6 days a week

barry2313

barry2313

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Over the past few I have been lifting 6 days a week.
Monday -chest
Tuesday -back, bis
Wednesday -legs
Thursday -chest and tris
Friday- Back bis
Saturday- legs

I usually do 3 sets of dips and pull-ups every workout. Also on the second half of the week I lift lighter. For example on Thursdays I'll do close grip bench instead of a normal wide grip and sometimes start with a light incline bench first to get the blood flowing and on Saturdays I do a dynamic leg day like 8x1 deadlift with 50% 1rm and 8x2 squat with 50% 1rm.

I was just wondering if anyone thinks this is overtraining. My whole life I've been lifting 4-5 times a week but now that it's winter I'm board I've started lifting 6. Also I eat a lot of calories a day around 4000-5000. I weigh about 185 and max bench is 385, squat and deadlift are mid 400's I never really max out with them.
 
Type O Hero

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Listen to your body. You will know if you're overtraining.

People tend to forget that the central nervous system is being stressed as well as muscles. The CNS needs rest. Also if your workload is too high, your cortisol will increase.

Unless you have Arnold genetics or are on steroids, I'd just stick to 4-5 days. Keep the intensity high of course. Optimal rest yields optimial results. It's counter intuitive to a beginner, but its true.

P.S - Not saying you're a beginner, just making a point.
 
barry2313

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What would you suggest to make it to 5 days drop Tuesdays workout so could have a rest day after a heavy chest day?
 
napalm

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i can't think of any reason to go 6 days/week.

when do you recover?

no way to sustain 6 days/week at an intensity that's needed...
 
barry2313

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I'm not training high intensity the second half of the week mostly light weight high reps
 
barry2313

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I haven't decided whether I want to go down to 181 or bulk to 198. But I want to get stronger. I occasionally do powerlifting competitions and I'm on the verge of benching 400. So I was thinking about using gear to get to 198 because it will be hard to bench 400 and lose 5-6 lbs while I do it.
 

PaulBlack

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I'm not training high intensity the second half of the week mostly light weight high reps
So are your first 3 days in a row, hard and heavy, then the last 3 lightish?

Also, do you train shoulders/OHP's at all?

What is a typical sets/reps set up on say Monday/chest?
 
barry2313

barry2313

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On Monday I'll do like
315-6
335-4
365-2
385-1
340-2
225-until failure

And yes I do shoulders I forgot to add that in on Friday. I never work them to heavy tho just a lot of reps. Because I had a shoulder injury as a kid.
 
EatMoar

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I used to train 6x a week when I did volume stuff. When I switched to more powerlifting style training I can't go more than 2 days without my body telling Me to take a break. Intensity is key. I once did a 9 set chest workout and had a killer pump and was sore the next day. I also did chest workouts with 25 sets and didn't feel a thing. Intensity is so key.

Honestly when people here mocked me for training 6x a week and they said "intensity, how intense are you training" and I thought I trained like an animal. But you get to a point where you realize your training style isn't intense at all.
 
barry2313

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Well I think I'm training intense but maybe I'm not lol. But I don't really have anybody to compare to becuae I workout in my basement with a buddy. That what I have done since I was in highschool lol. But as of late i have finnaly started to get stronger naturally I was at a standstill after stoping a test d Bol cycle I did about 10 months ago. I had my bench in the low 400's but obviously lost some of that once I stopped. So I think the 6 day thing is working but maybe I'm killing myself idk lol.
 

PaulBlack

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Sorry for long winded, but...

On Monday I'll do like
315-6
335-4
365-2
385-1
340-2
225-until failure
So this is pretty much the W/O, yes!?
Just to make a few opinionated points...
Hitting your body hard 3 days in a row, then backing off 4, might not be my choice of the best way or most efficient way to train, but then who I am to say!? I have only found, that for myself, altering intensities thru the week worked better for my energy and recovery than that set up. And, working more of the body in one session, (say chest/shoulders/arms/core) then resting the next day (as in a 4 day a week split or something), worked better/best and left me fresher and I could go for longer cycles with progression and gaining.
Next, as far as overtraining, I know there are some that say it never happens, or others say that it happens quite often. I am of the school, that, depending on the exercises *(of course) and how hard you are pushing and how long you are pushing, it can be a real manifestation for some perhaps higher level trainees.
ie: If one is hitting hard squatting and deads, (or say the oly lifts) for a good portion of time (and they elicit the most energy and drain from the entire system), then, yes as Siff writes in SuperTraining, I do think one can succumb to being overtrained. Probably most people will just be exhausted or beat up some or hit a plateau, as that is a bit different than an actual overtrained state as far as his definitions.

*I have BPed/some upper body, 3 x per week for probably long cycles 8-10-12-16 weeks maybe and not feel much from it, but the squat/dead, is certainly other animals, that is enlisting much more weight, much more of the body's mass, cardiovascular and central nervous system's recovery and total energy and running yourself into the ground can certainly happen pushing too far on the big bending exercises.
As far as you running the risk of getting exhausted, hitting a plateau, or even overtraining, is more something you will have to find out for yourself, since peoples intensities and tolerances vary some.
I also believe, if one wants to reach nearer their potential, they have to push up against that wall some to learn about themselves and certain responses to certain stimuli and see how far they can go whilst gaining. It is hard for others to give exacts on how far to go. Guidelines sure, but specifics, is a bit tricky IMO.
I am also talking natural and or drug free lifting, as I am not at all schooled in other means.

And yes I do shoulders I forgot to add that in on Friday. I never work them to heavy tho just a lot of reps. Because I had a shoulder injury as a kid.
Well not sure what the injury was or consisted of, but flat BPing (especially heavy low reps) is probably harder on the shoulders than most OHP work IMO.
 
barry2313

barry2313

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Ya I get what your saying. And with the shoulder Injury I doesn't hurt anymore but I just don't wanna push it and I dont wanna have to give up what I love to do which is heavy benching.
 

fasttaker

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For me, I would say that lifting for strength REQUIRES you to bench and squat 2x per week, which is what you're doing. You mentioned half your days are medium/light anyway, so I don't see too much of an issue. The only thing is that so many consecutive days might really drain you. You don't have to have a purely "chest" day or "back" day I don't think. Nothing wrong with rowing and benching on the same day, for example. Anyway, I don't see a big issue with training your lifts 2x per week, but it doesn't have to be 6 days a week either. And as far as dips/pullups every single workout....seems like overkill unless you're going pretty light. Just my 2 cents.
 

fasttaker

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Ya I get what your saying. And with the shoulder Injury I doesn't hurt anymore but I just don't wanna push it and I dont wanna have to give up what I love to do which is heavy benching.
If you don't keep your shoulder strength up, you will have to give up heavy benching. The shoulder imbalances that come from heavy benching without any heavy overhead pressing will lead to injury.
 

ThaGerGuy3000

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Nah training 6 times a week will give you cancer of the aids 100% of the time.

I have been doing it for months as a beginner always doing one of the big three with 85%+ of 1rm and the results were great. Overtraining is just some random bs excuse to be lazy. Just like ppl eating 2000 kcal are no fking hardgainers.

Chaos and pain, look it up. Jamie goes in great detail about why man can train for hours a day all day everyday if everything else is perfect.
 

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