How to deal with “bad workouts”
Dealing with “bad workouts” is part of bodybuilding. Handle them wrong and you get demoralized and might lose interest in fitness altogether. Handle them properly and every workout puts you one notch closer to your goal.
First, why did I put “bad workout” in quotes? Because in my book, the only bad workout is one when you get injured. Getting injured is the worst thing that can happen to a bodybuilder because you can lose months or years of progress and just one careless lift can cause it. If you get injured, thats a *really* bad workout.
Most people call any workout where they don’t move up in weight or reps a “bad workout” which is a very negative and defeatist way to look at it in my view. Not every workout can be super but that doesn’t mean that non-super workouts are “bad”. Success in bodybuilding takes consistency and persistence, you gotta work out every day. The problem with thinking of these non-super workouts as “bad” is that it can lead to skipping workouts if you are feeling a bit off, the fear of avoiding a workout if you don’t think it will be fantastic. 70% of you grade is fitness is attendance! Of course, I’m not saying to repeatedly bang your head against the wall either. If you go a whole month without moving up in weight or reps then its time to change your workout!
In my lats workout today, I only was able to hold half the weight between my legs on pullups that I normally do and it was still a struggle, but I stuck it out and did the best I could. I then went for a bike ride and similarly found myself not only slow but worn out after 45min when I normally go 1-2 hrs. Was it a “bad workout”? Certainly not! It was infinitely better than no workout!! Besides that, it leaves plenty of room in my next workout :) Today I got an “A” for attendance!