this post may step on some toes and raise cause for debate but is there such a thing as over training? my answer is no. now let me clarify this a little before i have everyone shaking their heads behind a computer screen. i dont think there is such a thing as over training. i think there is under nutrition, and over doing it yes. but as far as over training no i really dont think so. let me give you some proof and justification behind my theory.
many people in the blue collar industries understand hard manual labor. for instance a mechanic he turns wrenches and handles heavy equipment all day! constantly adding tension and putting strain on the forearm, shoulders (from working over head) and back muscles, not to mention legs from bending squatting and leaning over all day for 5 days a week for 10 hours a day. i am sure that mechanic started in the industry and the first day his forearms and shoulders were on fire and so sore even to the touch. i am sure the second day he showed up to work and was a little sore but got right back to it and that second day he was still sore but not nearly as much as the first day. now lets say 2-3 weeks later do you think he even noticed forearm pain? i dont think so. his body had adapted to his environment and work load. did he get stronger? yes i am sure he increased strength. but overall his strength didnt increase that significantly in 2-3 weeks. his body just simply got used to it and adapted to the work load and made adjustments inside itself. now what if that same guy after day one said to his boss... "sorry man cant come to work today i turned a wrench yesterday and i have to give my muscle groups a break i cant over train them" i am sure he would have lost his job! we put our bodies through trails right out of the womb and our body just simply evolves and adapts to what it needs to do bottom line.
now for theory 2.... under nutrition. are you working 10 hour days andthen training with weights or cardio or both for 2-3 hours a day? are you giving your body back what it used? i would say over 80% of people are not. i could get all scientific with talking about insulin levels, glucose, and all that stuff but ill make it simple. imagine if an indy car hit the race track with a 1/4 tank of regular 87 octane pump gas... how would that driver fair in the race? first of all that car wouldnt even run on pump gas and he wouldn't make it off the starting line.the same goes for your body! if all you had to eat in a full day was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a Mcdonalds double cheese burger. and you went to train for 2 hours how do you think your body would fair... probably close to the same as the indy car driver. if you are going to train like an athlete you need to eat like one. i get so frustrated when i see some guys that have such awesome potential and they put some serious time in the gym but eat like 1st graders. i ask some of the people that i train with before we train. "hey man what did you eat today" i often get "i had a 6 inch subway around noon" so that person just told me is they are an indy race car with a 1/4 tank of 87 octane pump gas. the answer i love to hear "i had 12oz of chicken and 8 oz of broccoli at noon, 2 peices of fish at 3, and a protein bar and banana before i came here" that person just told me "i am a top fuel dragster that has a reserve tank". so feed your body what you will use or have used.
what i mean by over doing it and the difference between over doing and over training. over doing in a nut shell is going into the gym every day and lifting heavy and hitting huge numbers and PR's (personal records) every week. my opinion on strength training is you should only come within 95% of your one rep max once a month. for example if a persons max bench press in 405lbs for 1 rep. his weekly training should be in the zone of 315lbs-365lbs for working sets. and hit 405lbs once a month or more if 1 rep max increases. but i often see guys whos max bench is 405lbs and they come in every week and hit 405lbs after 405lbs after 405lbs sometimes 2 or 3 days a week. and you know what i never see them go beyond that. proof is in the pudding there. ill let you make your judgement on that point. strength athletes main goal is to increase strength. so why do you keep doing the same stuff and dont get any stronger? not because you are over training that muscle group but you are over doing it on that muscle group.
so heres my point. if you have a body part that is lagging in strength or size or whatever the goal is...... TRAIN IT! 3 times a week, 4 times a week, or everyday! i am not saying do bench press everyday. i am not saying squat everyday. but lets say you are trying to develop the peak of your bicep like i am. i have one day that is dedicated to biceps out of the week (doing 18-22 sets) but on 2-3 other days i am doing biceps as well (8-12 sets) as well as the other muscle group i am working that day.
i know this is a lot of information and i will be happy to discuss this with anyone if you have any questions on it. or i am sure some will want to debate which is fine i dont mind at all :)
many people in the blue collar industries understand hard manual labor. for instance a mechanic he turns wrenches and handles heavy equipment all day! constantly adding tension and putting strain on the forearm, shoulders (from working over head) and back muscles, not to mention legs from bending squatting and leaning over all day for 5 days a week for 10 hours a day. i am sure that mechanic started in the industry and the first day his forearms and shoulders were on fire and so sore even to the touch. i am sure the second day he showed up to work and was a little sore but got right back to it and that second day he was still sore but not nearly as much as the first day. now lets say 2-3 weeks later do you think he even noticed forearm pain? i dont think so. his body had adapted to his environment and work load. did he get stronger? yes i am sure he increased strength. but overall his strength didnt increase that significantly in 2-3 weeks. his body just simply got used to it and adapted to the work load and made adjustments inside itself. now what if that same guy after day one said to his boss... "sorry man cant come to work today i turned a wrench yesterday and i have to give my muscle groups a break i cant over train them" i am sure he would have lost his job! we put our bodies through trails right out of the womb and our body just simply evolves and adapts to what it needs to do bottom line.
now for theory 2.... under nutrition. are you working 10 hour days andthen training with weights or cardio or both for 2-3 hours a day? are you giving your body back what it used? i would say over 80% of people are not. i could get all scientific with talking about insulin levels, glucose, and all that stuff but ill make it simple. imagine if an indy car hit the race track with a 1/4 tank of regular 87 octane pump gas... how would that driver fair in the race? first of all that car wouldnt even run on pump gas and he wouldn't make it off the starting line.the same goes for your body! if all you had to eat in a full day was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a Mcdonalds double cheese burger. and you went to train for 2 hours how do you think your body would fair... probably close to the same as the indy car driver. if you are going to train like an athlete you need to eat like one. i get so frustrated when i see some guys that have such awesome potential and they put some serious time in the gym but eat like 1st graders. i ask some of the people that i train with before we train. "hey man what did you eat today" i often get "i had a 6 inch subway around noon" so that person just told me is they are an indy race car with a 1/4 tank of 87 octane pump gas. the answer i love to hear "i had 12oz of chicken and 8 oz of broccoli at noon, 2 peices of fish at 3, and a protein bar and banana before i came here" that person just told me "i am a top fuel dragster that has a reserve tank". so feed your body what you will use or have used.
what i mean by over doing it and the difference between over doing and over training. over doing in a nut shell is going into the gym every day and lifting heavy and hitting huge numbers and PR's (personal records) every week. my opinion on strength training is you should only come within 95% of your one rep max once a month. for example if a persons max bench press in 405lbs for 1 rep. his weekly training should be in the zone of 315lbs-365lbs for working sets. and hit 405lbs once a month or more if 1 rep max increases. but i often see guys whos max bench is 405lbs and they come in every week and hit 405lbs after 405lbs after 405lbs sometimes 2 or 3 days a week. and you know what i never see them go beyond that. proof is in the pudding there. ill let you make your judgement on that point. strength athletes main goal is to increase strength. so why do you keep doing the same stuff and dont get any stronger? not because you are over training that muscle group but you are over doing it on that muscle group.
so heres my point. if you have a body part that is lagging in strength or size or whatever the goal is...... TRAIN IT! 3 times a week, 4 times a week, or everyday! i am not saying do bench press everyday. i am not saying squat everyday. but lets say you are trying to develop the peak of your bicep like i am. i have one day that is dedicated to biceps out of the week (doing 18-22 sets) but on 2-3 other days i am doing biceps as well (8-12 sets) as well as the other muscle group i am working that day.
i know this is a lot of information and i will be happy to discuss this with anyone if you have any questions on it. or i am sure some will want to debate which is fine i dont mind at all :)