all posts post new thread

Kettlebell Your go to "park bench program" - training depression

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
To answer your original question, I just hit one or two high-yield movements, focus on quality, and call it good. I'm actually on a park bench program right now (due to time constraints, not mental state), and I do lots of snatches, a few presses, and some rucking. About 30 minutes per session, 4-6 times per week (whenever I have time). Each session starts with 5-10 minutes of goblet squats, windmills, etc.
 
Easy Strength.

Although my general feeling has been that most of the programming Pavel and Dan John put out there is not only appropriate for high stress periods of life, but that exercise (and putting away the phone, emails, whatever else is getting to me during it) is an important stress reliever for me.
 
ETK+ if planning a park bench program for 4+ weeks.

If I have some goal in mind or if I'm following some program, and if I have a bad day because of heart problems (meaning my heart is not into working out that day), I just usually skip and take the day off. This doesn't happen too often. And most of the time I have planned deloads in my training plan. So if I'm having "heartaches" and feeling puny, I always know I have a planned deload week right around the corner.
 
thank you all for support, it is what i needed, also ideas here are really useful i a
It looks like there's a lot going on in your life right now @taedoju. House, kids and a lot of work are definitely taking its toll on mind and body. As others say maybe it's time to give yourself more rest.

Are your goals (Beast Tamer & SFG2) still valid? Some kind of minimalistic program focusing on mantaining press, pistol and pull up until you feel better isn't a bad idea.

You can also consider getting back to writing your training log, the support of great folks here helped me push through tough times.

PS Pozdrowienia z Trójmiasta, może będzie kiedyś okazja poznać się osobiście gdy zdecyduję się na certyfikat. Niestety brakuje w okolicy instruktorów :(
chyba jest tylko ekipa z rkc, liczę ze uda sie spotkać ! My goals are still on the plate, ive got nice program to do with presses, and i was getting better but this week i fell apart a bit..i might maintain with some gtg maybe? Writting log is challange as i forget to write ;) but it might be good ideA
 
well i don't , i take more days off, sometimes between heavy sessions , . I do demonstrate but i try not to go heavy (on barbell i usually use just empty bar). I have a program, and its working great, but i am not doing great job recovering.. if i would analyse myself i would point out that
-> sleep is disturbed (kids)
-> eating is not perfect
-> no truly day off work
I keep repeating the scheme off 3 -4 weeks on feeling good /1 -2 weeks of feeling down emotionally , i think i must plug in deload sooner than 5th week..


@taedoju I know that feeling of no desire for training. Usually this goes hand in hand with other symptoms such as increased accumulation of belly fat, easily getting sick (my last cold lasted one month), mood swings, lower testosterone etc.
With the irregular training I also seem to become more prone to injury.
Last month my elbow started swelling so I had to stop training in the gym or with the kettlbell which turned out to be good for me.

At the moment I just do a little bit every day. Starting with the OS resets I might do ten minutes of push ups and squats in a pyramid format or ten minutes of loaded carries. Another day just ten minutes of all kinds of get ups. All inspired from the book "Habitual Strength".

Once a day I get in a longer, fast paced walk basically just getting off the public transport earlier and walking home. Before bed maybe something like crocodile breathing to calm down.

It's not very much, but it should make me stronger over the long haul and at the moment it seems the most appropriateed as I also work too much.
Good luck and be careful.
 
Hello,

@taedoju
It can also be a kind of body signal for having a little period of rest. That way, you can take advantage of that to focus on other things, such as stretching (weighted or not) and breathing. It is possible to dedication entire sessions to these topics

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

@taedoju
First, I hope you will be ok soon !

Depending of your sickness, if it uses all your energy for example, and lets you always sore, then it might be better to skip training for a while. That way your body will dedicate all its energy to be healthy again. Training while sick can make the sickness longer to disappear.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
@taedoju Maybe a stupid question, but why is it actually called a "park bench program"

I really like this thread. Wanted to open a similar one until I saw yours. My learnings as a beginner:
  • Demotivation maybe a sign of a too high training load or overall life related stress.
  • Even experienced guys "suffer" and have to deal with it. Am not alone ...
  • De-loading for some time with with a "no-brainer" exercise helps, like in "Don't overthink, just keep it simple"
 
Taken directly from Dan John's article:

Park Bench Training Programs: For most of your training year, a training program that has little expectations. You get the work done and gently nudge yourself along in several areas. Counter to what you would think, most people make their best progress here.

Bus Bench Programs: Usually, almost by definition actually, these have a time limit, usually two weeks, six weeks or as many as 16 weeks. At the end of it, there has to be a marked change in what we are focused on. This can also be a peaking program for an athlete. Let me say this: if you don’t actually perform at your best on a peaking program, I argue it didn’t work. Sorry, I am a jerk.
 
Or practice a few reps of basic moves every couple of days or so with whatever weight you feel like using.
 
Rest. I see too much work hours that in future you might simply break or impair your judgment skills.
 
Maybe a stupid question, but why is it actually called a "park bench program"

The article @damogari quoted explains the meaning as it pertains to training programs.

The idea is that if you are sitting on a bench waiting for a bus, you are planning for something specific to happen on a specific schedule. If you are sitting on park bench, you are just relaxing, enjoying the scenery, and taking things as they come with no specific goal in mind.
 
The article @damogari quoted explains the meaning as it pertains to training programs.

The idea is that if you are sitting on a bench waiting for a bus, you are planning for something specific to happen on a specific schedule. If you are sitting on park bench, you are just relaxing, enjoying the scenery, and taking things as they come with no specific goal in mind.

Thanks @Steve W. ! Was reading the article yesterday and must say it is a true goldmine. So much experience distilled down into one post.

What strikes me the most the more I spend time practicing: It is easier to programme, schedule and perform a session with kettlebells or whatever, but it is hard to actually say "No" and admit that one needs rest. Let's say "rest management" is the art of sustainable physical exercise.
 
What strikes me the most the more I spend time practicing: It is easier to programme, schedule and perform a session with kettlebells or whatever, but it is hard to actually say "No" and admit that one needs rest. Let's say "rest management" is the art of sustainable physical exercise.

A mental trick that I've started using to value recovery more, both between sets of A+A training and from training session to training session, is thinking of recovery less as a passive process than as active "metabolic work time."

So my training is "doing mechanical work" (which of course involves metabolic processes, but I ignore that in this mental framework). Then my recovery is "doing metabolic work."

This way, I can think of recovery not just as time I'm NOT doing something (lifting stuff), but as something I'm actively doing. I can ask myself, "Am I putting in enough metabolic work time?" And I can answer, "No, I have to 'work' harder!" Then I'm not being lazy by resting more, I'm actually doing more work.

It's a semantic game, but it has positively affected my attitude toward recovery.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom