how to recover from overtraining

[Chardup]

I'm 99% sure I'm overtraining. my symptoms include tiredness, legs ache alot, moody + lack in sense of humour, no gains and constipation.

I'm obviously terrified of putting on fat (had an ED which doesn't help) but a week off is what I'm thinking. can anyone provide any tailored advice? thankyou in advance

[AmazinJason]

You seem to be on the right track with taking a week off.

How often do you workout? What are your lifting stats? What is your split? What is your routine?

[SuffolkPunch]

Eat more

Have a couple of days off but don't stop training

Maybe switch one day out for metabolic training

[Chardup]

only 125 pounds, 5'5, 16, eating ~2500 a day.

5 day split of Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Saturday/Sunday and I jog for 30 minutes on the Thursday.

any advice is helpful!

[SuffolkPunch]

All the classic mistakes. You should not be doing a 5 way split as a novice.

Is your goal to gain mass OR lose fat (pick one)?

You should be doing a routine like all pros 3x a week

Like I said, you can fit metabolic training (not jogging) in between to improve your recovery ability

[Chardup]

gain mass. what would you suggest man?

[SuffolkPunch]

all pros (see the sticky threads). This is 3 days a week. If you want to, do 1 or 2 other days metabolic training - there are lots of ways of doing this but generally it involves light weights done for high reps with short rest periods. You can organise them into a circuit or (for example) do continuous squats for 2 minutes. This trains your anerobic energy systems without stressing your nervous system like heavy weight training does.

eat more. Keep adding more food to your diet until you are gaining about 2lbs a month. Meat and vegetables (including potatos) should be your staple diet.

And remember that there is no overtraining, there is only undereating and undersleeping

[Chardup]

whilst I seriously value the help, I've been at the gym for two years and have completely transformed from a fatty to someone who's fairly lean, I'm just stuck in this crappy position atm. looking at other stickies i see a 3 day split which targets each muscle once a week, would that be ok provided I get more food + sleep in? I think i'll still back off for a week with light cardio just to rest.

[Lackeos]

5 days + cardio probably contributes to the problem. Getting on a different program will help, as will eating and sleeping. To correct overtraining (which, it's not easy to tell if you are, but it sounds like you could be), I'd train with half the weight and the normal number of reps for 1.5-2 weeks.

and... I'm not sure if constipation is a symptom of overtraining :-D Maybe your diet is high in foods that cause constipation (I guess cheese and bananas are some)

[Chardup]

5 days + cardio probably contributes to the problem. Getting on a different program will help, as will eating and sleeping. To correct overtraining (which, it's not easy to tell if you are, but it sounds like you could be), I'd train with half the weight and the normal number of reps for 1.5-2 weeks.

and... I'm not sure if constipation is a symptom of overtraining :-D Maybe your diet is high in foods that cause constipation (I guess cheese and bananas are some)

haha, I just thought I'd throw the constipation out there

and I'm so confused now, I'm hearing so many different things. does overtraining even exist, or is it really just undereating/sleeping? aaaaaahhhh

to summarise what I'm going to do is take a week off weights and just do some light cardio (swimming, walking, possibly jogging) and then next week come back to the gym following a new routine with more rest/food and see how it goes. advice still welcome.

[SuffolkPunch]

whilst I seriously value the help, I've been at the gym for two years and have completely transformed from a fatty to someone who's fairly lean, I'm just stuck in this crappy position atm. looking at other stickies i see a 3 day split which targets each muscle once a week, would that be ok provided I get more food + sleep in? I think i'll still back off for a week with light cardio just to rest.

That doen't mean you can't still benefit from a beginners routine. We have this battle all the time - beginner is not a stigma, if you can progress like a beginner, you are lucky because you progress from workout to workout instead of only once a week or less.

Especially if you have been mostly trying to lose flab, you may not have increased your core lifts much. What are your max squat/bench/dead/chin?

[SuffolkPunch]

and I'm so confused now, I'm hearing so many different things. does overtraining even exist, or is it really just undereating/sleeping? aaaaaahhhh

It exists but is only a problem for elite athletes who train 4 hours a day 6 days a week for years

[brian1570]

very good advice so far. i 2nd everything suffolkpunch has said.


more days off, more sleep, more food.


do a good 3 split routine. SS or AP.

[Chardup]

massive thanks for the help. I'll start all pros, sounds good.

is the week off necessary? I'm pretty motivated to get in the gym now haha

[SuffolkPunch]

massive thanks for the help. I'll start all pros, sounds good.

is the week off necessary? I'm pretty motivated to get in the gym now haha

Then do it - grab life by the throat

[Chardup]

I will, thanks again everyone!