The gym was nearly empty at 6 AM, just the hum of the ventilation system and the rhythmic clank of someone's deadlift across the room. I'd planned a heavy squat session, but the moment I unracked the bar for my warm-up set, my lower back sent a clear signal—tightness from yesterday's volume work hadn't fully released.
Here's where I made my mistake: I pushed through the second warm-up set anyway, telling myself it would "loosen up." It didn't. By the third rep, I knew I was compensating with my hips. I racked the weight, stepped back, and had to make a call—ego or longevity?
I switched the entire session. Goblet squats, Romanian deadlifts with perfect tempo, and 15 minutes of focused mobility work I've been skipping all week. Not the workout I wanted, but exactly the one I needed. The tightness started to release around rep 12 of the third RDL set—that deep stretch in the hamstrings that feels like untying a knot.