A Discourse On Over-Training

“Ok, but just be careful. You don’t want to over-train.” Ever heard this before? I know I have; plenty of times, to elaborate. What’s the deal with over-training? These past couple years many studies have been on over-training. Finding the optimal training volume and frequency has been an aspect of fitness discussed since the late 1800's. The popular opinion on over-training can be found expressed by this quote from strong-man Earle Liederman:

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It is a great mistake to make your exercise too severe, or to make too much of it. If you wish to get the biggest and strongest muscles possible you will do better to make a few vigorous efforts than one violent one. Lifting a 300-pound weight from the ground six or eight times will develop the back more rapidly than lifting 500 pounds once. Stretching a 5-strand 'exerciser' a dozen times will make the arm muscles bigger than doing the same thing only once or twice with a 7-strand; and much quicker than taking a 2- strander and stretching out 50 times.

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In concept, over-training is the idea of training past the point where your body can adequately recover for a significant period of time, eventually doing more harm than good. But there are more factors to take into account than just exercise when trying to avoid over-training. Here are some general tips to keep your muscles well-recovered.

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Sleep Better

Adequate sleep is the most important factor in muscle recovery. Try staying up for 24 hours and go do a workout. You will be sore before you start. Proper sleep helps the nervous system recover as well, which plays a very big role in training effect. This is probably the biggest cause of over-training. You might prevent it by just catching a few more Z's.

Nutrition is Necessary

What you eat plays a big role in all factors that affect gym performance and recovery. Lack of proper nutrition will not allow the muscles to rebuild properly or perform optimally. Try benching after not eating all day. Not fun. Also, when you are really dialed in to what you eat, you will notice faster recovery time and greater performance. After all, you wouldn’t put 86 octane gas in a 1967 Mustang, would you? Your body needs proper fuel, just like a sports car does.

Don't Be Afraid to Try a Higher Frequency or Volume Work-Out

High frequency and high volume workouts can be very effective. Here is my personal experience. Like most high school teenagers, in my search for a program I eventually gravitated towards the Arnold Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding blueprint. For those who don’t know, the Advanced program (which of course was the one I wanted…..you know how teenagers are.) calls for high volume and hitting each muscle 3 times a week. Most exercises are also super-set, making for a very challenging workout. Many of my colleagues told me I was crazy and certain to over-train. But by the end of my Senior year in high school I could bench 295, a 130 lb. increase from when I started. I had packed on about 20 lbs(all without the aid of steroids, pro hormones, etc.)! So, what made the difference? First, I varied the loads. When you train at a high volume, you will not be able to use the same loads and rep ranges every time and progress. Second, I listened to my body. There were days where I took things slower and lighter, and that was okay, because the results came from the shear volume, and progressive overload as I felt stronger, much like practicing a baseball swing. Third, I ate fairly healthy, and took in a lot of calories. Would I recommend this workload 24/7? Maybe not. But the point is workouts that convention might consider over-training can be brutally effective. Your body is actually capable of very great things, but getting there is and should be a gradual process, a labor of love. Don’t hate your body, teach your body. You can gradually coax it to do some awesome things if you are patient and persistent. Another example would be the Olympic Weightlifter. They often squat 3-15 times a week! Crazy huh? But they periodize their workouts, vary rep range, intensity, and exercises. They're not doing 15 squat sessions a week every week of the year.

Keep Good Form!

Poor technique can cause over-training. Even if you need to lower the weight slightly, fix your form, and your strength will come back with a vengeance.

Lift What You Can

Improper weight selection can cause overtraining.

Change Up Your Routine

Lack of variety in stimulus can cause over-training. A barbell flat bench for 5 sets of 3 reps using a 3 second count to lower the weight is completely different than a barbell flat bench 3 sets of 15 reps using a 1 second count to lower the weight.

Watch For the Obvious...

It must be admitted that too much workload or too frequent training can also cause over training. Simply put, if you do bicep curls every day you most likely will not recover sufficiently to progress.

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In closing, while over-training can occur, it is easily preventable. If you take anything from the points at hand, listen to your body. And above all, remember to stay Ri-FIT-ulous.

~PAUL