Stop asking if you are overtraining! (my rant)

Lately there are too many people asking here if they are overtraining, or how to avoid it.

Truth is, if you have to ask then you don't know what overtraining is and never been close to it.

It is impossible to tell if anyone is going to overtrain without knowing his training history, what weights he can handle and for how long.

Overtraining is not about hitting the muscles too much, nor does it happen in a few heavy sessions.
Overtraining is about accumulating more fatigue then your body (mostly the nervous system) can handle, over a long period of time.

Before you get into the overtraining state you go through the over-reaching state, where you feel fatigue and performance might decrease a little, but after a short rest you regain it back.

To get into the next level of over-reaching, which is overtraining, you have to chronically over-reach for months or even years.
This leads to significant performance decreases, bad sleeping patters, depression and other stuff.

So, if you have never over-reached and had some performance decreases, stop worrying about "overtraining your biceps" and lift like you mean it!

ORIGINAL: coldfire

Lately there are too many people asking here if they are overtraining, or how to avoid it.

Truth is, if you have to ask then you don't know what overtraining is and never been close to it.

It is impossible to tell if anyone is going to overtrain without knowing his training history, what weights he can handle and for how long.

Overtraining is not about hitting the muscles too much, nor does it happen in a few heavy sessions.
Overtraining is about accumulating more fatigue then your body (mostly the nervous system) can handle, over a long period of time.

Before you get into the overtraining state you go through the over-reaching state, where you feel fatigue and performance might decrease a little, but after a short rest you regain it back.

To get into the next level of over-reaching, which is overtraining, you have to chronically over-reach for months or even years.
This leads to significant performance decreases, bad sleeping patters, depression and other stuff.

So, if you have never over-reached and had some performance decreases, stop worrying about "overtraining your biceps" and lift like you mean it!

thank god someone said it

That pretty much sums it up! I think it's one of those slang words that once someone see's another use it.. they feel te need to say it to someone else..
 
Correct.. it is impossible to look at a routine and proclaim over-training, without actually knowing anything about the persons training history, physical condition etc..
 
And as you stated, over-training dosn't happen in a few weeks and if you have it.. you'll know it!..
 
I started a thread asking for people to share their over-trainig experiences and I think out of everyone on this entire board.. only two individuals had experienced it..or at least that's all the replied... lots of people made comments but hardly anyone could or would express their symptoms.. and how they concluded they had CNS fatigue..
 
If you feel the need to say, "you're over training" Stop, remove your fingers from the keyboard.. take a deep breath and just don't do it.. Instead.. recommend something you feel would better help the individual.. 
 
Some of the routines listed are 5 day rotutines with upwards of 20-30 sets per workout.. Are they good routines?  NO, but are they going to lead to over-training.. I hardly doubt it.. As I've said before.. I've never seen anyone experience CNS fatigue beching 100lbs and doing rear delts with 10lbs db's.. it's impossible!! You could do it 3Xper day, 7 days per week....
 
Most people who expereince CNS Fatigue are intermediate and advanced lifters who are working with heavy weight for long periods of time and constantly pushing their bodies.. to the point of breaking...  Not the average guy who works out 3-5 times per week with a fairly tough routine.. 
 
 
 
 
 

ORIGINAL: coldfire

Lately there are too many people asking here if they are overtraining, or how to avoid it.

Truth is, if you have to ask then you don't know what overtraining is and never been close to it.

It is impossible to tell if anyone is going to overtrain without knowing his training history, what weights he can handle and for how long.

Overtraining is not about hitting the muscles too much, nor does it happen in a few heavy sessions.
Overtraining is about accumulating more fatigue then your body (mostly the nervous system) can handle, over a long period of time.

Before you get into the overtraining state you go through the over-reaching state, where you feel fatigue and performance might decrease a little, but after a short rest you regain it back.

To get into the next level of over-reaching, which is overtraining, you have to chronically over-reach for months or even years.
This leads to significant performance decreases, bad sleeping patters, depression and other stuff.

So, if you have never over-reached and had some performance decreases, stop worrying about "overtraining your biceps" and lift like you mean it!

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

ORIGINAL: smoundzou

Most people who expereince CNS Fatigue are intermediate and advanced lifters who are working with heavy weight for long periods of time and constantly pushing their bodies.. to the point of breaking... Not the average guy who works out 3-5 times per week with a fairly tough routine..

Yep, and mostly those lifters need to over-reach in order to progress, since they need more work than they can recover from.

Some damn nice posts guys.

Just because 2-3 hour routines posted would be a lot more than required to break down the muscles and would definitely not be good routines doesn't mean that it should be categorised under overtraining, but I'll admit that I've had my fair share of labelling.

THANK YOU! ive been sick of seeing this stuff too. like just yesterday i think some1 asked if HST was overtraining

one of marc's advertisement posts didnt help for me look it up i forgot what it's called

My 5x5s as of November 2nd 2008.
Bench 150
Squat 150
Deadlift 175
Connelly's 5x5s as November 2nd 2008
Bench 115
Squat 145
Deadlift 165
BodybuildingNovice's 5x5 as November 2nd 2008
Squat 155lbs
Bench 155lbs
Deadlift 155l

I don't know why you get so technical with the "Overtraining" thing. It doesn't have to take months or years. If you workout too hard which your body can't recover in time for the next workout and then you workout, and this keeps up, you are overtraining. Its very easy to overtrain. Maybe not the technical sense of the word, but excericising too much with not enough rest is overtraining. 

This rant sucks!

I think I may be overtraining my biceps.  I do this routine on arm day:

13 sets of 25 reps of ez bar curls
27 sets of DB curls
preacher curls - 62 sets of 5
decline french curls - about 7 to 8 sets of 37
one-armed monkey curls - 8 sets of 15

Squats are better than steroids

lmao

Age: 25
Weight: 166
Height: 5"10
LOST IT ALL GAINING IT BACK THE RIGHT WAY

Acujeremy


I don't know why you get so technical with the "Overtraining" thing. It doesn't have to take months or years. If you workout too hard which your body can't recover in time for the next workout and then you workout, and this keeps up, you are overtraining. Its very easy to overtrain. Maybe not the technical sense of the word, but excericising too much with not enough rest is overtraining. 

This rant sucks!

No, that is called not getting enough rest.

For a moment I thought coldfire was back and I got all excited, then I saw the date.

"A girl phoned me the other day and said... Come on over, there's nobody home. I went over. Nobody was home." Rodney Dangerfield

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." Albert Einstein

Yeah what I described is not getting enough rest and training too much. Could be what some people are reffering to though.

me too :(

kingyoto


For a moment I thought coldfire was back and I got all excited, then I saw the date.

current 3x3 max's (Work in progress)
Squat:325
Deadlift:380
Bench:265
BB Row:225
My lifting journal
http://strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?p=16591#post16591

Coldfire was good peoples.  I wish he'd come back too.

Squats are better than steroids