Wearing Myself Down. Guidance?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Training has been going good for me the past year, but it hasn’t been perfect and i’ve made a lot of mistakes.

That said i’ve gone from 140lbs to 190 with my bench going from 135x4 to 280x3. I want 405lbs for 5 reps by the time im 23, im 21 now.

However the couple months I keep wearing myself down - keep getting sick (had flu twice in 2 months), appetite is very low (doesn’t change how much I eat though, but makes it more uncomfortable)

I’m training 6x a week, 2 exercises per body-part each time I go, first exercise I work up to a 3-5rep max, then a high rep set after. 2nd exercise I do 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps.

split:
chest AM, back PM
shoulders AM arms PM
legs
repeat
rest

What I eat:
90g prot shake, 100g oats
2 FINiBARs
<train w/ 100g protein shake (casein hydrosylate)>
12oz chicken w/ 2 baked potatoes
12oz fish w/ 1/2 cup rice
2 FINiBARs
<train w/ 100g protein shake (casein hydrosylate)>
12oz steak w/ lettuce/tomato/2 eggs

I like to train as intense as I can, at the end of my heaviest set my body will be shaking all over and my eyes will be very bloodshot, but on the 4th-5th training day I’m very mentally drained and get tired very quickly and can’t finish what I set out to do.

What do you guys recommend that I need to change so I stop wearing myself down? Perhaps stop 1-2 reps short of that last all out rep? Or change up my split/diet entirely?

Probably a simple answer here, but I could use a kick up the ass to keep me on track.

2

Why not train 3 days on 1 day off, instead of 6 on and 1 off. Maybe try that for a couple weeks and see if you notice any changes.

3

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
Training has been going good for me the past year, but it hasn’t been perfect and i’ve made a lot of mistakes.

That said i’ve gone from 140lbs to 190 with my bench going from 135x4 to 280x3. I want 405lbs for 5 reps by the time im 23, im 21 now.

However the couple months I keep wearing myself down - keep getting sick (had flu twice in 2 months), appetite is very low (doesn’t change how much I eat though, but makes it more uncomfortable)

I’m training 6x a week, 2 exercises per body-part each time I go, first exercise I work up to a 3-5rep max, then a high rep set after. 2nd exercise I do 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps.

split:
chest AM, back PM
shoulders AM arms PM
legs
repeat
rest

What I eat:
90g prot shake, 100g oats
2 FINiBARs
<train w/ 100g protein shake (casein hydrosylate)>
12oz chicken w/ 2 baked potatoes
12oz fish w/ 1/2 cup rice
2 FINiBARs
<train w/ 100g protein shake (casein hydrosylate)>
12oz steak w/ lettuce/tomato/2 eggs

I like to train as intense as I can, at the end of my heaviest set my body will be shaking all over and my eyes will be very bloodshot, but on the 4th-5th training day I’m very mentally drained and get tired very quickly and can’t finish what I set out to do.

What do you guys recommend that I need to change so I stop wearing myself down? Perhaps stop 1-2 reps short of that last all out rep? Or change up my split/diet entirely?

Probably a simple answer here, but I could use a kick up the ass to keep me on track.
[/quote]

You are eating like someone dieting. Why? There is no way in hell I would eat like that to GAIN muscle. That is how you eat in the last few weeks of a full on diet. Maybe your body is telling you that you need more food and that simply focusing on protein and only minor carbs isn’t cutting it.

4

How many calories are you getting in? Any ideas on macros?

5

I agree with X. Clean is good, but dude… You need some STEAK!

Worn down to me = Not enough cals.

Toss a big old sirloin in there or a ribeye with some salt and oregano and basil you’ll probably feel much better.

6

The 6x a week in a row is no problem, provided you’re getting enough Calories.

Add up your calories and let us know what they are.

If your calories are on, then try the recommended 3 days on, 1 off, repeat.

7

I thought I was eating well but after looking at it with what you are saying i agree.

I’ll add in more eggs (like 5-6 at breakfast)/ bigger servings of my carbs (double up the rice/oats, add in 2 more potatoes with my steak), have some cottage cheese before bed and ill get some fish oil too.

Is there anything else I should add in? (Fruit/veg is like 2 cups of broccoli & 3-4 oranges or something a day)

8

[quote]Rocky2 wrote:
The 6x a week in a row is no problem, provided you’re getting enough Calories.

Add up your calories and let us know what they are.

If your calories are on, then try the recommended 3 days on, 1 off, repeat.[/quote]

His calories should be based on his results and how his body is responding. If he is getting sick constantly, unless he is gaining fat uncontrollably, it is highly more likely that he is NOT eating the way he should be.

I have trained 6 days a week for over a decade. I also know there is no way in hell I would recover fast enough to continue doing that if I ate like the OP.

9

Agreed.

@ OP, I see you’re making the right choices about food. I don’t knof if you’re doing it already, but get in most of your daily carbs around(before during after) your workout too. You’ll probably notice a better energy boost as well.

10

And make sure you are getting enough sleep.

If your diet is bad it can interrupt your sleep cycle. I’m going through that right now and will be taking a few days off to get my body back on shedule.

11

I’d take a few days off (as many as needed), then maybe change things up in the gym, or go in and just have fun, stay as little or as long as you want. Eat more food (always a good thing), and eventually you’ll find a groove again. I know sometimes I feel like I’m force feeding every single meal, and I just need to back off the eating for a bit and maybe the training too, and then the appetite comes back, and then some.

12

X2 on sleep.

Other than that, I feel like different types of training wear on my body differently. When I start getting worn out I usually shift gears. I’ll switch up frequency and/or weight. So if I start getting worn out on a west side, maxing out frequently style training, I’ll switch to a more volume based approach like shieko. My joints and nervous system seem to be able to recover while still advancing in my training. Plus you getting the added mental boost of doing something new.

13

You aren’t just training 6 days a week but because of the twice-a-days, you are training 10 times a week. This might have been achievable when benching 135 but you have now more than doubled your poundages. 10 sessions a week (with a stressful job) would break me in half.

There are a lot of variables - for the best suggestions, you would need to give more information about the routine (volume, poundage change over time), work, sleep, cardio, deloads/breaks, bf, height, stress? etc.

14

[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
Training has been going good for me the past year, but it hasn’t been perfect and i’ve made a lot of mistakes.

That said i’ve gone from 140lbs to 190 with my bench going from 135x4 to 280x3. I want 405lbs for 5 reps by the time im 23, im 21 now.

However the couple months I keep wearing myself down - keep getting sick (had flu twice in 2 months), appetite is very low (doesn’t change how much I eat though, but makes it more uncomfortable)

I’m training 6x a week, 2 exercises per body-part each time I go, first exercise I work up to a 3-5rep max, then a high rep set after. 2nd exercise I do 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps.

split:
chest AM, back PM
shoulders AM arms PM
legs
repeat
rest

What I eat:
90g prot shake, 100g oats
2 FINiBARs
<train w/ 100g protein shake (casein hydrosylate)>
12oz chicken w/ 2 baked potatoes
12oz fish w/ 1/2 cup rice
2 FINiBARs
<train w/ 100g protein shake (casein hydrosylate)>
12oz steak w/ lettuce/tomato/2 eggs

I like to train as intense as I can, at the end of my heaviest set my body will be shaking all over and my eyes will be very bloodshot, but on the 4th-5th training day I’m very mentally drained and get tired very quickly and can’t finish what I set out to do.

What do you guys recommend that I need to change so I stop wearing myself down? Perhaps stop 1-2 reps short of that last all out rep? Or change up my split/diet entirely?

Probably a simple answer here, but I could use a kick up the ass to keep me on track.
[/quote]

…like everyone else said eat more.

Your attitude to training sounds good btw, most people these days ask are they overtraining instead of how they can recover better, most are afraid of work. I don’t get that vibe from you so good job.

15

Eat more-like everyone else says and you may be suffering adrenal fatigue. Look in to it. If so, look at something like Reset-AD.

Good luck.

16

Thanks all for the advice, I took 2 days off and made sure i ate properly and I feel ok-ish again, still a bit short of breath/clogged up from the flu before but im sure that will be gone soon.

I am going to be eating a lot more, and changed my training split.

here is what im doing:

diet - not sure how many prot/carbs/fat/calories this works out to.
1: 6 eggs, 150g quakers porridge oats
2: 2 finibars
3: 100g peptopro w/ cit malate, beta alanine, EAA’s, electrolytes.
4: 12oz steak / 2 baked potatoes.
5: 12oz lean beef / 1 cup rice.
6: 12oz fish / 1 sweet potato.
7. 3 scoops protein / 1 cup cottage cheese

training:
(A) chest/biceps
(B) legs
(C) delts/triceps
(D) back

A,B,C,D,A,B off C,D,A,B,C,D off etc.

I want to push my weight up to 210, hopefully this will allow me to do it without putting on more fat (i’m guessing im around 20% bodyfat at the moment).