For some time there, I had lost a lot of confidence in myself in the gym. High Intensity Training can be frightening at times... High intensity is the most mentally and physically demanding of them all. Maybe not for long periods of time, but for that brief moment it requires EVERYTHING you got.
The HIT training I do is also on a different level than the HIT training routines Mike Mentzer is known for. The amount of sheer willpower and intellectual capacity this type of HIT training requires is hard to grasp for most people. In recent times I’ve lost sight of the moment where I can’t even think (makes some sense oddly enough, but not how it’s supposed to make sense). Half the time in my mind I’m battling with thoughts like “is my form even correct?” “I can go further, but it hurts like hell, does that mean I stop, or can I go further?” instead of focusing on the feelings in my body entirely and what I’m doing with it. I don’t imagine any of that made sense to you, but if it did, well, you know some of what I talk about. The pain is stronger than my desire to succeed right now. Has been for a while, but I continue to push myself harder than the previous workout.
With that aside, today I had a great experience in the gym and re-live the solid confidence I had back last fall and spring. I pushed 340 lbs. for 18 clean reps on the leg press. After though I thought to myself “Man, I could have done 19.” I think now I could have done 20. But that would be pushing it. That’s been the trend, lately. Giving up way to soon. The challenge is knowing when to stop. I guess what I’ve forgotten is you don’t know when to stop. You go until you can’t go anymore. You go until you feel like your muscles will explode.
What scares me is I might injure myself because the pain is so bad sometimes it feels like something is going to explode. And then I remember, when have I ever injured myself doing high intensity training?? Never.
I’ve only been training for 2 years and seriously for the last year, but I can say injuries for the most part will come from high volume and pushing pre-exhausted muscles past their limits too soon or before they are completely recovered, and poor form.
It feels good to write, again. I plan on posting new progress pictures soon. I’ve lost some size from my pictures on this blog, but I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. I’ll also update my body building graphs which none of you readers have seen, so you all can follow along with my progress.
