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Am I overtraining?

elliotuk

elliotuk

Member
Been doing weights for about 2 months now with the goal of trying to increase muscle size and so far so good, have gone from 67kg to 74kg in that time :)

Anyway i'm overly keen about the whole thing and am wondering if I am spending too much time at the gym or doing too many sets etc? Thought i would post my basic workout structure and see what you think:

Age: 27
Height: 178cm (5'10")
Weight: 74kg (163lb)


I go for 3 days on, 1 day off, 3 days on, 1 day off, like this:

Day 1: Chest & Biceps & Abs
Day 2: Legs & Shoulders
Day 3: Back & Triceps & Abs
Day 4: OFF
----------REPEAT----------

Each day will spend about 2.5 hours in the gym and do about 4 or 5 different excercises per body part, and 3 or 4 sets pyramid style for each of those exercises.

For example:

Day 1:

Chest:
Bench press - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?
Incline press - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?
Dumbbell Flys - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?
Cable Crossovers - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?
Press ups - 12x 12x 10x

Biceps:
Barbell curl - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?
Hammer curl - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?
Sitting Dummbells - 12x?, 10x?, 8x?, 6x?

cba to post days 2 and 3 but you get the idea :P about 15 - 20 sets per body part.

Just wondering about this because im an ectomorph and I hear that ectos should spend more time resting and less time training that most people, but im really keen and enjoy going lots!

And yes im eating lots :)
 
2.5 hours is not your friend. your body will go catabolic (wasting muscle) somewhere around 45-60 minutes. its the way we're structured. if you insist on working out for that long, pick up some bcaa/eaa drink (LG and Animal make one), to keep your body anabolic.

personally, i'd stick to sub 1 hour workouts, but again, if you like spending that kind of time in the gym (where it positively benefits you), you need something like bcaa/eaa's to keep you growing. also, with that kind of time spent in the gym, your pre workout meal/shake is crucial - i would try to get 100g of carbs and 40g of protein maybe 15-30 minutes before hitting the gym.
 
suncloud said:
2.5 hours is not your friend. your body will go catabolic (wasting muscle) somewhere around 45-60 minutes. its the way we're structured. if you insist on working out for that long, pick up some bcaa/eaa drink (LG and Animal make one), to keep your body anabolic.

personally, i'd stick to sub 1 hour workouts, but again, if you like spending that kind of time in the gym (where it positively benefits you), you need something like bcaa/eaa's to keep you growing. also, with that kind of time spent in the gym, your pre workout meal/shake is crucial - i would try to get 100g of carbs and 40g of protein maybe 15-30 minutes before hitting the gym.
Click to expand...

ye i always go straight after breakfast which consists of:

Large bowl of porridge with rasins, blueberries, and whey protein powder mixed in to it, and 3 eggs (3whites, 1 yolk). Then I down my no-explode and hit the gym.

Hmmm ok will try to cut it down, not sure how though, you think I should just do the same muscle groups on the same days but less sets? Or better to change it so that i only work 1 muscle group each day?

Was looking at Purple Wraath, is that a good option for the BCAA's ?
 
I kinda have this problem too. I feel like I HAVE to spend 2hrs in the gym because i don't feel tired after 1 hr.

Once I finish and then move on to another lift, I feel like I could've done more of the last.
I think I just need to go heavier.

Would creatine before a work save from burning muscle?
 
elliotuk said:
Was looking at Purple Wraath, is that a good option for the BCAA's ?
Click to expand...

yes indeed.


Stangtuner said:
Would creatine before a work save from burning muscle?
Click to expand...

nope. basically fat is stored in fat cells, carbs are stored (a small amount) in muscle and liver cells. protein is stored in muscles only. when you work out, the body leaches the protein from the muscles promoting catabolism. without a constant source of bcaa/eaa's there's no way to prevent that, shy of protein loading pre workout. doing both will make sure your body will last all 2+ hours.
 
mind posting your workout suncloud? just the basic layout eg: monday chest, tuesday back, wednesday day off.
 
elliotuk said:
mind posting your workout suncloud? just the basic layout eg: monday chest, tuesday back, wednesday day off.
Click to expand...

i'm currently on cycle, so my recovery is amped up

monday - chest/tri's/front & mid delts
tuesday - back/biceps/rear delts
wednesday - legs
thursday - chest/tri's/front & mid delts
friday - back/biceps/rear delts

when i try this naturally, i get burned out in 6-8 weeks.
 
If I were you I would follow something close to the MAX-OT method of training (Google it). But stay in the 6-8 rep range at a slightly lower intensity. Rest is your friend and since you just started, pretty much getting off the can will make you grow as long as you have adequate rest and nutrition. One day on one day off or two days on one day off, is great for beginners. I used it myself when I started weightlifting. Get the movements down,start increasing weight and intensity and you will be happy with the results. Eat,sleep,lift and grow brotha.:dl:
 
More often than not, less is more. I find that training with low frequency but medium-high volumes works best for me. I was training 5 days a week (Sun-Thurs) but have recently switched to 4 days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday) and I think it's working a lot better.

One thing you want to watch is overtraining the triceps. I think the triceps are one of the easiest muscle groups to overtrain simply because you use them in so many other lifts. Any time you're pressing a weight over your head, you're heavily involving the triceps. So why would you want to work your triceps multiple days in a row, not letting them get adequate time to heal up? I train chest one day, then skip a full two days before training my shoulders, triceps secondarily. So essentially I'm giving my triceps three full nights rest before they are to be trained again. And if I'm going to do any triceps training, I do two exercises at the most. A few sets of something heavy (dips, cg bench, bar extensions, ect..) and then a few exercises of something where I can really focus on contracting the muscle (kickbacks, one handed reverse pushdowns, ect..). OR I might do a few sets of different exercises, such as one set of pushdowns, then one set of kickbacks, one set of extensions, and so on. I always make sure to add a bit of flexing for the triceps when I'm working them just to draw a lot of blood into the area so they can work to their maximum. I think this improves definition to an extent, but even that aside, it helps you learn better muscle control.

As far as workout time goes, keep in mind you want your workout to be as intense and efficient as possible. Research has shown that intense workouts with shorter rest periods (and being consistent in doing so) yield faster results. Try to keep your rest periods between 1-2 minutes for the most part. I usually hang around the 1.5 minute marker for most things because I like do to dynamic stretching or flexing after my sets for about 20-30 seconds. If you're doing a superset you could wait a little longer if you wanted, but no more than 3 minutes for anything! The longer you wait, the more intensity you're going to lose, and the less effective your workout is going to become. Also, the pump that you've worked for during warmups is going to start leaving your muscles, so you're not going to be able to give it your all on a consistent basis. So keeping that principle in mind, and a reasonable amount of volume, your workouts shouldn't take more than an hour. Now some people will see results from longer workouts, some from shorter, but for the most part it's a safe bet to say your workouts shouldn't last more than an hour (not including warmups). I try to shoot for 50 minutes usually. During your workout your body releases certain hormones (such as testosterone) that help propel muscle growth, but eventually these hormones stop being secreted, and without proper nutrition you go into a catebolic state. The best way to take advantage of all of these mechanisms is to workout just long enough to benefit from your hormone release and to get an effective, heavy, intense workout in, and drinking your post workout shake before your body enters a catebolic state. To form an effective workout it's best to keep a few certain principles in mind, and then try to schedule something around those principles that will be effective. It's good to switch it up but it's easy to want to do more than you should.

And remember that smaller muscle groups need less direct work for them to be stimulated enough to grow. As a general rule of thumb, if you get your larger muscle groups growing, your smaller ones are going to follow suit. I do think it's important to work the body as a whole to stimulate even development of the muscles as to keep your proportions as aesthetic as possible. If you're going to do direct work for the smaller muscle groups, try to keep it to a minimum, but be as effective with it as possible. If you're wanting to do an additional few sets of biceps after back, make them really intense, effective sets! Also, do a lot of flexing and stretching in and outside of the gym (if you can get over the fact that people will be looking at you); stretching and flexing gives you more control of your muscle as you get to know your body better. This in turn helps you in your workouts when you're really trying to target certain areas. I do think it improves definition, to an extent, over time.

Good luck with everything brotha
 
suncloud said:
i'm currently on cycle, so my recovery is amped up

monday - chest/tri's/front & mid delts
tuesday - back/biceps/rear delts
wednesday - legs
thursday - chest/tri's/front & mid delts
friday - back/biceps/rear delts

when i try this naturally, i get burned out in 6-8 weeks.
Click to expand...

I like this except i think ill throw shoulders in with legs, gonna give that a shot once i start my "The One" cycle. :dl:
 
I have a friend who is a rather large guy (muscular wise)......and he has always told me that he gets enought BCAA's from one protein shake prior to work out. This guy spends over a hour in the gym, 5 days a week.
Are some people less likely to go catabolic than others?
 
maurice02 said:
I have a friend who is a rather large guy (muscular wise)......and he has always told me that he gets enought BCAA's from one protein shake prior to work out. This guy spends over a hour in the gym, 5 days a week.
Are some people less likely to go catabolic than others?
Click to expand...

beyond a doubt. OP is also doing twice that time length. ask your friend if he would do 2.5 hours on a regular basis :)
 
suncloud said:
beyond a doubt. OP is also doing twice that time length. ask your friend if he would do 2.5 hours on a regular basis :)
Click to expand...

LOL......good point. I doubt he would. Guy usually is weight training for 1 - 1 1/2 hours max and that is on leg day with a split of chest.
Then 1/2 hour "cool down" doing cardio.
 
There are a few ways to determine if you are over training.

Waking Heart Rate--Take your pulse as soon as you wake up --WHILE STILL IN BED BEFORE YOU GET OUT OF BED. If your waking pulse on any day is elevated by more than 8 beats per minute above its avg. level for the preceding week, you are falling into over training.

Also watch your weight...if it drops by more than 3lbs from a previous stable bodyweight, that may also be a sign.

Insomnia could be another indication.

If you are overtraining:
Stop all of it for one week. For that week, you can do stretching exercises.
Reduce protein intake to 15% of total calories.
Increase carbs to 70% of total calories-complex carbs low GI
Increase antioxidants 200% of your usual intake
Increase sleep to 9 hours per night.
Amen.
 
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