Powerbuilding 1, fatigue level

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

My story:

  • 2020, no barbells. (gym lockdowns)

  • Jan 2021, I’m back. Did a couple weeks of “whatever”, then I began Powerbuilding 1, plus 200g total protein per day, and Peri-Rx.

  • Modest progress. (which is fine; neither my genetics nor age favor Gainzzz)

  • At start of Week 10, I felt fatigued & discouraged. Halfway through the week’s Day 1, a voice in my head started shouting “That’s enough, go easy for this week.”

  • So I did about half the tonnage that day and the rest of the week. The lower tonnage felt restful.

  • Now I’m gonna do “Week 10 proper” (normal tonnage). Today felt great, a strong & enjoyable day as you might expect.

The question is:

  • Should I have pushed harder against the voice & finished up Week 10, last week?

  • Or was I right to heed the voice & stick a little breather in there? If I felt that tired after Week 9, did I maybe push the previous weeks too hard?

Typical session RPE & weekly RPE for me are both 8.5 to 9… on my HIIT days I’m throwing in dips, pushups, bear crawls. (Because I like them. Weird.)

2

I think that in the grand scheme of things, 1 week of lighter weights/less weights matters very little. I think it would be difficult to tell you what you should have done, but I think aiming for a session RPE of 6-8 each time you train is the goal. Sounds like you’re doing quite a bit of extra stuff, which is cool- but I think being conservative when adding stuff in and with intensities is a good idea, in general.