Ep. 21 | Preparing for the Platform pt. 2 of 4 | So Ya Had a Bad Day, How to Reset After A Bad Training Session

One missed rep can hijack an entire peak if you let it. We sit down and get practical about the moment training stops matching the plan, especially when you’re close to a powerlifting meet. We talk about how to tell the difference between a random off day and a predictable readiness issue and give you practical tips on what to do when a lift doesn't go as planned. 

There are many externals that can negatively effect your training such as stress outside the gym, disrupted nutrition, the beach day that turns into dehydration, and of course sleep and hydration. We explain why you should communicate with your coach right away, why trying the same weight over and over is a trap, and how to pivot during the session to still get meaningful stimulus without digging a deeper hole. 

You’ll also hear our mindset rules for salvaging confidence: drop the weight enough to move well, stack high-quality reps, and stop feeding the spiral. We even share why deleting videos of failed lift can be the right move when your brain won’t let go. 

Whether you’re in a peaking block, chasing meet PRs, or just tired of bad days ruining good training cycles, this one gives you a clear reset plan. Subscribe, share this with a training partner, and leave a review telling us what helps you bounce back after a miss.

Transcript

Welcome And Mini-Series Context

SPEAKER_02 0:00

What's going on, you guys? Welcome to another episode of the Fortis After Hours podcast. I'm your co-host, Nate, joined by my wife, Liz. Hey. And we have another awesome episode planned for you guys this week. Crazy. We are in week two of our four-week mini-series. Last week we talked about, oh, our four-week miniseries about meat prep and the final stages. Yes. Peeking into a meat, powerlifting meat, that is. So week one last week, we talked about goals, execution, making sure those two things are aligned and kind of like setting up that mindset.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

And we got a lot of good feedback on that one. So if you didn't listen to it and you are someone who competes especially, I highly recommend go back and listen to it. Um if you happen to be listening this week and did not listen last week. Um is a little longer one, but it's all, I would say, like really good, valuable information as far as like making sure the brain is in the right spot for the for the meet day.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Yeah. Uh yeah, we got a lot of good feedback from uh some of our athletes and just from some people uh that know us that listen to the podcast. So we appreciate you guys listening, tuning in. Uh, if you haven't checked that episode out, make sure you guys check it out. Um, you could probably listen to it out of order. So if you're already here, you want to finish it.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

I don't think the order matters.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Um, but I would definitely check that episode out if you haven't already. If you have, thank you so much for the listen. Um, and be sure to check us out on YouTube for a full video version where you can see everything except my toe socks and flip-flops right now that I'm wearing.

SPEAKER_00 1:32

So scary, guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

Maybe if you make it to the end, I'll put my output up on the table. No. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:37

No. Why not? No. It could be a good cover art. No. Good cover art. No one wants to see that.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Yeah, they might.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Alright.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

They don't.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

So

What Counts As A Bad Day

SPEAKER_02 1:48

we're on week two, and what are we going to be talking about today?

SPEAKER_00 1:51

What to do if you have a bad day?

SPEAKER_02 1:55

You had a bad day.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

That's funny. I was thinking that too. Um basically, if training does not go as planned, maybe you fail, maybe you don't even get to what you were trying to get to. It's just, it's a bad day of training. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

And what do you do? It just does happen, but what do you do when you have a bad day of training in this last kind of peaking block? Because that can be sometimes a little more nerve-wracking for people because you're close to a meet. You're supposed to be going up on stage in front of people, lifting as heavy weights, and you miss something less than that. Like less than your goal, maybe, heaven forbid. Or, or like Liz said, you're warming up and you're like, I don't think this is there today. You know, I gotta uh shut it off, whatever. Um, so what do you do when that happens? Um, because I do think that it's a similar answer to what I would do outside of this section of training, but I think the speed of which you get your mind out of a negative spot needs to be even quicker and more responsive in this stage of training than when you're just kind of in the off season, as Liz likes to put it.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Not the off season. Not the off season.

Check Sleep Hydration And Stress

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Um I think the biggest part is, which I think is probably the hardest part for a lot of people, is like they have to actually be honest with themselves and look at like the externals that are going on in their life. Um, because usually, not always, but usually there's a reason why you had a bad day.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Again, not always. Sometimes, I don't know. It just happens. Sometimes you miss a lift, sometimes you feel great and it just wasn't there that day. Maybe you picked the wrong number, maybe it just maybe your mind wasn't like fully into it that day. Like, and that's I mean it happens. It happens, yeah. Um, I'd be crazy to say it hasn't happened to me because it's happened a lot. Yeah, no, however. Um, but many times I think more often than not, I would say that there's like external factors like going on that are like ca not I don't want to say causing the bad day, but have like influenced the bad day, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

And I think a lot of people block out all of the external things that are going on when they I think some people block out, I think a lot of people are just unaware, like naive almost. Yeah, so like they don't think they don't even understand that these things could be affecting them. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Block it out, don't even know about them. I don't know. But like they don't really think about the other things. And they just come to the gym and they're like, well, I'm here, so this should just be happening today because this is what's on my programming. But they don't think about the fact that they had a crazy stressful week at work, or something's going on in their family, or their nutrition was they didn't eat for a day because life was busy, or the day before they spent the day at the beach because it's finally nice out, and then they didn't drink any water and maybe had a couple extra drinks that weren't water. I forgot my water. Speaking of water, um, while they were at the beach, and you know, none of these things are like well, I guess some of them could be bad depending on what externals they are, but like some things aren't necessarily bad. Like spending the day at the beach isn't necessarily a bad thing. Or, you know, sometimes life events are happening, family things are happening, and like that's just how it is. And like they're not necessarily bad things to happen, but they are just factors that are going on outside of the gym that can impact your training, your recovery, your hydration, your sleep, like whatever it is. And kind of like you said, like people just don't really think about it or aren't aware of it or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

So and I think two of those things that you mentioned, hydration and sleep, are two of the most impactful things. A lot of the things, I'd say if you had to put like a number, like a numerical thing to it, it's like kind of in the 1% type range. Honestly, sleep and hydration, like if everything else, like you know, stress at work, family things, like I'm not saying everything, but most things that are, you know, if it's stressful or whatever, I'd say those are all like 1%, 2%, whatever. Sleep and hydration, that might be a solid five to like you know, seven percent. Uh they are big. Like it's it's it's it's a big deal. So, you know, when you're losing sleep, um, in reference to what you usually get, because that also matters. Um if you are not hydrated, again, in reference to, you know, it doesn't need to be not everyone is gonna be drinking two gallons a day. Um but like if it's in reference to you usually drink two gallons a day and one day you drink one bottle of water with no electrolytes, it's like uh like that could definitely affect your training, like a fair amount, is that's my point. So it's not like, oh, I just didn't drink water yesterday, so not a big deal.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Yeah. Uh so I think but like kind of where I was going with that was just like if those if you do have a bad day, like, and I guess maybe if you're blissfully unaware that these things impact your training, maybe now you know that they impact your training. And like take a second and actually think about what external factors are happening outside of your life that are maybe out of the out of the norm. Are you more stressed than usual? Are you sleeping less? Are you eating or drinking less? Yes. Are you eating more, but maybe like not good more? Like maybe you're eating not good foods that maybe just don't have you feel yeah, you're just not feeling great. Um think about family stuff that's going on. Like, there's a lot of other things that like I think people need to take the time to actually think about. And I'm the person who sometimes will just be like, oh, well, it doesn't matter. But like it does actually matter. Yeah, maybe we both do that. Yeah, but like sometimes, you know, you try and like pretend like, oh, well, it doesn't matter, I can still do this, but like sometimes you just can't.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Yeah, there's also like actual reality.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Yeah. So like you can live in a little like delusional world sometimes, and sometimes it works. Like sometimes you can delusion yourself into having a great day, but sometimes you just can't. So I think that would be like my first kind of thing when you're trying to maybe figure out like why you had a bad day, is like actually like take some time to reflect and see like what else is going on, and then you know, if it's something that you can fix or have control over, then next time we go, oh, okay. Try and fix it and control it.

SPEAKER_02 8:02

Like, oh, I'm going to the beach, like, I'm gonna have a couple drinks with friends, that's fine, but I'm also having water after and pounding that some electrolytes.

SPEAKER_00 8:09

Water, electrolytes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Because, and that's the thing, is like it's not like I think that's the other end of the spectrum, is sometimes so people are like, oh, so I have to control everything and this and that. It's like, no, like powerlifting is a nice sport where you don't need to be as dialed as like, say, uh bodybuilding. However, just like any type of sport or any endeavor that you do, the more dialed you are, the better your results will be. Yeah. So it's something to keep in mind.

SPEAKER_01 8:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:34

Um, not that you and like I said, powerlifting is unique in that you don't need to be versus like bodybuilding, like you need to be. Like there's just certain things you need to do to get your body as lean as it needs to be. Yeah. Um it's just how it is. Um, but you know, with powerlifting, like you don't need to be as dialed on nutrition, and I'm specifically talking about nutrition. Um, but the more dialed you are and the more controlling of your uh different factors and things like that, the less you'll have days like that. Um but there's a whole nother side of it, and that is that sometimes your body is just not feeling it. Um it might be like your mind, you can't like get everything to focus. Powerlifting is a very mental sport.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Um you know, it's it it takes everyone that powerlifts ever has that spot in their brain where they go to um where it's like you're either really focused or maybe really calm or really angry or whatever. Uh, but you got that kind of head space, and like sometimes if you can't get into that headspace, then things won't feel as good, or you might miss reps, or um, you know, your warmups might not move as planned. And that can be another factor in having a bad day and influencing a bad day is just like your mind and how it works with your

Tell Your Coach And Do Not Quit

SPEAKER_02 9:50

body.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

Yeah, and I think either one, whether there's external factors or not external factors, I think it's important to make sure that you communicate with your coach about it.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, facts.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

Um, don't like don't go crazy, don't like keep trying the same weight like five different times. Don't like remember when we used to do that?

SPEAKER_02 10:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

And we just like keep force it into existing. Yeah, terrible. Don't do that. Speaking from personal experience, don't do that. What a waste. Um if it's not there, it's not there. Um but then also that doesn't mean like you quit lifting for the day. Um, I mean, if you're hurt or something, that's a different situation, and then obviously you need to talk to your coach and figure it out, whatever. But like, as long as you're not like actually physically hurt, you are not done lifting for the day. Even if you failed, even if you don't feel good, even if it's heavy, like you're not done lifting.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

So big mistake if you finish your lifting there. Like if you miss or if you can't hit your top set, and then you just got all frustrated. And basically, even if you're there, I'm gonna tell you right now, especially because we're talking the context of this meat like peaking area, if you're there and you're doing the work, that's good. That's better than just leaving, but like you still need to be locked in. If not, you need to be locked in even more. Because if you if you weren't at 100%, then okay, this is a time where I need to like be as locked in as possible for my back down so I can at least get something out of this session.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah. And I would say, like, depending on your relationship with your coach or how the coaching athlete relationship works, like if you do fail or if you miss something, like whether they're in person or if there's someone that you can like text and get a response back quickly, like they might be able to tell you what they want you to do specifically, like if it doesn't go to play.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

And it might be different than what's on the plan.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Because what I was I was gonna say, well, this wasn't technically in like the last block. I'm just gonna give a little personal

A Deadlift Miss And The Audible

SPEAKER_00 11:40

anecdote. Uh it was from the last block, technically.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Um, and it was a deadlift day, and we were supposed to do a heavy triple. And the week before, I had tripled 385 after a top single, like pretty easily on deadlifts. I don't know if I said deadlifts, whatever. So we were gonna bench. I wish. So I went to 402 that I think we're gonna attempt to triple, and I got stapled by the first rep. Didn't even get it for one. Oh yeah. Um, and I was just like, oh, well, that's weird. Well, well, what do I do? When like also the week before, I deadlifted, I think it was like 418 for a single and then th uh triple at 385.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

So math didn't add up.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

So yeah, the math was not mathing. Um, and so I was like, sometimes Well, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, that's why I wanted to give this example. Because like, and so yeah, so it just the math didn't math, like it just didn't make sense in like any capacity. So it was just like, well, I guess we need to figure something out. And so you had me that day, we went back to like 375, I think. And I think I did like five just singles at 375, which was less than what I needed to triple, but it was still something, it was still good, solid work, and it was like the intent was kind of there for the day. Um so even though it was nothing of which was actually programmed for the day, it's what like worked for that day to continue to like make progress and then like continue my training. Um, I will tell you if this would have been probably a year ago, well, maybe a year ago, I was fine. Maybe like two years ago or more, like three, four years ago.

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Packed up.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Um, oh, I would have been sobbing hysterically and like left probably.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

How about that? That was more like five years ago, but you definitely would have been done.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Well, yeah, I would have quit for sure. Um so but basically my point is like if you can talk to your coach and like do they might change things for you, but it's okay because like you're still getting good, solid work in. If you can't talk to your coach like in that moment, like my advice would be like maybe lower the weight, like if you feel that like you're comfortable lowering the weight and do that, and then like really focus on hitting back down sets or something of the sort. Like, obviously, it depends on what you're supposed to be doing, but um yeah, don't just stop, is where I'm going with that.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

And it's like kudos to you as well, because you like Liz had in this situation like the humility to be like, okay, like I can't do this, but I'm still gonna do what Nate thinks I'm supposed to do, which like I've been in that same spot. I shared my squat fails the other week. Um, you know, like I've done the same thing where I'm like, well, like what do I do? And you just gotta be open to it. And that's a great example of that, too. Because, you know, when you're an athlete, this is something that people need to understand. When you're an athlete, you hire a powerlifting coach for their ability to really make those kind of decisions, where it's like these like kind of like audible decisions, so to speak, very fast, um, very in the moment, especially on meet day, being able to make these because I mean, overall, like powerlifting programming is pretty simple. Like, you guys, if you've been doing it for a while, it's pretty simple. You squat, you bench your deadlift. And you know, of course, you can have some intricacies in there in the accessories specifically that can, you know, like target weaknesses. But really, you know, a good powerlifting coach is going to be able to give you exactly what you need, that stimulus that you need on that given day, um in the event of something like this happening. Uh, and you know, if you're a uh powerlifting athlete and you're paying a coach, that's what you're paying them for. You know what I mean? So, because sometimes when you fail, it can be I mean, yes and no.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

If they're not there in person, they might not be able to respond. Like sometimes they can, but they can't always talk about that.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Yeah. Sorry. I'm talking about like, I'm assuming like you are talking to your coach in person. I'm not talking about for online stuff, is just clarifying. Yeah, no, no, no. I'm just saying, like, if you're having a conversation with your coach after a fail, uh, just be open to different things that they may have you do that may not be on the plan. Because it's easy for us as power thing athletes, myself included. I'm like, this is what I'm supposed to do today. And like, yeah, I've I'll tell this that sometimes, like, and I'm a pretty free-flowing guy, but like, you know, I'm like, well, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. But it's like sometimes you're not gonna do that. Too bad, that's not what you're doing. So I guess that's all I'm saying, is like, you know, and yeah, I'm just exclusively talking about like if you're in person with your coach.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

If you're not, that's I mean you're not yeah, and I mean, some like I said, some coaches are available to respond quickly. Like, if you send them a video and you're like, hey, this happened today, what should I do? Like, you know, depending on like you know, if I'm free and I have my phone with me and someone messages me, I might be able to give them like a very quick answer of what to do. But I obviously don't always have my phone to like where I can respond. Um so like I said, if you don't have a coach there, like Safe bet to go lower, to go either go lower lower or just yeah, not like five pounds lower either.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

Ten

How Much To Drop The Weight

SPEAKER_02 16:47

like kilos.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

Like, don't just take off like a little silver plate and think that you're gonna do that if we've seen that too.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

If he's failed, I failed my top single at whatever. It's like so I think I think I'm going down 1.25. I'm like, okay, yeah, that's gonna feel the same.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

So basically, like be smart about it. Like, I don't know. I'm not gonna give a specific number, even percentage down of what you should go, because it is very dependent on the person and why you missed it.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Like, I would comfortably say between 10 and 20% lower than what you failed, like is probably a safe bet. Like, if you're just like, I'm gonna go down five percent, probably not enough, especially if you failed or you didn't get to that top range. I would feel comfortable saying between 20 10 and 20%. Again, assuming your coach is unavailable, whether you know you're an online athlete and they don't get back to you in time, or you're just solo for the re for whatever reason, 10 to 20% decrease is where you're gonna want to be. And like, don't be afraid to go to the 20%. It's okay. Because this is the other thing, this is the other thing, and this this example that you brought up uh just put it in my mind. Like, so once you like the reality of you missing your top set or you don't make it to your top set, well, like that stimulus is gone for the day. That's out the window, bye. Like, it's like we're not doing a top.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

You can still get the stimulus, well, just different weights.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

It might be different weights, but like it's gonna be my my my thought is like once you once you miss that top single, like you're going for a different goal, and that is to complete some good quality reps, like ingrain that skill even more. And you may get the same stimulus, but you may not, like, especially if you are not if you're flying solo, no coach, you may not. Like, it's probably safer to not and just hit some good reps. Yeah, and I think that's the thing is like you you need to kind of like adjust your mentality. Like the example that Liz gave, like after uh she missed that. I knew without pretty much like a shadow of a doubt that she could do three reds for some amount of reps. And I believe I told you three reps to five. It was depending on like how singles though, not yes, because I knew as those accumulated, that would end up starting to be that similar stimulus, not the same, but similar stimulus to what that top would have been. So that ended up working out, but again, like because that I was I was talking about it because you know, like if you're alone, like you're probably not gonna be able to be like pick that number. So it's safer to just get some good quality work in because the last thing you want to do is go down and then fill again, and that's

Rebuild Confidence And Move On

SPEAKER_02 19:18

yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

I think and the biggest thing with that is just like re- you're gonna have to like rebuild some confidence. So picking, like making sure your weights and backdowns are low enough that you can move them very well and like feel good about them again. And then kind of when that session is over, I mean, obviously talk to your coach about it, but like you can't keep like thinking about it. Nope, you gotta erase it's gotta be done. Like, I have literally I have gone through and like deleted failed lifts before from my phone, like from my video. So I can't even look at them again, so I can't think about them. Um, just because sometimes that's what I need to do because I I cannot like keep thinking about them. Um and then you just kind of have to come in the next week and basically ready to go and do what you need to do. Um, your programming uh might look a little different than it had been, like your coach should be adjusting based on life things, but I also feel like that's exactly or why it's like extremely important to communicate with your coach. Like, was it an external factor thing? Did you just miss the lift that day? Like what's like what's going on, not just like send a fail and be like, I failed, and like that's it. Like maybe a little bit of context of like what's going on.

SPEAKER_02 20:33

I mean, the context, I mean, the thing is is the context and the information is going to get you a better response as an athlete. It's always like important to remember you're it's like a coach-athlete relationship, so it's like a two-way thing. Like, if you only communicate, you know, 25% of what actually happened, okay, well, then I'm making a decision based off the 25% that you gave me. Yeah. Like, you know, I'm not. I mean, like Liz said, like sometimes I may ask some more questions, whatever, but like sometimes I might not. Like, it just depends. Like, and you know, if you have some stuff going on like that people need to know about or that your coach needs to know about, then probably communicate that.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Um and I'm not saying you have to give them like every life detail because not every coach wants like every life detail. Yeah. Um, but like in even if it's something like very personal and you don't want to share exactly what it is, just let them know that like you have personal things going on or life things or family things or whatever work things. Like you don't have to share exactly what it is, but like maybe just let them know something's going on so they can understand that you have like some external things maybe that are impacting like the brain, basically. Because let me tell you, the past several years, the brain is very important to lifting.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Yeah, because if it is not your power lifting.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

If it is not where it needs to be, you just can't really get there sometimes. No. Um, which that is just is what it is.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

Um like we miss a lift. What do we What do we I feel like we explained a lot of like different scenarios like why you might miss lifts and like communication with the coach and things like this. But like if we miss a lift, like what's like a way to move on from missing the lift? Um and like how do we literally just keep lifting?

SPEAKER_00 22:17

How do we get that out of our heads? Like literally just keep lifting. Yeah. Like do another set, whatever. Do the drop set, do the back downs, do whatever it is that you need to be doing, and then it's done. I mean, that's I understand that it is not exactly that easy, but I will like for me, it is easier to forget that I like failed something if I keep going versus if I fail and then stop. Yeah. And because then that's the last thing you did. So then you just think about it over and over and over again, which is also why I said sometimes delete the videos. Um Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:49

I mean, if you sort of like that looking back at them, then I definitely wouldn't.

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Yeah, delete them. Um and like I said, just like don't stop, I guess, is kind of which I don't know.

Trust The Peak For Meet Day

SPEAKER_00 23:00

And then since it is like the last peaking block, obviously, like failing is never a fun thing anytime, but especially during that block of time, like it it sucks. I get it. But also like just kind of reminding yourself or thinking about like you don't have to hit the number in the gym to be able to hit it on the platform.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

Like that is you don't have to do that. I mean, obviously, we don't want to be like missing lifts left and right, and you don't really want to like miss something that you plan on opening with, like, that's not gonna be ideal. And like, if you do, numbers might be adjusted for meet day, but also that's part of the process. Um but like usually like this last block of training, like things feel heavy, like your body is beat up at this point, like it's just kind of part of how this training goes, like when you're peeking for a meet. Um, and so sometimes you which I don't love saying this exactly, but you just kind of have to trust the process and trust your coach. And even if you fail a lift or have a bad day or can't hit the numbers that you thought you were gonna be able to hit that day, like you just kind of have to trust the process and hope that like that week before the meet you can get off some of that fatigue and then things move better on meet day. But you kind of have to trust the process and just like essentially fully like full faith, just like okay, I can do this. Like, I didn't do it in the gym or like I failed it or whatever, but I can still do this. Like, you have to like truly believe that, like, one in the process and your coach, but like two in yourself. Like, and it's kind of like with your squats the other day. You failed it twice, and then the same week you came back and actually got it because you trusted the process, trusted the cues, and then also like believed in yourself. So, like, and I was more fatigued, you know.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

So I don't know how I did that. Uh exactly, but that's my point. No, I mean that is actually no, realistically, that is exactly how I did that, is because I did tell myself, I was like, I'm not failing that again. And even Liz was like, we'll just skip over it. I was like, nope. I was like, I'm hitting it like dead on. And even that day, I almost loaded it like not a blue, like because I was like, uh, but I'm like, no, I'm putting a blue on there. I'm just gonna smoke it. Because like the thing is, is like when you fail something, like Liz said, you have kind of two options, really simple. It's like either let it like sit and fester in your brain and like build up to this thing that you failed, which you did fail. That's not not a lie, you did fail it. Or you like that's option one. Option two is you also acknowledge that you failed it. Like, that is key. You just you do need to be like, I failed this. Because some people, like that's the other thing. Some people go the opposite direction and they like pretend they didn't fail. I'm like, okay, like you did literally miss this. So, you know, like uh you knew you need to accept that, and then you just need to kind of forget about it. Like Liz said, like, I don't think I watched either of those fail, squat fails, after I did them until I put the reel together of me failing it twice and then hitting it. I think I was literally just like like not like I'm not watching this. And then I just I'm confident that I could do it and ready to rock.

SPEAKER_01 25:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:59

And a lot of it is good, sorry.

Stack Reps Instead Of Maxing

SPEAKER_02 26:03

I was gonna say, like, the other thing is like for me, I think one of the most important things is to make lifts. When I was younger in my powerlifting journey, when I was younger in general, I thought it was most important to push my body and like to like make it like super hard every time. That's how I thought I was gonna get stronger. And what I learned over the years with powerlifting specifically, because weightlifting is a little bit different, with powerlifting specifically, you cannot do that. You cannot just always be pushing to like maximum effort every single time. Um, I did it for years, so like I have thousands of reps of practice of doing it, and it just doesn't work um long term. You can get pretty strong pretty quick like that, but you will run into something, uh, whether it's an injury or a plateau or crazy fatigue. So, my advice if you miss a lift, like really, really, really hold hitting reps at a super high premium once you miss that lift. In my brain, if I miss a lift, I'm trying to stack as many reps as possible before I try that weight again. I don't care if it's a warm-up, I don't care if it's back downs, top, whatever. Like, I'm just trying to, it's almost like the little like office thing where it's like, uh, whatever days since the last accident. Like, I'm trying to make that number as big as possible. And that's just reps. It's not like, you know, like I said, it doesn't need to all be like top single reps. Yeah. Um, because at the end of the day, when your body is like has that skill ingrained in it, like it's gonna be much more likely to perform as you want it to when it needs to, um, when it's heavy. If you, like Liz said, if you just kind of sulk and the reps are shitty and they're just not, you know, clicking and it's not good. Well, like next time you go for a heavy single, like, I don't know, like you might be ready, you might be not. So uh, you know, I like to take that as like, okay, like cleared out the you know, cleared out the zero days since last miss. All right, time to start stacking those reps or zero reps, so to speak. You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

So gotta get the wins.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

You remember what you're gonna say? Nope. I didn't think so. Um but, anyways, yeah. So I think that's the most important thing, you guys, is if you have a failed lift, heaven forbid. And I I do think it's something to note, you're trying to not fail during this block for sure. Um, so really the idea is this, because we've all been there. Uh, you know, like if you have a last warm-up that just doesn't really feel right, that might be your last lift of the day. Um, or maybe, you know, if you're confident you mess something up, a small tweak, whatever, then take it again. You know, that's what me and Liz have talked about over the years. Like, you know, if you really are supposed to be at this top single thing, well then I mean, you should definitely be able to do your last warm-up one more time. Like, uh, and you know, if you're if it's a small little like form tweak, if you're absolutely just gassed, then yeah, don't do your top single again. Or don't do your last warm-up again. Um, and just be okay. Like, you know, that's okay. Like, uh, you got, I mean, if it was a uh a push, you probably got the stimulus you needed, anyways. And it's better, it is much better. Um, I'm not gonna say the word regret, but there's definitely certain times where I'm like, hmm, I should have just left it there type thing. Um so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

Yeah, because I'd rather you just kind of end on like at least you got your last warm-up than failing your top single. Yeah. Also, not ideal. Nah.

SPEAKER_02 29:23

Yeah, it's not fun. But it does happen.

SPEAKER_00 29:25

Oh, it does. So it does.

SPEAKER_02 29:28

When it does, um, like Liz said, delete the video, uh, delete it from your brain and move on and start stacking those reps so that way you can get as many reps.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

But don't quit.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

Good quality reps in. Yep. So that way you're ready to ready to rock and roll.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

All right.

What Is Next And Subscribe

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Well, I think that wraps up this week. Next week, we're taking a break. We have a uh team meeting for our nationals team. Uh, so we'll be busy doing that. But then May 2nd, we're gonna be back. We got travel tips, and then May 9th, we got meet day tips. What to do on the day of the meet. That one might be a long one, too. Uh travel tips probably be a short one.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Yeah, we'll see. But we'll see. Who knows? Traveling can be hard if you've never done it before.

SPEAKER_02 30:07

This is true. We'll have to really think about that back in the day when we very first started traveling.

SPEAKER_00 30:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:13

So, all right. Thank you guys so much for listening to another episode of the podcast. Hope you guys enjoyed it. And if you did, please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel. Leave us a like on the latest episode, and we'll see you guys in the next one. Later. Bye.