Fail Upwards

Groin and calf rehab of my injuries sustained in a game of 5-a-side went fairly well. Worked up to 102.5kg x 20 x 3 on calf raises, 152.5kg x 6 on sumo (wide stance) deadlift, and 10 x 5s on Copenhagen planks. Was due to return to the 5-a-side the week before some traveling, but my wife convinced me not to due to the amount of walking involved and not wanting to do that if I picked up another injury - and while away, doing 15k+ daily steps, I noticed my calf stiffen. This suggests I'm not there yet, so alongside the real football season coming to an end, I'm calling time on my season and will try and use the summer to further reinforce these problem areas.

Failure is an inevitable part of success. Setbacks, straying off course via distractions, illness, injury, or outside stresses - any number of things can sometimes make it feel like it's never going to work. Back in 2008, I had other travel plans that would also involve a lot of walking. Was badly out of shape (18+st) but started walking around our 2.5m block every other night - and was able to do the walking when I got there. But, I didn't kick on, and went back to the same old habits, and it took another 8yrs and 2+st (and some other false dawns) before finally getting on top of it.

The trick is picking success points out of past failures, and using those to set up future successes. In 2016, in worse shape than in 2008, I felt the same aches and pains but now had the experience that told me it would get better, and this time combined with the motivation of not wanting to go on blood pressure meds as well as taking my diet seriously, it all clicked into place.

And recently, feeling fresh due to lower training volume around traveling, I tried my hand at a 210kg deadlift PR - no joy this time around, but these are my takeaways:

• Last time I tried pulling 210kg it was glued to the ground, giving me a renewed appreciation of gravity!
• This prompted me to step back from chasing numbers and do more hypertrophy-focused training
• Change in training meant a bunch of new movements and rep ranges and less mental stress around performance hopes/expectations
• Strength was gained even without that as a focus
• Renewed interest in getting back to strength training, with lived experience that numbers/performance aren't as important as just turning up and working
• I'm going to get this - it's just a matter of time

Regardless of the outcome, each attempt at success is a step in the right direction. The only true failure is not taking any steps at all.