Q: Hey Mike, today i wnet to the gym around 1 oclock, i posted my workout sched. on q. 591. today was chest and triceps. when i went. normally i bench 135 about 7 times, today i did 5 with trouble. my flyes went down 2-3 reps per set, every single tricep exercise i did, i did less weight and less reps.. what is going on?

A: Can't tell you for sure, but here are some possibilities...

• Was your previous chest/tri workouts also at 1 o'clock? Changing time of day of a workout to something different is likely to have this effect. If you continue to have 1 o'clock workouts for chest/tri your body will get used to them and your old strength will return.
• Have you taken some time off gym and are coming back from the break now? First couple sessions will be weaker than usual, then the strength will return.
• If you just started on this new diet, it's also to be expected that it may take a bit of time for your body to get used to the new routine.
• Have you lost weight in the past 1-2 weeks? If you have, then you should expect your strength to go down. You should also then make sure you eat more since your goal should be gaining 1-2 pounds per month. Add more good carbs into your diet. Things like sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats. If you can't stomach those, then just plain whole-grain bread or pasta or Cheerios.
• Bad workouts happen from time to time. See what your chest/tri workout is like next week and if this repeats, then there's a problem.
• It's potentially possible that you're due for a rest. If you've been working out non-stop for 10+ weeks, you may want to consider taking 1 week off.

Can any of these reasons apply to you? If you've just changed to this new diet, suspect #1 would be simply that you're not used to it right now and suspect #2 would be that the new diet does not have enough calories and carbs in which case you'd want to add some of those sweet potatoes/brown rice/oatmeal/etc. options. Especially add carbs to the pre-workout meal. If you're losing weight, then it's a sure sign you're not eating enough. Track your weight carefully. But I would give it another week and judge after the next chest/tri workout before making changes.