There Is No Such Thing As Overtraining

[Monster]

Ok, this is the one I put up at Musclemag Online. It caused a lot of rukus and uproar ranging from nit picking ("of course there is a such thing as overtraining") to just sensless comments ("if you trained for 3 hours straight you WOULD overtrain" -duh-)
Try as I might, only 2 people were able to grasp the concept that this is an appeal to not make excuses and to RECOVER correctly.
One person had a comment I appreciated immensly. He and I are coming from the same time period of starting the iron game (me about 10 years, him 15). He said something to the affect that when he started training, no one would DARE use the term "overtraining", but now it runs rampant.
That is my point exctly. Its become the rallying call of the quitter, and a catchall excuse for those who dont want to make maximum effort.
But anyway, here it is...

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Overtraining. The biggest lie youll ever tell your self!

Now lets get something staraight. We arent talking about the kids walking into the gym and doing multiple sets of 50 reps of bicep curls. We're dealing with the average person, who has at least a basic understanding of training. Also, we're talking about someone with at least 6 months of experiance, someone who has the "groove" of it down. So with that said, let me make an attempt to get to the point.
There is NO such thing as overtraining, there is only underrecovering!!!

The sooner you can get this into your head, the sooner you can start making good quality gains. The kind you see in the mirror, and the kind OTHER people notice.
Take it from littlev. She is the classic ectomorph! She has always ate anything she wanted, from cookies and candy, to chips and pop. She never gained an ounce (of fat OR muscle). She went for 80 something pounds to creeping up on 100lbs in a matter of less than 6 months by utilizing the things Im about to say. Im not talking about fat gains either. Her fat levels are at a normal to leaner than normal. The electric resistance bodyfat monitor on our scale is off, so I cant give an exact number. It says shes at 16%, but she has lower ribs and abs showing so I know its off...
Anyway, the point is that she is a prime candidate for overtraining. Ectomorph, hardgainer, small boned... you know the story.
But I tried to teach her that the problem isnt with training, it is with recovery! Ecto's and hardgainers dont neccesarily have different training needs, they have different RECOVERY needs! The same goes for all of us, too.
A couple extra sets wont cause you to overtrain, theyll cause you to have greater needs for recovering.
The road to recovery is eating.

They say that 60-80% of gains are nutrition related, and theyre right. Good nutrition can make up for a bad workout, but even a great workout isnt worth a damn without good eating habits.

The reason this is such an important topic is because the overtraining myth is sneaking up on us and robbing us of all of our intensity and effort.

How many people do you see at the gym that cut it short and obviously have another set left in them and say "I dont want to overtrain."
How often do they do a weight far less than they could handle because they "dont want to overtrain."
How many people sell themselves short on leg day... not squating, only a couple of sets, light weight, not really pushing, because they dont want to "OVERTRAIN"!

We've taken the condition of being "overtrained" and turned it into the rally call of the sell-outs. Its an easy excuse to not make as much effort as you could. Its an easy way to cut a workout short, miss an extra day... you know what Im saying. We've all been there.

So the best thing to do is to tighten up your nutrition.

Identify your goals and set up your diet so you are heading in the direction of your goals. That means if you are trying to gain, you should be eating more calories than you expend. If you are trying to lose you should be eating slightly less calories than you burn. If you are trying to stay even and maintain your body mass then you need to figure out your maintainance calories and see how your body responds to various macronutrient breakdowns.

If you arent eating enough calories to support your body and your level of physical activity, youll overtrain no matter what you do. So you need to be sure you consider any cardio, extra sets, and "active rest" you participate in when you decide how many calories you need.

High intensity workouts are just as suited to dieting as to bulking. The only adjustment to make while dieting is to consider the intensity youve put into the workout when you decide to do cardio. If youve done a hard driving, intense workout, and your cardio-vascular system is working hard, you need to understand that youve just done a type of cardio. So 45 minutes of rigorous workout, followed by 30-45 minutes of traditional cardio makes for a hell of a stress on the system.

So what Im saying (again) is that you have to consider all of these things when you work out your diet. Add in the calories burned when you work out (if youre gaining) and consider the cardio effect of the workout (when dieting). If you do that you can avoid "overtraining" and work on achieving your goal.

Well, the A.D.D. is kicking in and my mind is starting to wander, so I'll end it here. If anyone wants anything clarified or wants to argue any point, have at it!
Hope you enjoy... [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

"Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy"

"My existance is a ripple through time"

[skydancer]

Hmmm - I like the phrase "underrecovering".

What about the idea of alternating light/heavy weeks? This has helped my upper body strength a lot. I'd imagine that training like this falls under the "recovery time" catagory so maybe I wasn't progressing in the upper area due to "under recovering"

Naturally my upper body is weaker and leaner than my lower body - so I'm not sure I agree with the statement about 16%bf being inaccurate if you can see ribs/abs. You can see my ribs/abs and I'm around 17-18%. I guess that would depend on your natural bodytype. The majority of my bf is (obviously and unfortunately) on my rear/thighs.

Also if you are dieting and working out (just as) intensely aren't you in danger of losing muscle mass? Or can you really protect that muscle (naturally) with solid diet? My first try at cutting down last summer I ate properly, worked out intensely and took no rest days. As I work my way into cutting down this year I'm progressively worried about stripping away muscle mass. Okay so I am taking rest days now but I don't want keep bringing myself back to the same spot over and over again. (Don't really think I will but it IS a concern).

Good post Monster, as usual.

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Those who dare to fail miserably, can achieve greatly. - R.F. Kennedy

[Monster]

Yeah, there are LOADS of variables, from what muscles are trained when to what your muscle fiber make up is.

During dieting your recovery needs change drastically. You can control the loss with diet (to a degree) and of course AS will solve that problem [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]. But the main thing is diet to me!

You need rest days no matter if youre on or not (IMO). Even if your muscles are recovering, you still have to deal with the stress you put on your system in the more general sense.
You put a lot of stress on your neurological system when you work out, and those neurons need a break!

As for the bodyfat thing... I know what your saying, but she NO PLACE on her body where you could really get a pinch of fat. Shes not large breasted, and is an an ectomorph through and through. But I know what youre saying completly!

Light/Heavy is a valid concept. It works for a lot of people and is worth considering... my drug use allows me to do things a little different. I basically stay heavy the whole time Im on(say 8 weeks), and then take 4 weeks off before going back on. During those 4 weeks Im already fighting an influx of estrogen and cortisol so I dont want to inflict any major damage to my muscles that may not be able to be repaired (or make things worse than they are). Then if Im cutting (and on again) Im going heavy again.
I make good strength gains anyway, so Ive never bothered to worry about it.

A dieting rule I use is if Im losing muscle, I add more carbs in. If Im keeping muscle (or gaining it) and not losing fat, I lower the carbs. Also, I NEVER go below 2000 calories, unless Im rotating them, then I may for 1 day as a shock. But for most people, going below 1800 calories (without any "ergogenic" aids) slows the metabolism...

Well, thats all thats on my mind right now. Good to see you sky, hope everythings going alright for you!

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"Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy"

"My existance is a ripple through time"

[retropump]

There's some good concepts in Monster's post. It sorta like asking "is the glass half empty or is it half full"??

I personally feel that recovery is the KEY ingredient in building mass. But I also feel very strongly that bodybuilding is a very focused and self-centered undertaking. By that I mean that you really need to allow yourself loads of time to train, prepare meals, sleep, eat, work (for most of us), sleep, eat, and sleep some more. If you can't fit this in to your lifestyle because of work/family/personal commitments then your bodybuilding goals may be compromised. Heck, if it were easy then everyone would be ripped.

[Monster]

Exactly. That was a plea to give it your all in training AND recovery! Im a recovery enthusiast, and I just dont think enough people take it seriously enough...

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"Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy"

"My existance is a ripple through time"

[new@gettinbig1]

Well said Monster Recovery=muscle.....Everyone focuses so much on working out and worry about how many sets etc etc...but people fail to realize that the muscles must recover and rest in order to accomplish anything. It takes a lot of planning and consistency in your diet, and rest as well. Sometimes we get so involved in the training part, we forget and neglect the other vital parts of growing.

[Trinity13]

I agree completely. I was in a gaining phase for the last 16 weeks and I KNOW that my gains were hindered because I don't get enough sleep and my diet was less than right on. My muscles just don't have enough time to recover and grow.

Good post, As Usual, won't expect anything less.

You can not achieve what your mind can not concieve

[Temple]

Can periods of inadequate sleep be compensated for by additional nutrition and two rest days inbetween training rather than one? I know that this would probably make the time that it takes to achieve your goals longer or is inadequate sleep something tha cannot be compensated for period?

[WarLobo]

Reading posts like this reminds me of comming home after a brutal workout and plopping into your favorite recliner chair - damn if it don't feel good to be home.

LAte

Lobo

[Monster]

Temple: I wouldnt say it could "make up for it" in the strict sense of the statement... BUT, it can help minimize the damage!
Nothing can take the place of good solid sleep, but you can adjust to less sleep than what might be considered "optimal".
If you wake up in the morning and dont feel rested (taking into account the dread of getting up, and getting in a cup of coffee or something) you probobly arent. Youll know, because youll get run down and probobly sick. But a nap here and there, and good nutrition can go a long way toward helping you along.

new@g.b.:Thats exactly it, people focus on the gym, and forget about after. Theyll walk out of the gym saying what a kiler workout they had, then do nothing to contribute towards recovery during that optimal window of time you have post workout!
After all these years, Ive finally embraced instinctive training, and its going very well. I can really feel when Ive had enough, or when I need another set or something.
Its something that you can only do with experiance, since the temptation to go go go is there, and has to be fought with common sense.

trinity: we've all been there [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

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"Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy"

"My existance is a ripple through time"

[luv2workout]

God, how I've missed your posts, Monster! [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]