Overtraining vs undertraining--wheres the line?

[marshmallow man]

Subject says it all...

I was reading the topic concerning 25-30 reps, it got me wondering when is the line crossed for overtraining?

I do sets of 3-5 generally 3-5 reps, warmup is 8-10 reps.

I've heard muscle soreness could me overtraining.

Andrew

 

[glenihan]

muscle soreness doesn't necessarily equal overtraining .. lack of growth, fatigue, lack of motivation to train .. those are indicative of overtraining

each person is different in terms of where they cross the boundrary into overtraining

an IFBB pro on loads of gear and gh can train for days and probably not overtrain due to the anabolics and their superior genetics

a 42 year old that weighs 160lbs will probably overtrain fairly quickly from not a ton of sets

my basic point is it varies but IMHO everyone is best off starting with heavy ass weights, not many sets, and a high TUT

 

[Magickk]

muscle soreness doesn't necessarily equal overtraining .. lack of growth, fatigue, lack of motivation to train .. those are indicative of overtraining

each person is different in terms of where they cross the boundrary into overtraining

an IFBB pro on loads of gear and gh can train for days and probably not overtrain due to the anabolics and their superior genetics

a 42 year old that weighs 160lbs will probably overtrain fairly quickly from not a ton of sets

my basic point is it varies but IMHO everyone is best off starting with heavy ass weights, not many sets, and a high TUT

When you're doing TUT, how do you stay motivated and keep that feeling of really "moving the weight" going? I don't doubt the science behind TUT, but everytime I try it, I feel like I'm not really moving the weight because I'm not really throwing it up like normal (if that makes any sense). And it makes it impossible for me to stick with it...

 

[glenihan]

well i use an explosive positive personally .. i do, however, use a 5-7 second negative on most exercises (not squats and deads)

so i certainly feel like i'm moving the weight .. its just no where near as much weight as i could move if i used a much quicker negative

 

[Magickk]

touche

 

[marshmallow man]

What is TUT??

Andrew

 

[jminis]

What is TUT??

Andrew

Time Under Tension.

 

[spatch]

Subject says it all...

I was reading the topic concerning 25-30 reps, it got me wondering when is the line crossed for overtraining?

I do sets of 3-5 generally 3-5 reps, warmup is 8-10 reps.

I've heard muscle soreness could me overtraining.

Andrew

No one but your own body can tell you if your overtraining but your own body.

Also, you cant tell overtraining from sets and reps. Me, I do a lot of volume. However, I take maybe 1 set for the whole day to failure. It works a lot better then high intensity low volume stuff ever did.

To take it even further, you cant tell overtraining from training alone at all (unless your doing like 20 sets all to failure or something). It also depends what your diet is like and how much rest you get.

 

[spatch]

so i certainly feel like i'm moving the weight .. its just no where near as much weight as i could move if i used a much quicker negative

This is they best training style hands down IMO. Too many people are concnened with one thing, WEIGHT. The weight isnt the most important thing in the lift, most people who tell you so are not as big as Glen here. :clap2: Some dude tried telling me the other day that the only thing important in the lift is weight. He was in the physical condition that, metapohrically speaking, taking bodybuilding advice from him would be like taking stock advice from a homeless guy. Nice guy though, I try helping him with his workouts, but hes stubborn.

 

[ivydude]

Glen's advice is right on.

One quick terminology note since I see "overtraining" thrown around a lot...

Overtraining refers to a chronic, long term condition as a result of training too much over an extended period. The term that people usually mean is overreaching. Overreaching is the short term decrease in lifting performance, which does not take as long to recover from as overtraining.

 

[marshmallow man]

Wow, thanks for the input. I've been alternating between a very slow negative and quick negative. I do quick negative, obviously higher weight, one week and then lower weight slower neg the next. It seems to be working...

Andrew

 

[Iron Warrior]

Good info Glen, I'll have to try it

 

[jmh80]

IW - slow positives and negitives are the way to go man. :thumbsup:

 

[spatch]

muscle soreness doesn't necessarily equal overtraining .. lack of growth, fatigue, lack of motivation to train .. those are indicative of overtraining

each person is different in terms of where they cross the boundrary into overtraining

an IFBB pro on loads of gear and gh can train for days and probably not overtrain due to the anabolics and their superior genetics

a 42 year old that weighs 160lbs will probably overtrain fairly quickly from not a ton of sets

my basic point is it varies but IMHO everyone is best off starting with heavy ass weights, not many sets, and a high TUT

I thought the principals of TUT and "heavy ass weights" contradict each other? :blink:

 

[glenihan]

not in my mind spatch .. i use a low volume routine .. and i use the "HEAVIEST" weight i possibly can given the restraints of the slow negative that i employ

i could use lighter weights and do a lot more sets .. but i don't i use the heaviest weights i can