To Train or not to Train?

[Evidence]

When you know that you were only able to get a few good hours of sleep at most due to many factors such as stress, work, relationship problems, poor diet, etc; do you still weight train that day? I would be curious as to what people normally do when their routines get out of wack when life comes at ya fast. I know many people think it's slacking if they miss a workout for whatever reason and that it's just unacceptable. I also know many people who are not as alert, energized, focused, and so on and have made mistakes in technique or not toning down the poundages and had resulted in injury. So the question to all my AFboad friends is, do you train or not after a night of no or very little sleep?

[Mrs Croft]

if it's a one off bad night then I will play it by ear..see what the energy levels are like. If it's after a RUN of bad nights and the body is really starting to feel it..getting to bed early will take priority over training for sure. Your body can't make the most of the training session anyway if it has no real recover time :dunno:

[Beverly McD.]

I always train. I'm one of those people who finds it nearly impossible to miss a workout. The volume or intensity may not be what I expect from myself, but totally missing a workout because I'm tired or stressed is not going to happen.

I'm very fortunate though, my husband competes in powerlifting, and out gym is located right behind our home.

[TAZ]

For me at times like you mentioned...... stress, relationship issues etc... I absoletely need to work out to get out of the rut. It takes my mind off that stuff and lets me work allot of it out.... IMO a less that perfect W/O is still better than a missed one.

-TAZ

[DrewDog]

in general, I try t find a way to make time. if i'm extra tired, i'll still go, just with a bit more stim's and maybe go a bit lighter cause I'll still feel better then if I didnt' go at all. IF something is stressing me out I'll definitely go cause the gym is a stress reliever for me.

that being said, i'm not doing this to enter any competition, so if I've got a pile of stuff that needs to be done outside the gym that for any reason I can't do on an off day, I will skip a workout, but I generally won't be happy about it, and my g/f knows it so she makes sure any plans she makes for us is on my off days if she wants a happy Andrew :lol:

[C. Smith]

It can depend on other things as well, ie: can you just go the next day and make sure you get better sleep? Is it solely because you didnt get sleep, or is your body just run down?

Different scenarios will exhibit different answers. However, i never hesitate to take a day of rest if i feel i need it.

[Blut Wump]

If I feel I should skip a workout then I do. If I find that I've skipped two or three in a row then I'll make more effort not to skip.

[Iron God]

Sick or injured is the only reason not to train. As long as you r over compensating by eating alot more. Then short term lack of sleep is not issue.

My buddy Kyle get 3-4 hours per night and still trains like an animal. If this will eventually catch up with him I do not know. He does does eat about 8K calories per day during the 19 hours he is up

[JG1]

even if I'm sick I still train, as long as I don't have the flu. If I can function, I still make it to the gym. Low grade fever, I'm still training threw it. I know I should probably take off but phuck it I train.

[MR.cashcream]

I always train. I'm one of those people who finds it nearly impossible to miss a workout. The volume or intensity may not be what I expect from myself, but totally missing a workout because I'm tired or stressed is not going to happen.

I'm very fortunate though, my husband competes in powerlifting, and out gym is located right behind our home.

I agree completely with Beverly McD's train of thought...I'm simply just not going to miss a workout because I'm tired or stressed...I'll eat good and still hit it hard at the gym.

It's quite nice having your gym nearby. I've got about a 100ft walk from my job to the gym, very convienant :evil[1]:

[bigdamray]

Take some extra dbawls, snort a line of crank and train 10x harder!! J/K(That was the old BDR) The gym is a release for me from all of the problems that you mentioned. If, when at the gym you still feel like crap, then scale the weights back down and go for the pump. You'll always feel better, mentally and physically after you go ahead and go workout.

[dubdubs]

go lift and grunt and you will relieve stress.. works for me :D

[C_T]

Unless your actually sick, train but know your limits... I don't push it when stressed and under slept, thats when i get run down. But go through the motions, helps relax and sleep is always better afterwards.

[Iron God]

Or Dehydrated..NEVER train dehydrated

[Pan]

The acute effects of twenty-four hours of sleep loss on the performance of national caliber male collegiate weightlifters

Blumert, P.A., Crum, A.J., Ernsting, M., Volek, J.S., Hollander, D.B., Haff, E.E. & Haff, G.G. (2007)

JOURNAL OF STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING RESEARCH 21 (4): 1146-1154

Currently, the degree to which sleep loss influences weightlifting performance is unknown. This study compared the effects of 24 hours of sleep loss on weightlifting performance and subjective ratings of psychological states pre-exercise and postexercise in national-caliber male collegiate weightlifters. Nine males performed a maximal weightlifting protocol following 24 hours of sleep loss and a night of normal sleep. The subjects participated in a randomized, counterbalanced design with each sleep condition separated by 7 days. Testosterone and cortisol levels were quantified prior to, immediately after, and 1 hour after the resistance training session. Additionally, profile of mood states and subjective sleepiness were evaluated at the same time points. The resistance training protocol consisted of several sets of snatches, clean and jerks, and front squats. Performance was evaluated as individual exercise volume load, training intensity and overall workout volume load, and training intensity. During each training session the maximum weight lifted for the snatch, clean and jerk, and front squat were noted. No significant differences were found for any of the performance variables. A significant decrease following the sleep condition was noted for cortisol concentration immediately after and I hour postexercise. Vigor, fatigue, confusion, total mood disturbance, and sleepiness were all significantly altered by sleep loss.
These data suggest that 24 hours of sleep loss has no adverse effects on weightlifting performance. If an athlete is in an acute period of sleep loss, as noticed by negative mood disturbances, it may be more beneficial to focus on the psychological (motivation) rather than the physiological aspect of the sport.

[BiggT]

When you know that you were only able to get a few good hours of sleep at most due to many factors such as stress, work, relationship problems, poor diet, etc; do you still weight train that day? I would be curious as to what people normally do when their routines get out of wack when life comes at ya fast. I know many people think it's slacking if they miss a workout for whatever reason and that it's just unacceptable. I also know many people who are not as alert, energized, focused, and so on and have made mistakes in technique or not toning down the poundages and had resulted in injury. So the question to all my AFboad friends is, do you train or not after a night of no or very little sleep?

My answer to that question is a big, fat "it depends." Over the years, I've gotten to know my body and part of knowing your body is just that sometimes you never know. Some days I can't wait to get to the gym because I feel a record-setting workout coming on, then I end up with a crappy workout. Other days, I drag myself to the gym and I end up breaking a PR.

With sleep, generally I find I can get 1 lousy night of sleep and still not miss a beat, but any more than 1 night of messed-up sleep and it kills me. It is like it'll add up.

I try to keep sleep at the top of my priority list because it's important, and in my opinion, overlooked by many. But, when life gets in the way despite how hard I try, my general rule is 1 bad night of sleep is not gonna kill me, but any more than that and I won't train until I can get the rest I need.

I'm a big believer that what you do 99% of the time matters more than what happens once. Once night of 3-4 hours of sleep won't kill if you have consistently have been getting 9 hours. Just like one night getting 13 hours of sleep won't help you any if you've been averaging 3 hours for the previous 2 weeks.

[getjacked]

personally i can't go do something if i'm not going to go 100%. it just isn't worth it to me. if i have factors that make it so i cannot make it to the gym or otherwise say i won't be able to go as hard as i want, i just wont go.

thats just me though, it's not right or wrong either way.

[solidspine]

I usually skip that day,

I realize and have not yet found the solution,


But I over train consistently and sacrifice training to failure routinely.


Personal dilemma need to resolve.

[Mr. Cooper]

If I'm really sore, or if I've been up late in a stressful situation I usually won't train, or I'll scale things back. If I oversleep, or can't get to the gym I feel like garbage all day about missing a day. My Sunday was nearly ruined when the child care facility at my gym didn't have any openings. This meant I had to miss one of my "big" training days. I go like hell, or at least try to, on Saturdays and Sundays.

[Luca Brasi]

Good timing for this question . I get to the point of obsession and admittedly stupidity .
At the moment i am under extreme stress levels , as of right now i have'nt slept in 2 days and have a severe flu . (oh and have asthma) ..... Still trained shoudlers today then came home and ran for an hour because i am cutting right now . Well ran all i could and fast walked the rest . Nearly died after but i just cant allow myself to miss a day even though it is probably doing me harm . When i was still fighting pro i could get home as late as 4-5 am and would still sit there and do 300 pushups and situps before i could get a wink of sleep ....... And the really fucked up part is i do it for everyone except myself .
Apologies for getting off track a little i am just physicaly mentalty and emotionaly exhausted right now .

Luca