Thread: Overtraining?

soreness doesnt necessarily mean a good workout .... 3 times a week is generally too much.. how many reps and sets though?

looks like a lot of chest, shoulder and triceps to me.....I'd drop the last day and just rest over the weekend if I were you.

you need to list sets and reps, I don't understand how people expect an answer when they do not give full details.

hey guys maybe i can squeeze in my question here also,,,,,, is it good to train 1 bodypart per week, because that's what i do

my chest exercises:
bench press: bar warmup, 8x125 7x145 5x155 3x170
(MON THURS)

dumbbell bench: 10x40 10 x40 10x40
(MON)

Incline dumbbel bench: 10x30 10x30 10x30
(THURS SAT)

Incline bench: bar warmup 8x85 7x105 5x115 4x120
(SAT)
dumbbell chest fly: 10x20 10x20 10x20
(MON, THURS, SAT)

i do about 3 exercises for tricep and chest and4 for shoudlkers...i heard that if u give each muscle at least a day of rest, its ok.
i see some of u do one exercise group a week....but will that suffice? i mean i hear if u give each muscle group atleast a day of rest...ure good...and im giving my chest 2.5 days, then 1.5 days of rest

Originally posted by QuestionGuy
hey guys maybe i can squeeze in my question here also,,,,,, is it good to train 1 bodypart per week, because that's what i do

yes, except for a beginner.

Hold up.. If I understand your statement Prince you are saying its ok to train a muscle group once a wk if your above the average training level, but beginners should train more often?


Kc

Yes, I believe that a beginner should start out with a full body, or at least an upper/lower body type routine utilizing compound movements 2-3 times per week. They need to build up overall strength, coordination, etc. I view a one bp per week rountine for someone that has a few months of training under their belt.

so prince is my chest workout ok? i only do around three exercises for each muscle but i do them three times a week. I jsut think if i only did chest two timnes a week i wouldnt get stronger....maybe im totally wrong. help

how long have you been training and what is your goal?

Originally posted by Prince
Yes, I believe that a beginner should start out with a full body, or at least an upper/lower body type routine utilizing compound movements 2-3 times per week. They need to build up overall strength, coordination, etc. I view a one bp per week rountine for someone that has a few months of training under their belt.

Your going to build strength, intra-inter coordination with or without the full body split. Im not a fan of 1bp per wk training, im a firm believe in the Fitness Fatigue model over the Single Model.

The reason people never see results and overtrain by training a body part twice a wk is they dont understand the true concept nor do they truely understand training, both on the metabolic and physiological level.

Sure people get results but why not maximiz the results with proper training?


Kc

i dont want to become a bodybuilder but i want to bench around 300 pounds depending if i grow...if i dont, then 235-250

If you wanna bench 300 ditch the split and forget trianing like a bber and train like a bencher.

I know the best benchers in the world (Several 800lb benchers) all of which train the Metal Millitia style, which can be done for raw lifters. Id suggest looking into it and its not a program for the weak hearted. If you have anymore questions about MM just pm me.

Kc

well i want all my body parts to be very strong...but bench i am pretty good at and theonly one ive set a goal for this far.....i just want to kno if its ok that i do chest 3 times a week if its like 3 chest exercises for those days

is too much cardio detrimental to making muscle gains?

Originally posted by samat631
is too much cardio detrimental to making muscle gains?

do u think 10 minuites every day is ok?

as a warm-up? sure.

yes, that's fine... 10 mintues won't do any harm... I bet you could do 20 minutes a day and not be able to tell the difference in gains... 30 minutes a day might actually hurt some mass gains if your diet was weak... everyone is different...

Originally posted by FortifiedIron
If you wanna bench 300 ditch the split and forget trianing like a bber and train like a bencher.

I know the best benchers in the world (Several 800lb benchers) all of which train the Metal Millitia style, which can be done for raw lifters. Id suggest looking into it and its not a program for the weak hearted. If you have anymore questions about MM just pm me.

Kc

He can bench 300 without training like a powerlifter....

Originally posted by FortifiedIron
If you wanna bench 300 ditch the split and forget trianing like a bber and train like a bencher.

I consider myself a bodybuilder and that is how I have always trained, and I have been capable of benching 300+ for years.

Originally posted by FortifiedIron
Im not a fan of 1bp per wk training,

The reason people never see results and overtrain by training a body part twice a wk is they dont understand the true concept nor do they truely understand training, both on the metabolic and physiological level.

Sure people get results but why not maximiz the results with proper training?

Totally agreed.

I plan on writing out an article-like post on push/pull training very soon.

The one-bodypart-per-week split is just about the most idiotic and thoughtless contrivance. Anyone who assumes that someone is "overtraining," just by frequency alone, without looking at the overall volume, intensity (failure) and diet is just as imbecilic.

Originally posted by Dante B.
Totally agreed.

I plan on writing out an article-like post on push/pull training very soon.

The one-bodypart-per-week split is just about the most idiotic and thoughtless contrivance. Anyone who assumes that someone is "overtraining," just by frequency alone, without looking at the overall volume, intensity (failure) and diet is just as imbecilic.

Does the averge person even have the time to thoroughly train each bodypart twice a week?

As it is, most of us spend 4-5 days a week in the gym for an hour at a time. If we were to train twice a week, thats 2 hours a day... right? And i've always been under the impression that the body becomes catabolic after 60+ minutes of lifting. Not to mention you'd be pretty wasted after the first half of the workout, with an entire other bp left to work.

And if each days exercise were to be limited to just 60 minutes, then i cant see how you could thoroughly train each muscle. Unless thats the point... in that the intesnity and volume are sacrificed for more time in the gym (2x week).

People probably think "overtraining" immediately upon hearing someone say they train 2x a week because with full intensity, training 2x a week doesnt allow for enough recovery.

Of course, all that is from a layman's perspective. I don't pretend to be an authority on training (far from it), just trying to understand where you're coming from.

Here you go.

I'm not talking about doing twice as much, rather, I'm talking about reducing the overall volume for each bodypart trained in a day, and instead, training more frequently.

Example:

Instead of doing 15 sets for biceps, one time per week, you'll do 5 sets three times per week.

But more of this is explained in the link above.

Originally posted by Dante B.
Here you go.

I'm not talking about doing twice as much, rather, I'm talking about reducing the overall volume for each bodypart trained in a day, and instead, training more frequently.

Example:

Instead of doing 15 sets for biceps, one time per week, you'll do 5 sets three times per week.

But more of this is explained in the link above.

Just read through that thread... very interesting. I like how adaptable it appears to be, especially with regard to rest days. Missing one day doesnt throw off the entire week's schedule.

The one part i think i'd personally find difficult is not going to failure. It's the only way ive trained - at least, the only goal i've ever trained for. It's sort of my litmus test which tells me when ive sufficiently worked a muscle for the day. It'll take some adapting on my part to not overdo it with training every 3 days.

I'm looking forward to your article.

I have tried other routines, training each bp two times per week, full body routines, etc.

Training each bp once every 5-7 days is what works best for me, so I will continue to do so.

I noticed you work your legs two (2) times a week. You have to understand that larger muscle groups take longer to recooperate - such as legs, and back. I'd suggest you write up a new split -- and take all the advice given.

Originally posted by Brak86
my chest exercises:
bench press: bar warmup, 8x125 7x145 5x155 3x170
(MON THURS)

dumbbell bench: 10x40 10 x40 10x40
(MON)

Incline dumbbel bench: 10x30 10x30 10x30
(THURS SAT)

Incline bench: bar warmup 8x85 7x105 5x115 4x120
(SAT)
dumbbell chest fly: 10x20 10x20 10x20
(MON, THURS, SAT)

i do about 3 exercises for tricep and chest and4 for shoudlkers...i heard that if u give each muscle at least a day of rest, its ok.
i see some of u do one exercise group a week....but will that suffice? i mean i hear if u give each muscle group atleast a day of rest...ure good...and im giving my chest 2.5 days, then 1.5 days of rest

That's a pretty strange -- how's it workin for you? I do something more along the lines of :

Week 1 // Concentrate on upper chest
Week 2 // Concentrate on lower chest
Week 3 // Concentrate on middle chest

Each week I'll still do basic chest movements that hit the entire chest. By cycling the excerises like this allows me to maximzine my gains.