Should you feel refreshed and energetic after a lifting session?

S-Zero

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I'm going to try doing less exercise sets (of course I'd have to increase the intensity to make up for the reduced sets, make every contraction count!) and see if it helps.

Because usually after I work out, I feel tired, fatigued, and sluggish and I read somewhere that's not the way to go.

So how do you guys feel after a work out session? I can work out for an hour and still feel energetic (should this be the stopping point?), but if I work out for an extra 30-45 minutes longer, then I feel drained at the end. Overtraining?

I know the shorter workout still stimulates the muscles for growth, but I guess it's more the the mentality issue that I haven't catch on how less=more.

Sometimes I won't feel sore the next few days and wonder if I'm still optimally growing at all?

What do you guys have to say?
 

iron addict

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After upper body work you should feel "OK" after 1/2-1 hour. After leg work you should feel like a used rubber for at least 3-4 hours after working out. As far as if your workout is working for you, ask yourself this: are all or just about all lifts going up every session? If so you are on the right track if not, how is supposed to "magically" start working one day?

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sage

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this feeling might be more from how often you workout per week, than the duration of your workouts. Overtraining and overloading the body with too much work at such frequency will get your body tired and down. If this is the case, look into taking a few days off
Sage
 
lifted

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with my experience using an HIT style 3x/week, i only train for 45-70min tops. every session i have its balls to the walls--thats what HIT is all about. and afterwords if its 45 min or whatever i feel like id be able to blow chunks. i sometimes do too, but as long as i re-eat my upchucked meals, follow up w/ proper post-wo nutrition, i am fine.

only prob is i think i might be funkin up my esophagus and organs.

IMO, when training heavy, u should feel tired afterwords. that means u gave it ur all.
 
Iron Warrior

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I usually feel drained after working out, but I get re-energized after eating and showering
 

Biggs

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uh.... lol refreshed? makes me feel like a twice dumped turd, usually don't feel good until, as Iron Warrior said, eating/showering has occurred... would probably not be so bad if I could ever get enough sleep though.
 

Sheesh

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It really depends on what I'm training. After I'm done training anything upperbody (except delts) I , as Arnie so aptly put it, 'walk around (and out of) the gym with the huge pump making me feel like king kong'.

After delts, I'm not really fatigued, I just don't feel like King Kong...


Legs, are a different story though. After a nice brutal leg work-out, I feel like crap for a good hour or two afterwards. Then the searing pain eventually subsides and I'm happy.
 

S-Zero

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Well for my workout, I still do a 3 day routine like this:

Day 1) Back & Bi's
Day 2) Legs
Day 3) Chest & Tri's
Day 4) Rest

Repeat Cycle.

So basically I'm hitting the same body parts at least twice per week.

My intensity is moderately high and so is the volume. I'm trying to find a balance between these two variables.

I used to do about 3-4 compound movement exercises @ 4x8 each and then 2-3 more isolation exercises at the same 4x8. That's a lot of reps in one day don't you think? (~ 224 max reps in a day). That's why I'm wondering if I should stop after a good pump because I noticed I keep on exercising after the 'pump window', I can't attain the same pump intensity/tightness anymore. It just feels fatigued. Driving home on blasted out arms is another different story as with the difficult showering afterwards.

Also, I'm thinking it's a lil too much because when I come back to hit the same body part, my strength hasn't really increased (like everybody seems to make it out to be) and the muscle might have a lil pain still (not sore... pain), kinda like a lot of torn fibers feeling. Yes I'm watching my protein intake.

Lastly, if one were to work out just enough not to over train, the consensus I'm getting everywhere around is that you should be stronger at least by 5 lbs the next time around. So everybody is making it seem like there's not such thing as plateauing? It's like unlimited strength gains forever?
 
lifted

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IMO, u need to pick between on or the other. i could never get away w/ that much volume AND intensity. even though its moderate. if i were u, id go with more intensity, less volume. my $.02
 
Trapark666

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I would say that 224 reps in a workout twice a week is overboard. If you want to stay with your current program, cut the reps in half, increase poundages for a while and see how your body responds. Remember that because you feel a pump deosn't mean that it is causing your muscles to grow, overloading the muscle and forcing it to adapt is what gives you gains. Hope this helps.
 

locoangmo

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Your doing legs on day 2 and then again on day 6? On day 6 I will still be struggling to get up the stairs much less doing another set of squats. Try changing your splits. Instead of a 4 day split try a 5 or six day split. This will add a couple of days of rest for each body part. If you insist on keeping your splits then you could do a light one day and heavy the next. Using 75% of your heavy weight for your light days and doing the same number of reps. This would give each body part one heavy and one light day a week.
You should be making gains. Not necessarily 5 lbs a week but you should be gaining in some area of your training. If your not, change something. Your set/reps, your exercizes, or just drop some weight and work on form adding weight every week to your compound lifts.
In the way of suppliments, a good post workout drink will help with overtraining. I like 60grms of dextrose, 5grms creatine, 5grms glutamine, and 400mgs ALA. Flavored with unsweetened kol-aid. I follow this with whey protein mixed with water. Do some research and see what you come up with.
Finally, some people recommend that when you find yourself in an over-trained state (which it sounds like you may be in) that taking a week or two off from the gym is necessary before starting a new training scheme.
Good Luck with your training, LOCO
 

iron addict

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If you are not going up in weights consistently nor adding more volume (a bad way to do it, but it works for some) you are just repeating the same workout again and again. How is this supposed to Make you grow? You are doing WAY too much WAY too frequently.

It really bothers me to see so many people swimming in a sea of confusion about their workout effectiveness, or lack thereof. If a routine doesn't produce results NOW, how is it supposed to "magiaclly" start working tomorrow?

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LunaHotel

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I think the good workouts are the ones where I kinda feel like I was hit by a truck. Can hardly move, I'm in a state of dumbfounded shock for a few hours afterwards.

DOMS gives me a clue, also. When I overtrain, my intensity is a little lower than when I don't and I don't get DOMS. I feel tired between workouts. So that's that.
 

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