Am I really "overtraining"? Really?

[EricJens]

Hi guys,

I'm new. Not just to bodybuilding.com, but bodybuilding period. I'm not necessarily new to fitness, but I'm new to strength training. I was a cross country runner in high-school (4 years ago), but we never really did any REAL weight training. So I never gained any REAL muscle. I went to college, stopped running, and got flabby. Now I'm trying to get back in shape. I'm starting off with bodyweight stuff because a.) I'm pretty weak and b.) I want to get strong enough to move my body around before I start any serious weight training. Also I'm interested in eventually doing things like planches and one-arm headstand pushups. So I've been doing a Push/Pull kind of split. My push days, I do push-ups and dips. On my pull days, I'll do pullups and inverted rows. I try to do all of them slowly, with perfect form, and a full range of motion. Needless to say I can't do very many reps right now. I've been alternating my Push/Pull days with one day off a week. So two days ago, I was able to do 3 sets of 5 pullups. But today I could only do 2 sets of 4 and 1 set of 3 1/2. I MIGHT have done them more slowly, but I'm not positive... So my question is should I cut back so I do pullups 2 days a week? I know I need to train legs, so I could throw in a leg day or two which would balance my workouts to hitting everything twice a week. What do you guys think? I would appreciate any advice you veterans have for a newbie.

[Grizvok]

Your reasons for not lifting don't make any sense, and no you aren't overtraining. Overtraining comes from over stressing the CNS (central nervous system) which bodyweight just won't do.

[RT1957]

If you're new to weight training I'd find a good full body 3 day a week routine that is based around the best compound exercise. Squat Deadlift, Bench Press Standing Press and Bent Rows. If you've never weight trained you can practically look at the bar and grow if you use these basic movements with "good" form and either always add reps or weight each workout. Strong Lifts or Reg Parks beginning BB workout would be a good place to start. There are others. Don't expect to see any muscle growth for a few months. The body needs to adapt to the new stresses and then it will start putting on muscle size if you eat right. BB and picky eating don't go well together so look into eating right to put on muscle

[JonFranyutti]

over training has been disproved countless times & there is nothing to really prove that one can "overtrain"; this is more of bro-science and internet fable... if you plateau then just change up your routine but as for overtraining I personally also disagree that one can "overtrain" ... I hit each muscle 3 times a week and i see good results... If I do a 5 split and only hit it once a week my results weren't as great... I have never hit an overtrain and I have been doing this for a good amount of time now...

the muscle needs 48hrs to recover meaning you can hit it every other day basically... give it this rest and you will be fine

[MovereTe]

No. Overtraining doesn't just effect what you can do in the gym. It effects your daily life on top of gym performance due to increased overall stress levels on your nerves. In fact, a lot of the symptoms of overtraining are similar to that of depression. You would feel fatigued all of the time throughout the day, and you would be more irritable than normal. In short, it'd be very evident if you were overtraining.

Your issues in the gym are simply an off day. You aren't going to be performing the exact same on every single day that you train.

If you're new to weight training I'd find a good full body 3 day a week routine that is based around the best compound exercise. Squat Deadlift, Bench Press Standing Press and Bent Rows. If you've never weight trained you can practically look at the bar and grow if you use these basic movements with "good" form and either always add reps or weight each workout. Strong Lifts or Reg Parks beginning BB workout would be a good place to start. There are others. Don't expect to see any muscle growth for a few months. The body needs to adapt to the new stresses and then it will start putting on muscle size if you eat right. BB and picky eating don't go well together so look into eating right to put on muscle

^^ This.

[ironwill2008]

Hi guys,

I'm new. Not just to bodybuilding.com, but bodybuilding period. I'm not necessarily new to fitness, but I'm new to strength training. I was a cross country runner in high-school (4 years ago), but we never really did any REAL weight training. So I never gained any REAL muscle. I went to college, stopped running, and got flabby. Now I'm trying to get back in shape. I'm starting off with bodyweight stuff because a.) I'm pretty weak and b.) I want to get strong enough to move my body around before I start any serious weight training. Also I'm interested in eventually doing things like planches and one-arm headstand pushups. So I've been doing a Push/Pull kind of split. My push days, I do push-ups and dips. On my pull days, I'll do pullups and inverted rows. I try to do all of them slowly, with perfect form, and a full range of motion. Needless to say I can't do very many reps right now. I've been alternating my Push/Pull days with one day off a week. So two days ago, I was able to do 3 sets of 5 pullups. But today I could only do 2 sets of 4 and 1 set of 3 1/2. I MIGHT have done them more slowly, but I'm not positive... So my question is should I cut back so I do pullups 2 days a week? I know I need to train legs, so I could throw in a leg day or two which would balance my workouts to hitting everything twice a week. What do you guys think? I would appreciate any advice you veterans have for a newbie.

It's not possible to 'overtrain' if you're not already 'training.'



If your goal is to build strength, a beginner strength program would be your best choice. here's a good one:

*Farley's SS Thread: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=131379243

[EricJens]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice. I suppose I should explain myself better. I'm trying to get stronger at bodyweight stuff because I have a (very) amateurish interest in gymnastics/parkour. I think that stuff is pretty cool, and I'd like to be able to do some of it. I'm not discounting weight training at all (It'd be stupid to do that on a site called bodybuilding.com.) It's just that my main goal isn't to bench 400 or weigh 250... at the moment.It's stuff like one armed pull-ups, muscleups and planches. Maybe "overtraining" was the wrong way to put it. I was just thought that since it's beginning stuff like pushups, I should be able to at least match my previous workouts. Maybe I'm really bad at recovery? (Just so you know, I do feel pathetic compared to you guys, so thank you for taking me seriously). Anyway, perhaps this wasn't the best question for this site, and if it was, I apologize. Once again, thank you for replying. Much respect, you guys.

[RT1957]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the advice. I suppose I should explain myself better. I'm trying to get stronger at bodyweight stuff because I have a (very) amateurish interest in gymnastics/parkour. I think that stuff is pretty cool, and I'd like to be able to do some of it. I'm not discounting weight training at all (It'd be stupid to do that on a site called bodybuilding.com.) It's just that my main goal isn't to bench 400 or weigh 250... at the moment.It's stuff like one armed pull-ups, muscleups and planches. Maybe "overtraining" was the wrong way to put it. I was just thought that since it's beginning stuff like pushups, I should be able to at least match my previous workouts. Maybe I'm really bad at recovery? (Just so you know, I do feel pathetic compared to you guys, so thank you for taking me seriously). Anyway, perhaps this wasn't the best question for this site, and if it was, I apologize. Once again, thank you for replying. Much respect, you guys.

Hey Eric

There are lots of ways to weight train not just BB. It all depends on what your goals are and then finding a routine that works for you. I'd look into a more high rep workout with basic movements and that will add strength but not huge amounts of mass. Historically rep ranges from 1 - 5 are for building max strength and you will get some hypertrophy but that rep range is usually what powerlifters and oly lifters use. BB is rep range 5 - 12 for maximum Hypertrophy and rep ranges from 15 -20 is more endurance strength where you will see some muscle growth but not as much. It also depends on how you eat and what kind of weight your pushing around. Light weight high rep workout might be what will work for you

[gixxer0.6g]

I've lifted every day for the past three months so I can hit each muscle group 2x per week. Hasn't killed me yet. You'll know when you need a day off but for me its been a while.

[Kdnlp07]

You tube CT Fletcher over training. Then ask yourself this question again.