Regression

[AntonioHG]

So I had a crazy deadline for a job that kept me away from my home and the gym I have a membership with. I couldn't even go to the other gym near the job site because it was a daily grind, literally, with steel for 10hrs + a day for a month and 2 weeks.

Now I'm pretty pissed off at myself for not trying harder to get to the gym because OMFG everything is super heavy. 295lbs used to be moderately hard and I'd get 7-8 reps. Today, I had a struggle just getting to 3..

Not to mention the pain in my wrists and thumbs from doing all that goddamn work. Anyway, it's my first day. I'm going to try to not take it too hard, but it's funny how much of a step back I've taken as a result of 2 solid weeks off.

 

[utahraptor]

The difficulty of acquiring and maintaining gains is what make them worth having.

 

[Koing]

2 weeks off will hurt your strength endurance along with you having amore physical job.

It'll come back quick though.

Koing

 

[AntonioHG]

Totally worthwhile and I'll be working on regaining the strength. Today I've got some major DOMS and it was only a 5x5 -- not too much volume and no extra accessory work other than the big three.

Feels good, lol.

 

[highland145]

It'll come back quick though.

This

However, neuromuscular efficacy is not altered within a two-week time period following cessation of the muscle usage; instead, it is merely the neuron's ability to excite the muscle that declines in correlation with the muscle's decrease in strength.[14] This confirms that muscle strength is first influenced by the inner neural circuitry, rather than by external physiological changes in the muscle size.
Previously untrained muscles acquire newly formed nuclei by fusion of satellite cells preceding the hypertrophy. Subsequent detraining leads to atrophy but no loss of myo-nuclei. The elevated number of nuclei in muscle fibers that had experienced a hypertrophic episode would provide a mechanism for muscle memory,explaining the long- lasting effects of training and the ease with which previously trained individuals are more easily retrained [15]
On subsequent detraining, the fibers maintain an elevated number of nuclei that might provide resistance to atrophy; on retraining, a gain in size can be obtained by a moderate increase in the protein synthesis rate of each of these many nuclei, skipping the step of adding newly formed nuclei. This shortcut may contribute to the relative ease of retraining compared with the first training of individuals with no previous training history.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory#cite_note-bru-15

 

[z1ggy]

Just give it a few weeks, you'll be back to where you were.

 

[AntonioHG]

So, I tested myself on Thursday and managed 265x12 for the squat, the deadlift was alright as well, but I couldn't get past 385x1 after the squats. Felt a bit sketchy all throughout the workout, but I just said fuck it and did the reps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ko_BkGBxeQ&feature=youtu.be

Bench and shoulder press are still fairly crap, but I was never really an upper body person. Even still, they are lagging behind a bit.

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. It really does cheer me up to read your words.