This is a copy of a Reddit post I made in the SBS subreddit.
I've been pondering fatigue alot lately, and thought I'd try to put a few of my thoughts down on paper and hear what you all experience in this regard.
42, male, 189cm, 113kg - recreational lifter and dabbling strength philosopher.
After too many years of focusing on maximal strength (spinning my wheels at a 155 press, 245 bench, 405 squat and 415 deadlift), I'm now running SBS Hypertrophy for a 16 week block, in a caloric surplus (about 400 above maintenance). My goal is to build a wider base and program more intelligently trying to get stronger in the long run.
I've found over the years that fatigue almost always sneaks up on me. No matter how many programs and cycles I run through, I always get surprised and blindsided by fatigue. I've recently started wondering if this is my special little thing, or if it's a common occurence among lifters in general.
Usually these are some telltale signs that fatigue is catching up to me:
Sleep deteriorates (I've never been a great sleeper, but when I'm real ground down it goes to total shit, and I get out of bed just as tired as I was getting in)
I feel something along the lines of depression - my mood is down, and negativity often prevails in situations I'd usually just shrug off
Building on the last one: I'm much more sensitive - oftentimes I can feel the need to cry, even though I never do
Getting my 10-12k daily steps start turning into a chore, not a delight at being outside with my dog
The only time I really feel good is in the gym - at all other times I'm deflated and tired (up to a point - if I pass even that point, the gym starts feeling bad too)
I think about being in bed alot - not necessarily sleeping, but just alone and under the covers (kickback to the point about feeling something akin to depression)
Body image can turn negative too - if I'm well rested and loving training, I will have a very positive body image and feel good about myself - but when fatigue is grinding me down, I will look in the mirror and see something else entirely
I become more of a hypochondriac - every little thing is cancerous, a tumor, the end of me
I'm volatile - I can feel on top of the world one minute, strong and fast and ready to go, and crushed with zero energy the next
Managing fatigue, for me, is quite the challenge. Only recently I've started viewing it as the grand total of my "life fatigue", not just strength training fatigue or gym fatigue. I've started trying to get a feel for how my work, home and training stress all work together and make up the total fatigue I'm feeling. I've not really figured out how to manage it well, but atleast I'm on the road to enlightenment (maybe, hopefully).
I've started to look at RPE and in the future I will starting training more "intuitively" using RPE and programs supporting it. I am also working towards a goal of getting better at playing the long game, and not letting Today decide how an entire cycle plays out. Hence the realization that I needed a broader base instead of banging my head against the same weights over and over.
I'd be interested in hearing what signs you pay attention to when gouging your own fatigue, and what measures you take to manage it. I guess this is just sort of a philosophical thread where I'm looking for the experience and thoughts of others, in a hope of finding tidbits and nuggets I can take along on my own journey.
