"off" nights in the gym...what's the deal?

Ths808IsCatchy

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just got done training and, man, do I feel like shit

not physically, but mentally

we've all had nights in the gym where we feel like we've never trained before...or is this just something that happens to me? I've been training for over six years now and it really gets me down when I have an off night like tonight

it makes me wonder "is this all the better I am? do I just get lucky on the nights I feel world class or am I just prone to inconsistency?"

there is some serious shit going on in my life right now and I have a fight coming up so I'm kinda stressed out at the moment...It's not my intention to write a diary on sherdog; I'm including this information to see if anyone else can relate to what I'm going through and perhaps offer some advice/encouragement

thanks for any input




edit: got some very insightful and encouraging responses on here...thanks everyone for your contributions
 
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One thing I tell my fighters is not to be a perfectionist. Perfectionists are weak. The second a detail is beyond their control they cannot function. Pursue perfection, but understand that it's supposed to be virtually unattainable. If you put in honest work (regardless of if you felt like shit or not) then it's still good work. Let it go and move on.
Also, do whatever you gotta do to subdue the effects of life's bullshit.
 
I had a terrible night at the gym today as well. I came home with a black eye from padwork, because we were doing slip jab drills to both sides. The guy holding for me kept trying to jab away from my head. So if I slipped right, he'd aim to my left. Then if he thought I was gonna slip right but I slipped left, he punched me in the eye. I kept having to let him throw and miss without me moving my head at all, to drive home the point that he wasn't helping me out any. Every time I told him to throw at me he insisted that he was, but I could clearly see him aiming off to the side.

I felt like shit for the rest of the night after that. I kept messing up the drills we were doing. Forgetting to take my turn, throwing the wrong counter back, not defending right when something came back my way. It sucked, and I went home angry. Now that I've cooled off a bit, fuck it. I made some mistakes but I'm gonna go in there tomorrow and do better.
 
If you were training every night and didn't feel like shit, i don't know what you're training for. It's not supposed to be fun or easy, it's training. you train hard so the actual fight is easy. From my view at least.
 
It's probably just fatigue. It gets the best of us sometimes. Just be glad that you're skilled enough to realize that you've had an off night, take note of what went wrong, and work on patching it up next time. Oh, and don't forget to have fun, because I'm sure for 90% of us on this forum, this is just a hobby and not a living. :)
 
There are nights I go in and I feel like we are just drilling the same stuff, then we'll spar and I'll either do well and feel great or not do so well and feel like I suck.

After my first smoker I felt worthless for about 2 weeks and was thinking, "I'm too old for this shit." But I got over it and am learning from my mistakes. Sometimes what gets my goat, and I'm sure EVERYBODY can relate, is when you have are doing the technique right and then when the coach is around watching you, you F it up and then he makes an example out of you in front of the class. Or when a coach tells you to do one thing and then another comes by and tells you to do something different. Shit like that can get very frustrating, but it's just part of the game I guess.

MT is kind of like golf to me. There are so many things to take into consideration and you are often fighting yourself. When I am at the driving range I feel like Tiger Woods, but on the green I often suck and can't hit a damn thing right. Some thing with MT; I'll practice the technique in a controlled environment perfectly but when I use it in sparring or a fight I choke. THAT is the most frustrating to now you can do something in theory but fail in practical application.
 
go have a sauna and a 8 hour sleep and you'll hav an on day next time.
 
Also, do whatever you gotta do to subdue the effects of life's bullshit.
I agree with what you said so much, but I'm not sure if I took it in a different meaning than you meant it to be...
http://www.muay-thai-guy.com/a-muay-thai-stoner.html
Regardless, I always say it's best not to buy into what the "fitness media" sells to the public. That blog post is a great read, especially how he admits that he feels fitter when he's not smoking, but that's not to say he's unfit.

To TS, these off nights happen to everyone. One of my old coaches used to joke about the off afternoons and I'd talk to him about it. Whilst he was an older guy who wasn't too into learning or understanding human biology or human anatomy, he did always make me feel better when he'd joke around and say, "Ahh well, just wait til you get home, have a meal, have a root, with your hand if you have to, and do it all again tomorrow." Something about knowing that there is a routine made me feel like it's alright and that tomorrow I can just try again (as long as I still give it a fair go today).

Honestly though, one thing that has helped me through many different times in my life where I've been under massive amounts of stress is meditation. I've been lacking lately, but when I absolutely need to do it, I do it religiously. I've found that personally nothing is more calming and settling to the human body than meditation. 20 minutes a morning or night is good enough, it doesn't have to be a 5 day seminar with a Buddhist monk. You should give it a try, as it let me forget about all the stresses and anxieties that came along with my issues, and rather let me re-evaluate just how much is actually affecting me. You might surprise yourself how much it really helps... Not just mentally, but it also helps physically (in my experience).
 
"Go through the motions." Not always a bad thing, further develop muscle memory.
 
Having a bad session is way better than having no session. You could be taking the easy route; sitting on the lounge getting fat. But no, you are out there improving yourself. As long as you keep putting in the effort to improve yourself and you don't give up, then there is only one way you can go. Forward.
 
take it easy man
I have just recovered from being sick for the last week, dropped 4kg and went to beginner class (muay thai) yesterday and couldnt keep up with the beginners, gassing for air only after 3 rounds of padwork when normally 5 rounds and sparring after that is the norm (advanced class).
it felt like horse shit but it does happen.
you will be fine, don't stress it too much since stressing never helps in fighting.
 
Can relate. Going through a separation while training for a fight in September. I just try to make my gym time about me. I train, read, eat, and relax at my gym sometimes and spend hours there everyday if I need to (been having to as of late). I treat it like a spa and a place to expand my mind and knowledge for a sport I'm passionate about. My fault, however, is seeking perfection.
 
Have all been in the boat.. far to often when training.

Take the night off, and come back hard the following day. Simply going through the motions when your heart isnt into it is a complete waste of time. Going to do more damage then good half assing it.
 
One thing I tell my fighters is not to be a perfectionist. Perfectionists are weak. The second a detail is beyond their control they cannot function. Pursue perfection, but understand that it's supposed to be virtually unattainable. If you put in honest work (regardless of if you felt like shit or not) then it's still good work. Let it go and move on.
Also, do whatever you gotta do to subdue the effects of life's bullshit.

I like the way you wrote the last line

I think this is a very helpful post...I try to remember that the goal is to "hit and not get hit" during sparring and it takes some of the pressure off...I'm sure everyone has the drive to nail it every time in sparring when they have a fight coming up but this just keeps you from being able to relax

you may only land one punch in a round but if that's one more than the guy you were sparring or one more than yesterday then you are in great shape
 
There is randomness in life. You can worry about it or not. I notice HUUUUUUUUUUUGE differences in my performance based on things like temperature, how I slept, or what I ate for lunch, and they can cascade. If you didn't sleep well you might be quicker to get pissed at your poor performance and that makes everything worse.

It's life, man.
 
take it easy man
I have just recovered from being sick for the last week, dropped 4kg and went to beginner class (muay thai) yesterday and couldnt keep up with the beginners, gassing for air only after 3 rounds of padwork when normally 5 rounds and sparring after that is the norm (advanced class).
it felt like horse shit but it does happen.
you will be fine, don't stress it too much since stressing never helps in fighting.
yeah dude...training and fighting is so mysterious in the sense that you never know how you are going to do from one session to the next...there are just so many things that could help or hinder your success over which you have no control

I've noticed stressing out about it will only bring it to pass again and with greater frequency

Have all been in the boat.. far to often when training.

Take the night off, and come back hard the following day. Simply going through the motions when your heart isnt into it is a complete waste of time. Going to do more damage then good half assing it.

yeah...taking nights off is very underrated...we all do this because we enjoy it (I assume) and something is going wrong when you feel like a slave to your hobby

sometimes you just gotta mentally and physically recover for a day or two
 
Having a bad session is way better than having no session. You could be taking the easy route; sitting on the lounge getting fat. But no, you are out there improving yourself. As long as you keep putting in the effort to improve yourself and you don't give up, then there is only one way you can go. Forward.

thanks for the encouragement yo
 
I agree with what you said so much, but I'm not sure if I took it in a different meaning than you meant it to be...
http://www.muay-thai-guy.com/a-muay-thai-stoner.html
Regardless, I always say it's best not to buy into what the "fitness media" sells to the public. That blog post is a great read, especially how he admits that he feels fitter when he's not smoking, but that's not to say he's unfit.

To TS, these off nights happen to everyone. One of my old coaches used to joke about the off afternoons and I'd talk to him about it. Whilst he was an older guy who wasn't too into learning or understanding human biology or human anatomy, he did always make me feel better when he'd joke around and say, "Ahh well, just wait til you get home, have a meal, have a root, with your hand if you have to, and do it all again tomorrow." Something about knowing that there is a routine made me feel like it's alright and that tomorrow I can just try again (as long as I still give it a fair go today).

Honestly though, one thing that has helped me through many different times in my life where I've been under massive amounts of stress is meditation. I've been lacking lately, but when I absolutely need to do it, I do it religiously. I've found that personally nothing is more calming and settling to the human body than meditation. 20 minutes a morning or night is good enough, it doesn't have to be a 5 day seminar with a Buddhist monk. You should give it a try, as it let me forget about all the stresses and anxieties that came along with my issues, and rather let me re-evaluate just how much is actually affecting me. You might surprise yourself how much it really helps... Not just mentally, but it also helps physically (in my experience).
yeah meditation is the shit...I've been slacking bigtime myself as well

I'm glad you reminded me of it...I've been meaning to do it but I always allow other things to take priority...it takes a little discipline but the results are worth it
 
Its all normal nothing more than that. The thing is that we set very high standard for our self in our own mind and when we can't achieve that we feel guilty. However if you take other person perspective, you're doing all right.
 
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