11-29-2018, 10:00 PM
My personal opinion. Take your training max and set it aside for a time.
Some of the best training I get at times is either when I am on vacation or traveling for work. Mostly because I'm using new machines and have really no idea what PRs are. My focus then more often than not shifts from trying to hit PRs and back to quality of reps. Because I don't know what weight I'm using, I generally warm up more, and do a better job of purely focusing on quality of reps. And where I land is where I land.
I'm all for progressive overload. I believe in it extremely strongly. but if you are going to reset form, tempo, etc. Honestly your previous PRs are almost somewhat meaningless, as it's completely different standards and situation. I'd honestly just approach each lift like you had never done it before. Focus on pure quality reps, warm up, hit a working set that feels GREAT. And then try to go back to it later and beat that, while keeping form and mindset the same.
As far as developing a good mind muscle connection, there is A LOT out there (and on this board about it). I would only add that you should keep searching for lifts or variations of lifts (especially on muscle groups you struggle with) that you can get a good mind muscle connection too. For example, for chest, I have found on a lot of machines, taking a slightly neutral/reverse grip actually engages my chest A LOT more than most. It sort of goes against common logic as most would tell you that would focus more on triceps. For triceps, My BEST long head lift is actually a reverse grip long handle pushdown. Most would tell you this would work the medial head the best, but for me it makes my long head feel like it's going to snap, and the first time I did this lift with any sort of intensity, the swelling in the long head of my tricep was so bad I actually pinched a nerve and my forearm went slightly numb for about 4-6 hours. More or less, keep looking, searching, trying new things and keep focusing on it. It's a skill and it will improve.
Some of the best training I get at times is either when I am on vacation or traveling for work. Mostly because I'm using new machines and have really no idea what PRs are. My focus then more often than not shifts from trying to hit PRs and back to quality of reps. Because I don't know what weight I'm using, I generally warm up more, and do a better job of purely focusing on quality of reps. And where I land is where I land.
I'm all for progressive overload. I believe in it extremely strongly. but if you are going to reset form, tempo, etc. Honestly your previous PRs are almost somewhat meaningless, as it's completely different standards and situation. I'd honestly just approach each lift like you had never done it before. Focus on pure quality reps, warm up, hit a working set that feels GREAT. And then try to go back to it later and beat that, while keeping form and mindset the same.
As far as developing a good mind muscle connection, there is A LOT out there (and on this board about it). I would only add that you should keep searching for lifts or variations of lifts (especially on muscle groups you struggle with) that you can get a good mind muscle connection too. For example, for chest, I have found on a lot of machines, taking a slightly neutral/reverse grip actually engages my chest A LOT more than most. It sort of goes against common logic as most would tell you that would focus more on triceps. For triceps, My BEST long head lift is actually a reverse grip long handle pushdown. Most would tell you this would work the medial head the best, but for me it makes my long head feel like it's going to snap, and the first time I did this lift with any sort of intensity, the swelling in the long head of my tricep was so bad I actually pinched a nerve and my forearm went slightly numb for about 4-6 hours. More or less, keep looking, searching, trying new things and keep focusing on it. It's a skill and it will improve.