RRRAAGGGEEEE Overtraining!

I read that article about how hard it is to actually “overtrain”.

This suits me fine i will eat and train with 100% intensity.

but then i will read books like “beyond brawn” that say EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.

they say the problem is that most people train like they are genetic freaks and on drugs when they arnt and result in little to no gains.

I want to be in the gym all the time if i could but i read so much about how less is more. so i go to the gym less.

Then i read that its really hard to overtrain and i should be putting in more effort!

Its a paradox that gets to me every once in a while :[
p.s i had a bad day in the gym.

its hard to actually overtrain; especially in the short term. But it is very easy to do too much for optimal growth or strength increases. There is a difference between overtraining and too much to supercompensate. There are different ways to train, but I think what these authors are suggesting, is to train a lot harder; but for a short period of time, and then back off and grow. Try something like 2-3 weeks of really hard training followed by a 1 week back off period. Otherwise if you aren’t working as hard or with lower workloads, then 5-6+ weeks before a deload is probably fine.

Your over thinking way to much. Just really focus on you recovery you do after and outside the gym which will help curb overtraining.

Such as protein shake before, during, and after working out. Also eat a solid meal consisting of protein and carbs 30min-45mins after working out. As well getting that “magic” number or 8 hours of sleep every night.

Hope this helps?

Dude, fuck what anyone tells you (board members and myself included) and listen to your body/results.

Pick whatever fucking routine that interests you as a starting point - and adjust accordingly.

For example not so long ago I started a leg routine that made sense to me:

Squats 2x10-12
GHR 2x6-8
Barbell Lunges 2x10-12
Rack Pulls 2x10-12

For the first few workout my poundages or reps were increasing for all exercises, but then not only did I stop making progress on Lunges, but my reps with the same load were starting to drop DESPITE all other exercises showing improvement.

What would you have done at this point?

Possibly my quads were not able to recuperate properly with the volume, but my glutes/hams seemed to be ok. I didnt freak out and switch programs - I just dropped lunges from my program!

Later if I stall on Squats I might replace them with lunges for a while. Will it work? Who the fuck knows! I’ll give it a try and see.

Everyone has a ceiling as to how much volume they can do if they train intensely. No author or book can guess exactly how much (even though they make a lot of generalizations about “beginners”, “intermediates” and “advanced”).

Listn to your body, follow your heart, and remember - there’s no place like home!

[quote]Protoculture wrote:
Dude, fuck what anyone tells you…
[/quote]

Would have he or she have made a thread in the first place if they didn’t want to hear people’s advice? As well here you are giving advice anyways. Why post?

On any subject one can find statements and philosophies that are wrong, or take something that has some truth to it but go much too far with it.

Be not afraid.

I do not know much so take this for what it is worth. You need to experiment to find out what exactly works for your body and go from there. I do feel the same way about being in the gym all the time so sometimes I will break up a workout into two so I can have more intensity and freshness and still get to stay away from the wife a little more! lol My advice would be “just experimnet with what works for you!”

Better to overtrain rather than undertrain - If you never push your limits how will you establish where they are? Once you’ve been doing this for a couple of years successfully you’ll know when to back off and when to plough ahead.

it’s not that they do too much while training like a genetic freak, it’s that they cannot maintain the same intensity as a genetic freak and thus the poundage used towards the end is well below a reasonable weight fro muscle stimulation.

they also don’t ever try to progress, because their programs are too complicated to progress on

Eat tons of food = well recovered muscles.

However, too many sets with too high intensity can stress the CNS, which needs good ol fashioned sleep and a break to recover.

Train, eat, REST, repeat. The amount of rest is highly individual. I started a couple years ago on TBT which proved to be too much stimulation, not enough recovery. A traditional bodypart split was good, but each muscle group felt ready to go 2-3 days before i’d train it again. So I’ve settled on an U/L split, hitting each body part 2x a week.

We can’t tell you how much training your body can handle, you just gotta figure it out via trial and error.

[quote]schultzie wrote:
it’s not that they do too much while training like a genetic freak, it’s that they cannot maintain the same intensity as a genetic freak and thus the poundage used towards the end is well below a reasonable weight fro muscle stimulation.

they also don’t ever try to progress, because their programs are too complicated to progress on[/quote]

huh?

i think its down to personal choice, if you can go in and workout for an and hour and a half or two and make good gains, and progress at a good pace, then thats what you should do… i find that its better to go in for maybe 45mins to and hour, just pick up the intensity, then get out of there and eat.

There’s only one truth-you reap what you sow.

Why do you need a book to determine whether you’re overtraining or not? Just make sure you’re eating enough and getting stronger, which would clearly indicate that you’re not overdoing it. I doubt you will see any author advising against that.

high volume and low volume has worked with a lot of people, both with give their reasons as to why one works and the other isnt as good yada yada, just lift weights and make adjustments as needed generally this adjustments will involve moving more towards one style than the other but over time a regression towards the previous style may happen as well.

its like a game of pong with each pong paddle being varying doctrines of training and you being the ball.

the way i look at it, if you train for lets say, bodybuilding for more then 2 hours and your not tired, your intensity isnt high enough-so i have found. i also have found this for strong man. i do GVT for my BBing days. i thin for powerlifting though, it should take from an gour and 15 mins to like 2 hours cuz your going hard for one rep then you take 5 mins to recover so you can PR.

just my 2 cents, even though everyone on here think som a punk and thinks theyre so much better thn me

yes you can overtrain but it requires a lot of effort so the fact that overtraining exists doesn’t serve as an excuse to be a pussy in the gym, just get a good program, stick to it, and stop reading so much about science and pick up a book like brother iron sister steel to keep your mind busy

some weeks when i hit 5 days of training in a row for instance (when i choose to do so) i end up with the runny nose or a minor cold, or after X days in a row i end up tired during a workout.

the point is eventually if you’re consistent w/ training you’ll find the split and/or training volume that works for you.

I know for instance i need 5-7 days between leg days, i know that three consecutive training days is my ideal max., preferring 2 on one off repeated.

As stated sleep, stress, nutrition, supplementation all impact training in relationship to burnout vs maximal results.

lift heavy weights often and bang hot chicks

wat