Need advice - resting/overtraining

luke77 · 08-05-2004, 07:11 PM

Ok here’s my situation - any help/advice/support is much appreciated.
I have lost a little less than twenty pounds over the past 1.5 years.
I didn’t need to lose a lot of weight to begin with and I lost a good
deal of muscle as well (I was lifting weights as well, but cardio always took precedence). Now that the weight is off I have been maintaining for about three months, keeping my activity level as when I was trying to lose weight but increasing my calories. Actually I am planning on beginning a mini-bulk because I’m too skinny right now for my size. Currently this is my schedule:

Cardio, about 55 minutes, mon, tues, thurs, fri
“Long run” (cardio) of about 85 minutes on Saturday
Mon - Chest/Tris
Wed - Legs/Back
Fri - Shoulders/Biceps
Sun-rest

On Monday and Friday I lift before my cardio. As you can probably
tell from my schedule, I’m pretty sure I’m overtrained. I feel tired during my workouts on a regular basis and never look forward to working out. I want to (and having been meaning to) take a couple days off and let my body rest. However, it’s almost like I’m “afraid” to do so. I’ve done the same routine week in and week out for so long, I would feel guilty not going to work out in the morning, and I’m afraid that I would gain fat if I stopped doing my cardio. Actually, I used to do cardio 6 days a week and it took some willpower to drop it to 5 days/week. Logically, I know that I wouldn’t gain (much) fat if I only took 3-4 days off, but subconsciously my body is telling me something different. I guess that’s just something I need to deal with, but does anyone have any tips/suggestions for taking a few days off for someone who has been working out consistently for a long time? Like, specifically, can I lift weights during my “break” and just stop the cardio so that if I gain weight it will be mostly muscle? Or should I do like a full-body workout the day before my break so that all my muscles will be worked and will grow during the time off? What should my calorie intake be? Right now it takes about 2700 cals/day for me to keep a stable weight, and I figure I burn an average of 700 cals/day from cardio. So during my break should I cut to 2000, or should I keep a slight surplus, like taking in 2100-2200 a day so that I won’t chance being in caloric deficit and so that I can adequately recover? Any other advice or comments are welcome.

Thanks,
Luke

cjrmack · 08-05-2004, 08:30 PM

First take a whole week off, no lifting or cardio. Second IMO you are doing way too much cardio if your intent is to build muscle mass. In addition you need to change your routine often. I think you need to read the stickys here as they offer a lot of good advice as to what you are doing wrong.

SportinStyle · 08-06-2004, 10:30 AM

Definitely way too much cardio. You burn wayyyy to many calories right now. I say cut out cardio 100% then after you see some gains, start back on but maybe only once or twice a week for 20-30 minute sessions.

**CowPimp** · 08-06-2004, 11:05 AM

Look into HIIT cardio. It is excellent for bodybuilders.

squanto · 08-06-2004, 04:21 PM

yes, hiit is recommended. it is basically higher intensity cardio for a shorter amount of time.
youre doing a lot of cardio, and people here will not recomend that u do that much, but you still COULD gain mass with that much. i just recommend doing shorter sessions.
for example, mon tues thurs frido a 20 minute hiit session instead of 55 minutes. you could even keep a long run on saturdays if you feel like you need it... youre just going to have to eat much more than the average person.
i woudl personally only do cardio on my off days if i were you, but i used to run or swim every day and i gained a lot of mass... i was eating about 5000 calories though.
you can get by with no cardio at all if your diet is perfect, but cardio is good for you. if you can bulk and do cardio, id say do it.
so i would say:
shorten cardio time and keep calories the same
if that doesnt work, drop a day or 2 of cardio.
obviously if that doesnt work, do less cardio or eat more.
keep your workouts (including cardio if you do that afterwards) to under an hour at a time if possible. this helps prevent you from burning up your muscle.

a week off can be a good thing. i used to be in your shoes... afraid to go one day without exercise because i thought id never go back or for whatever reason.... but your body probably needs the rest. i doubt youll gain any noticable fat in that one week. when you come back your body will be refreshed and ready to start bulking up.

altern08 · 08-06-2004, 06:21 PM

Try doing a hard full body program twice a week. Sometimes, split training is a dark alley to overtraining. Stick to the basic movements. If you do Cardio, three days tops but you can add an extra day for a long easy walk or swim.

Don't worry about the week off. I was slamming my back hard for 6 weeks and noticed I couldn't do one rep on T-bar rows with 160 when the week before I had done 2. I took a week off from everything - - - I had seen the signs. After the time off, I just got 170 for a rep on the same lift.

08-05-2004, 07:11 PM	#1
luke77 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 80	Need advice - resting/overtraining Ok here’s my situation - any help/advice/support is much appreciated. I have lost a little less than twenty pounds over the past 1.5 years. I didn’t need to lose a lot of weight to begin with and I lost a good deal of muscle as well (I was lifting weights as well, but cardio always took precedence). Now that the weight is off I have been maintaining for about three months, keeping my activity level as when I was trying to lose weight but increasing my calories. Actually I am planning on beginning a mini-bulk because I’m too skinny right now for my size. Currently this is my schedule: Cardio, about 55 minutes, mon, tues, thurs, fri “Long run” (cardio) of about 85 minutes on Saturday Mon - Chest/Tris Wed - Legs/Back Fri - Shoulders/Biceps Sun-rest On Monday and Friday I lift before my cardio. As you can probably tell from my schedule, I’m pretty sure I’m overtrained. I feel tired during my workouts on a regular basis and never look forward to working out. I want to (and having been meaning to) take a couple days off and let my body rest. However, it’s almost like I’m “afraid” to do so. I’ve done the same routine week in and week out for so long, I would feel guilty not going to work out in the morning, and I’m afraid that I would gain fat if I stopped doing my cardio. Actually, I used to do cardio 6 days a week and it took some willpower to drop it to 5 days/week. Logically, I know that I wouldn’t gain (much) fat if I only took 3-4 days off, but subconsciously my body is telling me something different. I guess that’s just something I need to deal with, but does anyone have any tips/suggestions for taking a few days off for someone who has been working out consistently for a long time? Like, specifically, can I lift weights during my “break” and just stop the cardio so that if I gain weight it will be mostly muscle? Or should I do like a full-body workout the day before my break so that all my muscles will be worked and will grow during the time off? What should my calorie intake be? Right now it takes about 2700 cals/day for me to keep a stable weight, and I figure I burn an average of 700 cals/day from cardio. So during my break should I cut to 2000, or should I keep a slight surplus, like taking in 2100-2200 a day so that I won’t chance being in caloric deficit and so that I can adequately recover? Any other advice or comments are welcome. Thanks, Luke

08-06-2004, 10:30 AM	#3
SportinStyle IM's Anti-Drug ;) Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 275 Photos: 8	Definitely way too much cardio. You burn wayyyy to many calories right now. I say cut out cardio 100% then after you see some gains, start back on but maybe only once or twice a week for 20-30 minute sessions. I don't train hard, eat right, and do the things I do for others. I do it for myself. ....did I mention the ladies too???

08-06-2004, 11:05 AM	#4
CowPimp Fueled by Testosterone Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 15,615	Look into HIIT cardio. It is excellent for bodybuilders. The only time it's bad to feel the burn is when you're peeing... Belligerent Bovine badass YouTube Videos

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08-05-2004, 08:30 PM	#2
cjrmack Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Palm Desert, CA Posts: 247	First take a whole week off, no lifting or cardio. Second IMO you are doing way too much cardio if your intent is to build muscle mass. In addition you need to change your routine often. I think you need to read the stickys here as they offer a lot of good advice as to what you are doing wrong.

08-06-2004, 04:21 PM	#5
squanto Fitness Celebrity Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Cheese Cottage Posts: 1,471	yes, hiit is recommended. it is basically higher intensity cardio for a shorter amount of time. youre doing a lot of cardio, and people here will not recomend that u do that much, but you still COULD gain mass with that much. i just recommend doing shorter sessions. for example, mon tues thurs frido a 20 minute hiit session instead of 55 minutes. you could even keep a long run on saturdays if you feel like you need it... youre just going to have to eat much more than the average person. i woudl personally only do cardio on my off days if i were you, but i used to run or swim every day and i gained a lot of mass... i was eating about 5000 calories though. you can get by with no cardio at all if your diet is perfect, but cardio is good for you. if you can bulk and do cardio, id say do it. so i would say: shorten cardio time and keep calories the same if that doesnt work, drop a day or 2 of cardio. obviously if that doesnt work, do less cardio or eat more. keep your workouts (including cardio if you do that afterwards) to under an hour at a time if possible. this helps prevent you from burning up your muscle. a week off can be a good thing. i used to be in your shoes... afraid to go one day without exercise because i thought id never go back or for whatever reason.... but your body probably needs the rest. i doubt youll gain any noticable fat in that one week. when you come back your body will be refreshed and ready to start bulking up.

08-06-2004, 06:21 PM	#6
altern08 Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 11	Try doing a hard full body program twice a week. Sometimes, split training is a dark alley to overtraining. Stick to the basic movements. If you do Cardio, three days tops but you can add an extra day for a long easy walk or swim. Don't worry about the week off. I was slamming my back hard for 6 weeks and noticed I couldn't do one rep on T-bar rows with 160 when the week before I had done 2. I took a week off from everything - - - I had seen the signs. After the time off, I just got 170 for a rep on the same lift.