbed to injury quick into the beginning of this year, And it lasted for half of the year. I've been able to train without injury since then, and have been on a good run. I'll dive into what I think was the cause of the injury - the injury itself isn't so important - what it stands for is a roadblock. I have now been lifting for 5 years. For the first 4 of those years I wrote my own programming largely. The last year and a half I've tried 5/3/1, 8/6/3, Juggernaut Method, and GZCL. I did other training during the year, but I was mostly rehabbing and using lighter weights.
I find gauging and maintaining the recovery ability of your body difficult. Not all pains are the same, and to reach as far as you can, you will be willing to take some pain, but that very same pain could end up reversing on you and become more permanent. I think it's a case by case basis. Over the years, I've noticed that using brute strength to throw around weights does in fact injure you, and even if you can recover from it quickly, it can ultimately be your demise. I feel I started lifting weights with very proper form - and I did. As I started using my heaviest of weights though, I noticed my form slipping, but when you are dealing with very heavy weights, your ability to manipulate it will decrease.
I have found that my form in exercises and lifts will increase and decrease over time. You pick up new bad habits, and lose good instilled habits. This all sounds very synonymous with life. Coming back from a shoulder injury lasting half the year, I resumed without training my shoulders. No more raises, laterals pull-ups, rows, or overhead presses for the time being. I mostly trained the squat, and cautiously did some bench press. As time went on, my lifts were going up, but not very quickly, and I wasn't lifting that heavy. My programming had ran its run, and I needed something new. I tried GZCL, and I'm still on it, and very much so like it.
GZCL lifting routine is said to not be a program, but a method. This actually deterred me at first, because I like having linear things to follow. It is quantifiable though, and is just a matter of a 4 week cycle. I don't follow it as described as I am a rebel. I know this in turn breaks the philosophy of periodic training, but my version is just more sped up.
I'm running the program on three lifts: bench press, deadlift, and the squat. I squat and bench press on the same workout, and do it first in the week with a deadlift day following a few days after. This leaves me with 2-3 workouts a week, which doesn't sound like much, but no day is wasted and it accelerates quite quickly.
The things I think GZCL have going for it compared to other programs are that it's more simple with less things to remember and less deviance from training structure. I also think the percentages are just really dialed in greatly, and allows for your body to recover and be ready to execute. It gives mental confidence in gaining much momentum with failure. The lifts I do outside the main three lifts are not something I record. I don't think them important to even name, because I really feel each person should do the lifts that they know won't injure them, and will help sculpt or cultivate muscle in the places that are their specific goals.
I find weight lifting and training to be very different these days then years past. It's no longer a grand discipline to me. I've sort of acknowledged the limits of my abilities, and certain motivations aren't there. There is no longer a veil of incompetence in my mind about all things fitness and weight training related. I'm eager to train. It keeps me healthy.
In the next coming year/years, I'd like to help a greater amount of people in weight lifting endeavors. I think instead of just trying to come up with ideas, I need to just lay things down and let them do what they will and be what they will. So here's to productivity.
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