Your opinion on overtraining?

[cephissus]

I'll define overtraining as "getting weaker because of too much training," whether from too much volume, weight, or attempting to train on too little food, etc.

Every time this topic comes up it seems like people fall into two camps.  On one hand, you have the guys who say "yeah overtraining is real but don't worry about it, it's something that only happens to serious hardcore athletes that work out a million times harder than you."  The guys saying this, in my experience, are usually pretty big and hormonized.

On the other hand, you have guys saying "overtraining is a huge problem and if you want to be anything as a bodybuilder, you have to be very careful about balancing workload and recovery."  Usually these guys seem to be naturals and/or proponents of HIT, or high frequency / low volume styles.  One person who says this (not natural, I know) is Dante -- he insists overtraining is the number one problem with bodybuilders.

As an aside, I currently lift 3 times a week in an attempt to maintain while i diet down, and have been doing upper / lower mwf style, feeling pretty run down.  I'm thinking about switching back to once a week, three way (still mwf), more traditional bb style routine to see if I can bounce back.

Is overtraining a serious issue, an epidemic, or a nonissue for the average gym rat?

[Heavy_Hitter]

Both people are lying to the other, and both people are telling the truth to other person. Each person has a different threshold when it comes to the amount of training they can get away with.

[Firemuscle]

 When I "overtrain" and hit each muscle twice a week I usually get great results.

 In some ways I think overtraining is a myth. As long as your muscle is recovered for the next workout you should be cool. And I think muscle recovery usually only takes 3 or 4 days at the most.

[Master Blaster]

If someone screwed a bomb to your head and told you you have 30 days to gain 10 pounds of muscle or you die, I guaran-fucking-tee you would be over training like a mother fucker and making great progess.

[cephissus]

When I "overtrain" and hit each muscle twice a week I usually get great results.

 In some ways I think overtraining is a myth. As long as your muscle is recovered for the next workout you should be cool. And I think muscle recovery usually only takes 3 or 4 days at the most.

How do you know when a muscle is recovered?  When it's not sore anymore?

[cephissus]

If someone screwed a bomb to your head and told you you have 30 days to gain 10 pounds of muscle or you die, I guaran-fucking-tee you would be over training like a mother fucker and making great progess.

Haha I would just kill myself.

[Firemuscle]

How do you know when a muscle is recovered?  When it's not sore anymore?

 Yeah, no more soreness, and also when you gain back full strength or increased strength. Pushing out a few reps and seeing how it feels and how your power is is usually a good measure of if the muscle is recovered. For me it usually only takes about 4 days of recovery and i'm ready to push that muscle 100% again.

[TacoBell]

I think whatever fatpanda thinks 

[mitchyboy]

I've discussed this before and i dont realy believe in "overtraing". Qoute marks because I DO believe in under recuperating.
 Theres a big difference.
I also believe if you can train for 6 hours strieght, you are just spreading your energy over a greater time scale. So still not over training.
If you train for one hour and cant move a 10 pound wieght, you have kept your energy expenditue short but intense. STILL, NOT OVER TRAINING.
I do believe if you come back in tomorrow, and hit the same body part just as hard, or try to, you are under recuperating. Again big difference.

[DK II]

I think whatever fatpanda thinks 

Which is:

http://tinyurl.com/48zb2lx

[buselmo]

no such thing as overtraining...
it's a myth created by people who want you to do their method of training (by training a total of 9 minutes a week), eat a shit ton of food....... oh... and ... although it's not important, but you should double or triple your total mgs.... then when you get bigger they say "SEE!!! YOU WERE OVERTRAINING AND UNDEREATING!!!! now pay me more money to train you or buy more of my product"...

lots of gear + training like a maniac + being smart with your food = result you want

[TacoBell]

Which is:

http://tinyurl.com/48zb2lx

 

[Coach is Back!]

Fatpanda said, along with the energy systems, overtraining is a fairytale.

[Nirvana]

if it's sore don't train it

[Coach is Back!]

Mmmm, buselmo, overtraining isn't a "myth".

[Hulkotron]

Some guy once said "durf durf durf there's no such thing as overtraining only under-eating" but he was probably on a lot of droogs.

[Fallsview]

Maybe if we're lucky Vince Goodrum can chime in on this issue.



STAY POSITIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DK II]

if it's sore don't train it

Not true.

[Palpatine Q]

Yeah, no more soreness, and also when you gain back full strength or increased strength. Pushing out a few reps and seeing how it feels and how your power is is usually a good measure of if the muscle is recovered. For me it usually only takes about 4 days of recovery and i'm ready to push that muscle 100% again.

Then why are you a tiny little piece of shit that looks like he never lifted a weight in his life ?

[tbombz]

the most common error people make ::  overtraining and undertraining at the same time.


they do way too many sets, with too little rest n between, going to failure to often. but never actually lifting heavy. always repping out light to moderate weight, never increasing poundages, always "burning out" in the gym with drop sets. usually do one muscle per day once per week.


^^^^ maybe some guys with great genetics and great response to juice whove been lean and aesthetic their whole lives could get away with training like that, but for most guys its a recipe for no or extremely slow progress after a couple years of doing it (if their lucky)

[Palpatine Q]

the most common error people make ::  overtraining and undertraining at the same time.


they do way too many sets, with too little rest n between, going to failure to often. but never actually lifting heavy. always repping out light to moderate weight, never increasing poundages, always "burning out" in the gym with drop sets. usually do one muscle per day once per week.


^^^^ maybe some guys with great genetics and great response to juice whove been lean and aesthetic their whole lives could get away with training like that, but for most guys its a recipe for no or extremely slow progress after a couple years of doing it (if their lucky)

Agreed......the more i read about people's "protocols" on this site i come to the conclusion that the vast majority here have no fucking clue how to train properly....that's why they are little whiny shitheads and accuse anyone who carries some muscle of gearing up

[tbombz]

I'll define overtraining as "getting weaker because of too much training,"

and tht is the perfect way to know if your training properly or not.

are you stronger than your previous workout? if not, your doing something wrong. either too much or too little of something. total sets, rest between sets, rest between workouts, food, ect. most of the time its too many sets, too little rest between sets, too long between workouts.

[tbombz]

Agreed......the more i read about people's "protocols" on this site i come to the conclusion that the vast majority here have no fucking clue how to train properly....that's why they are little whiny shitheads and accuse anyone who carries some muscle of gearing up

the sad part is they wont listen, theyll continue struglling untill, if, they find out on their own. it seems everybody always has to learn the hard way 

[DK II]

the sad part is they wont listen, theyll continue struglling untill, if, they find out on their own. it seems everybody always has to learn the hard way 

LOL, aren't you the little bitch that started steroids the moment he entered a gym??

[DSM18]

Overtraining is not so much a direct result of amount of sleep/food proportional to the amount of training intensity, rather overtraining is about the amount/intensity one applies proportional to what that particular persons body has been accustomed to handle.

This means that the more he has listened to his body the less likely they will have overtrained. The longer and smarter somebody has trained the more their bodies will be able to handle due to the accustomed stress their bodies have learnt to adapt to.

of course, without enough knowledge and listening to ones body regarding food choices and sleep amounts, a body can become overtrained, however advanced trainers know when and what their body requires, and increase workloads at slow paces.