How well do you listen to your body???

[moore_716]

I mean this for all aspects of training. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. I want to add a bunch of my thoughts to this but I'm short on time right now. Basically stuff like when you hurt do you push through it. Can you feel the difference between the good pain and bad pain? Do you give your body rest when it feels run down? Do you eat when yu are hungry? How do you know when to eat, meaning real hunger or something else. The main reason I bring this up is that my body seems to be stuck at 198#. It doesn't matter if I cut calories or increase cardio I seem to be stuck at this weight. I'm wondering if my body is where it wants to be and is fighting me.
One thing I will add is that while on cycle I through all this out the window and everything goes. No pain is to great and either is any amount of food at times.

[BendtheBar]

I try to listen to my body, primarily with regards to sleep and unscheduled off days. I don't take planned off days, but rather take the 5 to 10 times a year when life intervenes.

I also try not to overdo my workouts. It's better for me to slightly under work a muscle, then to destroy it with a heavy volume of work. In the past I hit muscle harder. I didn't listen to my body as well.

Sleep...well, how many times have I stayed up just because? Way to many. I try to limit that. If I do stay up too late, it wrecks the next day.

I also believe that too many guys rely on programs performed by experienced lifters, and allow that to trump the feedback they're getting from their own body.

[strkout35]

agreed, i heard a quote on a different website of someone's take on muscle building: stimulate, not annihilate

[glwanabe]

As I've gotten a little older I've realized that going a little slower, and leaving some gas in the tank is way better than going for broke all the time.

I'm always tired due to my schedule, but I try to get as much sleep as I can.

[moore_716]

I'm not so sure my test levels are back to normal yet. I have changed jobs and don't have ins. for 90 days so no Dr. visits. Right now I feel like I'm just going thru the motions. Dojn't get me wrong I'm still busting my ass but I am seeing no difference or results. Once in a great while I will feel just right and have a good workout. I've always said the mental aspect is huge in this game and maybe I'm not as in the game as I think. I get discouraged when nothing is changing when i change everything. When i was in pct no matter what or how much I ate I couldn't stop form losing weight to the 198 mark. No 6-8 weeks later no mater how little I eat I cannot lose from this weight. My strength has fallen way off. Maybe not so much the strength but the reps.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by strkout35

agreed, i heard a quote on a different website of someone's take on muscle building: stimulate, not annihilate

That's a quote from Mr. O Lee Haney.