“He’s fading. He needs Elvish medicine.”
You’re training hard, right? You go in the gym or garage, do stuff that is hard, and you feel better about yourself. Some times, you may not feel a little tired, but you think, “Man, I don’t want Mark Rippetoe or any of my friends on 70’s Big to call me a pussy, so I’ll train (choo choo) anyway.” And that’s how it goes.
Well, proceed with caution, my friends. Eventually that tired feeling may be a bit more than the “I’m sleepy blues”. You may actually have HIV, or some derivative thereof. Okay, maybe a little less severe, but you may be legitimately sick, and training may even exacerbate your condition.
The other day I had a PR on a sloppy snatch day (that never gets old). I got 127.5, and proceeded to miss 130 three times even though I racked it overhead each time. Later, I was pinned by a 155 kilo clean and was baffled (I’ve done 165 and front squatted 170 for a few triples after training the week before Christmas). Well, turns out I was in the beginning stages of having what I am convinced is some horrific ancient ailment, one that only Elvish medicine can cure. Saturday evening I was on my deathbed for 18 hours with a fever from hell, chills, and had aches and pains that were analogous to getting my ass kicked by fourteen hoodlums that looked like Doug Young.
There were a few hours on Saturday where I felt like I could actually train, but I didn’t because I was busy coaching. Had I done so, it probably would have left me worse off than I eventually was on Saturday evening. Furthermore, I thought I was just having a shitty training session on Thursday, but it was actually the development of the devilish disease that dawned demonically with dastardly defiance.
You will learn through time what the difference is between a sniveling cold that you can train through and dark magic. Accept the fact that you may not know this difference right now, and take caution when you feel a bit under the weather. If you suspect that training will make your condition worse, you have my permission to take the day off. Be careful out there…the world can be a dangerous place.
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Do you guys remember that picture of Yosh, the dude who deadlifted 480 at a body weight of 165? Well he weighs 182 now. Partly because he ate 8 McDoubles at once. Jesus, I know. It was 3,120 calories and 176 grams of protein. Nice job, Yosh. You set the bar.
8 McDoubles