overtraining?

mobile w

hi there folks. i was wondering what you good people think of my weekly routine and whether you would suggest im not leaving enough time off for proper recovery. its not that im struggling to finish the week out or anything, i just want to ensure im getting the most out of the work i am doing.

my weights days are a full body sessions and my cardio/conditioning is a 20 minute kettlebell circuit followed by some core work.

my usual week is something like this;

monday: weights
tuesday:cardio
wednesday:weights
thurs:cardio
fri:rest
saturday:weights
sunday:cardio

thanks for the help peeps.

Killme00

Its really depends on what you want to achieve, what your starting point is, what your diet is like and how long (ie what timeframe) do you want to achieve your goals over.

Sangre

What exactly are your goals?

As long as you are eating and resting enough I wouldn't worry about overtraining (a term I think that is used far too often). Exercising six times a week is definitely within an acceptable range of training (assuming your workouts are structured properly).

TommyKnocker

No expert, but my personal opinion is there is little enough reason for us normal folks to worry about over training.

Most folks workout out for 60-90 minutes around the same time each day. So that gives you 22.5-23 hours before your next workout.

I personally think that the amount of rest required between bouts of exercise is over estimated and the body's ability to adapt the the stresses and strains of the exercises we ask it to do is under estimated.

Just my 2 cents

Satanta

TommyKnocker wrote: »

No expert, but my personal opinion is there is little enough reason for us normal folks to worry about over training.

Most folks workout out for 60-90 minutes around the same time each day. So that gives you 22.5-23 hours before your next workout.

I personally think that the amount of rest required between bouts of exercise is over estimated and the body's ability to adapt the the stresses and strains of the exercises we ask it to do is under estimated.

Just my 2 cents

I disagree. I think it is very easy for folks like us to overtrain, especially if you work out with high intensity in a gym session. By folks like us I mean those that are not juicing to help recover faster. I am talking mainly about weights training also. Some years ago I was hitting the gym 6 days per week for a while thinking more was better. I was always sore and pretty much always on a plateau. Even though I didnt want to, I followed the advice of someone else and dropped to twice a week and increased my workout intensity (gym sessions lasting about 45 mins and getting in about 24 sets per workout). I was still pretty sore alot of the time but the gains were great. Remember, you dont grow when you are in the gym... only when you allow time for recovery, and over compensation. I'd suggest giving it a go for 4 or 5 weeks to see how you get on

mobile w

thanks for the responses guys, much appreciated.

to answer some questions, with rugby season over my routine/goals have shifted firmly from strength to vanity . im in the gym for around 1hr on weights days and keep a pretty decent level of intensity. i go to the gym at the same time each day so am getting at least 23hrs in between session.

time frame, well ive been doing this particular routine for about 3weeks now and have 7/8weeks until im going off to thailand for a extended holiday!!

my diet is pretty clean right now and consists of plenty of protien and as little carbs as i can manage. supplement wise; ON gold standard and BSN cellmass.

just wanted to make sure that i was getting the best out of the work im doing, so im feeling that the general feeling is this isnt too much for one week?

sharky86

Satanta wrote: »

I disagree. I think it is very easy for folks like us to overtrain, especially if you work out with high intensity in a gym session. By folks like us I mean those that are not juicing to help recover faster. I am talking mainly about weights training also. Some years ago I was hitting the gym 6 days per week for a while thinking more was better. I was always sore and pretty much always on a plateau. Even though I didnt want to, I followed the advice of someone else and dropped to twice a week and increased my workout intensity (gym sessions lasting about 45 mins and getting in about 24 sets per workout). I was still pretty sore alot of the time but the gains were great. Remember, you dont grow when you are in the gym... only when you allow time for recovery, and over compensation. I'd suggest giving it a go for 4 or 5 weeks to see how you get on

Thats not really a case of overtaining really tho..thats more a case of learning how to train IMO... I train 5 - 6 week, once a day alternating weights and cardio and like the OP said as long as I eat enought and get my sleep I'm grand..I'm sure most people would be too

deadlybuzzman

You mentioned you play rugby and Id say that probably given you a great general base for what youre doing now.
As everyones different you need a good rule of thumb that applies specifically to you and a good 1 is if your times and lifts keep going up keep going and if they stall or go down ask yourself is it time to deload or take a break

Sangre

How serious is your rugby?

Would you considering using the off season to try and make strength gains that mighten be achievable during the playing season?

mobile w

Sangre wrote: »

How serious is your rugby?

Would you considering using the off season to try and make strength gains that mighten be achievable during the playing season?

ahhh not right now, im off on me holliers. ill leave that sort of work to preseason.

Brian?

You mentioned eating clean and low carb, are you sure you're getting enough kcals in to recover?

Satanta

sharky86 wrote: »

Thats not really a case of overtaining really tho..thats more a case of learning how to train IMO... I train 5 - 6 week, once a day alternating weights and cardio and like the OP said as long as I eat enought and get my sleep I'm grand..I'm sure most people would be too

I am afraid for me it was a case of over training. I was on a 5 day split and my goal was to increase bodyweight. I can train every day if I want but I wont gain mass. If I want to gain mass I need to cut the workouts down operating a 2 or 3 day split and take the day's in between to recover. That for me means no cardio in between weights days, keeping that energy for building muscle. I do this in winter. Now I have started adding more cardio and focusing on getting a bit leaner for the 1.5 days of summer we get as my goal is no longer adding as much muscle mass as I can.

I guess what I am saying is that it depends on your goals.

EDIT: I notice the OP does a full body workout 3 times a week. Again, it depends on your goals, but IMO this isnt the best way to maximise gains. A good enough way to get lean though.