New Program

I keep running into a wall with my current training program and can not put my finger on why it is happening. My caloric intake is high, focusing on taking in a lot of protein. My squat and deadlift have become very inconsistent. I do not like this. Physiologically I am shutting down potentially because I am overreaching. If I keep going down this road I will burn out. This means that I will quit lifting and this is definitely not my goal. I know that this will happen because I have gone through it before. I just figured I had lost interest and didn't want to lift anymore. What I think may have happened before, and I am close to doing now is:

"Overreaching. This term has been described as the cumulative effects of a series of workouts, characterized by a short-term decrease in performance, feelings of fatigue, depressed mood, pain, sleep disturbances, and other miscellaneous effects that require up to two weeks to recover from. Certain hormonal changes such as a short-term reduction in testosterone and increase in Cortisol occur at this level (these are among the factors that produce the positive systemic effects of barbell training). A significant problem with this definition is that it differs from that of overtraining only in that "overreaching" can be recovered from with approximately two weeks of reduced work or rest—a rather arbitrary distinction—whereas recovery from overtraining takes longer." (Rippetoe, Kilgore, Pendlay, 2008)

Overreaching from the book Practical Programming defines a lot of what I have been feeling and going through. This gives me a great relief knowing that it is something that I am sure happens to quite a few athletes at some time or other. With all of that said this is completely self diagnosed and it could all be in my head. I do not have a coach to confirm that this is what is happening to me. Regardless, I am decreasing and lightening my work load for two weeks to see how I feel afterwards.

"Moreover, the concept of overreaching defined as a negative effect misses the point. Overreaching simply represents the target stress necessary to disrupt homeostasis, intentionally breaching the maximal workload the trainee has adapted to in order to induce supercompensation. It is more relevant, practical, and understandable to discard the term and simply use the term "overload," since it describes both the load and the stimulus for inducing adaptation in all trainees, regardless of advancement level. Every fitness or performance enhancement training program should include periods of overload, as is required by any practical application of Selye's theory, and these periods should be understood as adaptive, not detrimental. Judging this level of effort can be difficult and requires vigilant monitoring, as a rapid descent into overtraining can occur if loading is too severe or recovery is inadequate." (Rippetoe, Kilgore, Pendlay, 2008)

New Program:
Mon.
Squat 5x3
Pull Ups 10x3

Tue.
Power Clean and Jerk 1x5
then
Condition

Wen.
OFF

Thur.
Squat 5x3
Press 5x3

Fri.
Deadlift 5x1
then
Condition