Why was my 1st post-STS UB workout so hard?

Melclear

Melclear

Cathlete
I thought, having finished STS last week with huge strength gains, that going back to other UB workouts would be easy. Boy was I wrong! So today's rotation called for BM2 UB only (after a 20 minute HIIT run). I decided to do the double UB since I had time, and I hadn't done any other UB WO's this week. When it started, I was thinking "15's and 5's, ha!" so for back, I pulled out the 20's (lighter than what I had used in M1 but still more than I ever used in BM2), made it through the first set but struggled through the 2nd. For chest, in STS (M1), I had been using 25's, so for BM2, I started with 20's, struggled through the first set, and dropped to 15's for the 2nd set. Same with shoulders, bis and tris -- I tried going as heavy as I had gone in M1 (I know M3 had very few reps and long rests so I needed lighter), and could barely eke it out.

I don't understand -- why was BM2 so hard? What happened to all the strength gains? Any ideas?

Mel
 
Did you take your recovery week? The other issue may be that you did it after HIIT. Doing weights after cardio can sometimes yeild less than optimal lifting results. If I'm doing both, I always lift first JMO.
 
In addition to fit_fairy's suggestion about weights before cardio, is the rep speed in BM2 faster than STS? Even if you're stronger, you might not be able to lift heavy at that pace.
 
unfetteredpast said:
In addition to fit_fairy's suggestion about weights before cardio, is the rep speed in BM2 faster than STS? Even if you're stronger, you might not be able to lift heavy at that pace.
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Good point. IIRC when I've done BM2 if I go heavier I find that I have to slow the pace down a bit.
 
I did take my recovery week. Interesting thought about the cardio before weights. I have always done it that way, in part because that's how all of Cathe's videos do it, and also I thought keeping my heart rate up would give me a better WO overall. The rep speed is definitely faster than the later mesos, but I didn't think it was faster than M1. That's why I was so puzzled. Maybe next time, I'll try a weight WO without cardio and see how it goes. One of the B&G premixes is on the agenda for tomorrow -- now that one really should be easier after all the platework and plyos in STS!
 
B and G will never be easy- ever! And really, no workout should ever be easy, because you should be upping the intensity each time so it is always a challenge. If it is a strength workout, you up the weights, or change the rep speed or pattern, etc. You can make any strength training exercise harder, just by slowing down the motion and concentrating on form. If it is cardio, you change your type of exercise, speed, intervals, etc.
 
Melclear said:
Interesting thought about the cardio before weights. I have always done it that way, in part because that's how all of Cathe's videos do it, and also I thought keeping my heart rate up would give me a better WO overall.
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There is nothing wrong with doing cardio first (obviously, since Cathe does it a lot). But I find that if I really want to focus on lifting as heavy as I can that I'd better do my weights first. And of course eat my Wheaties ;)
 
It doesn't surprise me at all, I've had this experience myself when going back to endurance type lifting (i.e. the majority of Cathe's weight routines) after doing S&H for several weeks. Meso 3 is just the same type of workout, strength based, as S&H. It's all to do with the increased speed of the lift and just going from high reps at speed from fewer reps done more slowly and in a more controlled fashion.

It's annoying but I am not sure there is much you can do about it!

Clare
 
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