Overtraining knowing when to slow down ( Guide)

dixon5000

When I started my intense cardio sesstions and lifting weights, I fell into the same trap that most people do; I over trained. I didn't overtrain on purpose. I just loved training and believed that more was better. If I lifted for longer or more frequently I believed, I would get bigger faster. Along with weight training I would do cardio two or three times a day thinking I would notice POSITIVE results quicker. I was wrong. Soon I was starting to develop the symptoms of overtraining:

Below are the most common symptoms of overtraining.

Chronic Fatigue
Injury- Eventually dislocated my shoulder
Sore Joints and Muscles
Lack of Ability to get a Pump
Lack of Desire to Train
Strength Loss
Lack of Appetite
Weight Loss
Insomnia
Depression
Sickness- Constant Runny Nose
Moody
Lack of Sex Drive


Some of the reason I was experiencing these symptoms was because of the following mistakes I made.

Train Muscle Too Frequently: You should stick to one body part every 7 days for the novice lifter, and 3-5 days a week cardio. ( This is based on my body only and some of you might be able to do more or less)
Too Many Sets Per Muscle Group: 3-4 sets of 10-15 Reps per body part is what you should do.

Now that you have increased your activity level in the form of proper weight training your body needs the proper amount of protein, carbs and healthy fats to recover and grow from workouts.

Protein is used to maintain and increase mass muscle.

Try to get your protein from:

Whole Eggs
Egg Whites
Chicken
Turkey
Tuna
Top Round Steak
Filet Mignon
Quality Protein Powder
Other Lean Cuts on Meat
Carbs are used as an energy source to fuel your workouts and are store in the muscles as glycogen. During the day opt for a Complex.

Carbs so you have a steady stream of energy for the day:

Brown Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole Wheat Bread
Oatmeal
After your workout you want to have a simple carb to help increase insulin levels which will help drive the glycogen and protein into your muscle.

Simple Carbs:

Sugar
Dextrose Powder
Waxy Maize
Maltodextrin Powder
Fruit
Fruit Juice
Honey
Healthy Fats: All fats are not Created equal some are better than others. Saturated and Trans Fats are unhealthy and Mono-unsaturated and Poly-unsaturated are healthy for you. Fats are an excellent long lasting energy source and can actually help in the fat loss process.

Look to include these types of fats in your diet:

Olive Oil
Flaxseed Oil
Fish Oil
Cashews
Walnuts
Almonds
Natural Peanut Butter
When looking to construct your own diet follow these guidelines:

1- 1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
2-3 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. This will depend on your body type: the more of a hardgainer you are the more you will need carbs; the easier you put on size the less carbs your body will need.

I have posted one of my many eating plans but its only what I would follow to drop some serious weight. Remember, this NOT a diet plan but a life changing eating guide.

Overtraining is one of the mistakes that most trainers fall victim to when they start training. The sooner you realize what you are doing and address your mistake the sooner you will be on the road to amazing gains.

Please use some of my guidelines to help you improve your nutrition, be more effective in the gym and hopefully make some great improvements to your physique...

indianagranny

bumping to read later

csingleton24

Such a great post! Alot of people think that training every day, twice a day is great, but don't realize what they are really doing to their body! It needs a rest too! Three days on, one day off is perfect but not always feasible with work schedules and every day life though. I workout 5 days a week with 2 days "active" rest.

Thanks for bringing this up and reminding us to slow down and take it easy once in awhile!

JoyousMaximus

When looking to construct your own diet follow these guidelines:

1- 1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
2-3 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. This will depend on your body type: the more of a hardgainer you are the more you will need carbs; the easier you put on size the less carbs your body

Thanks for the informative post but I'm pretty sure it is grams of protein per KILOGRAM of weight when using that calculation. At the bottom are a couple of websites that say it per kilogram and even if your calculation was per kilogram, it is pretty high.
By your calculation of 1.5g per lb of weight, I would have to eat 155g of protein a day, that is 1020 calories, almost 60% of my daily calorie intake.
The range I have always seen is .8-1.2 g of protein per kilogram of weight (pounds/2.2 = kg). The calculation I found based on pounds is:
Sedentary adult - 0.4g/lb
Active adult 0.4-0.6g/lb
Growing athlete 0.6-0.9g/lb
Adult building muscle mass 0.6-0.9g/lb
Still much lower than your suggestion.

Problems with a diet too high in protein:
Proteins have a high amount of nitrogen. When nitrogen is broken down in the liver it creates ammonia. Ammonia is poisonous. The increased level of ammonia in the body is harmful to cells and may decrease atheletic performance.
Stress on kidneys occurs when more than 2 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight per day is consumed.
High levels of protein intake require increased amount of vitamin B6. It is possible to become deficient in vitamin B6 while using a high protein diet.
Calcium loss, which leads to osteoporosis, occurs with high levels of protein intake.

http://weighttraining.about.com/od/nutritionforweights/qt/protein_howmuch.htm
http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Requirement.html
http://www.healthline.com/hlbook/nut-protein-requirements

dixon5000

Yes, I am correct. 1.0g 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight. This is to maintain.... Now, I what I would suggest though is pick your target weight and recalculate it to that weight. You will get what you need at your goal weight. Stay within that range, and you will lose. (Of course exercise and eating well balanced meals of course)

ivykivy

Are you sure? I'm with jbuerer. Professional journal always say 0.8 kg per kg of body weight is the minumum amount you need to replace the protein lost daily. People who are weight training or doing intense exercise need 1.5g per kg of body weight.

But I guess different things work for different folks:flowerforyou:

Yes, I am correct. 1.0g 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight. This is to maintain.... Now, I what I would suggest though is pick your target weight and recalculate it to that weight. You will get what you need at your goal weight. Stay within that range, and you will lose. (Of course exercise and eating well balanced meals of course)

dixon5000

Stress on Kidneys will only happen if you do not drink plenty of water. The fact is most Americans do not drink water enough to help flush out the toxins. Drinking plenty of water along with a high protein diet will help prevent any kidneys issues, but EVERYONE is different. I would assume that the damage would come if you continued a high protein diet of MANY years. If you ended up damaging any organs over a short period of time, there is probably something else going on with your system then protein intake. What I posted is what I do, but females will consume less then a male of course and its good to get advice from a doctor. But ask yourself, when is the last time someone came up to you and said, my kidneys were damaged from to much protein? What are the statistics of damaged kidneys from protein?

Always remember though, check with a doctor prior to starting a diet.
Overall, this could be a debate over how much Calories, fats, Carbs, proteins one can handle. Everyones body is different and sometimes its trial and error.

dixon5000

Let me stress, 1.0 to 1.5 is for a MALE and only if he is conducting cardio and WEIGHT TRAINING. if you are only conducting cardio to lose weight, you are both correct with the intake of protein and thank you for adding this to the post!

slieber

Would you explain the term "hardgainer" please?

benw

1- 1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.
2-3 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. This will depend on your body type: the more of a hardgainer you are the more you will need carbs; the easier you put on size the less carbs your body will need.

By this calculation most people would be eating to many calories to lose weight. That much protein is to much except for the hardcore bodybuilders who are traing. It could cause kidney or gout problems having that much protein. 2-3 Grams of carbs works for powerlifters who dont care how much body fat they have.

Work with the numbers within MFP and you will be good to go.

songbyrdsweet

Yes, I am correct. 1.0g 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight. This is to maintain.... Now, I what I would suggest though is pick your target weight and recalculate it to that weight. You will get what you need at your goal weight. Stay within that range, and you will lose. (Of course exercise and eating well balanced meals of course)

Correct according to whom? Yourself? Or a nationally recognized sports medicine organization? It is not 1-1.5 g/lb. It is .8-1.7g/kg depending on training status and goals.

songbyrdsweet

Would you explain the term "hardgainer" please?

A hardgainer is someone who generally has a high BMR, low bodyfat/bodyweight, and low amounts of muscle mass naturally. They have a difficult time gaining muscle mass and usually have to eat a great deal of calories in order to do so.

songbyrdsweet

Stress on Kidneys will only happen if you do not drink plenty of water. The fact is most Americans do not drink water enough to help flush out the toxins. Drinking plenty of water along with a high protein diet will help prevent any kidneys issues, but EVERYONE is different. I would assume that the damage would come if you continued a high protein diet of MANY years. If you ended up damaging any organs over a short period of time, there is probably something else going on with your system then protein intake. What I posted is what I do, but females will consume less then a male of course and its good to get advice from a doctor. But ask yourself, when is the last time someone came up to you and said, my kidneys were damaged from to much protein? What are the statistics of damaged kidneys from protein?

Always remember though, check with a doctor prior to starting a diet.
Overall, this could be a debate over how much Calories, fats, Carbs, proteins one can handle. Everyones body is different and sometimes its trial and error.

Actually my exercise physiology prof was friends with a competitive male bodybuilder whose kidneys and heart were damaged from too much protein. The ketosis caused dehydration and after a couple months his blood actually became slightly viscous and he went into cardiac arrest. So....yes. It happens. Just because it doesn't happen to YOU doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Diabetics suffer nerve damage from high BG often. Abnormal amounts of anything in the blood causes problems. The fenestrations in the tubules of your kidneys are too small to allow proteins and RBCs through, so you're stuck with them.

slieber

Thanks for the explanation of hardgainer. I know I'm not that! LOL!

dixon5000

songbyrdsweet, understand that my information is from a my nutrientionist/personal trainer and NOT by me. This is the guidance for a MALE not a female which I should have posted in the beginning. The original topic of this post was about over training. Please feel free to continue to add your input for the ladies on here as my 1.0-1.5 is for a MALE. Females need much less protein.

songbyrdsweet

songbyrdsweet, understand that my information is from a my nutrientionist/personal trainer and NOT by me. This is the guidance for a MALE not a female which I should have posted in the beginning. The original topic of this post was about over training. Please feel free to continue to add your input for the ladies on here as my 1.0-1.5 is for a MALE. Females need much less protein.

Then I'd like to know who your PT is certified with. Both the NSCA and ACSM recommend .8-1.7 g/kg of body weight with specific categories such as strength trained, endurance athlete, etc. My recommendations aren't for the 'ladies' because there's no need to segregate protein requirements based on gender. We may respond to GH more than testosterone, but we still utilize amino acids to build muscle mass just like a male.

JoyousMaximus

songbyrdsweet, understand that my information is from a my nutrientionist/personal trainer and NOT by me. This is the guidance for a MALE not a female which I should have posted in the beginning. The original topic of this post was about over training. Please feel free to continue to add your input for the ladies on here as my 1.0-1.5 is for a MALE. Females need much less protein.

Then I'd like to know who your PT is certified with. Both the NSCA and ACSM recommend .8-1.7 g/kg of body weight with specific categories such as strength trained, endurance athlete, etc. My recommendations aren't for the 'ladies' because there's no need to segregate protein requirements based on gender. We may respond to GH more than testosterone, but we still utilize amino acids to build muscle mass just like a male.

I'm with songbyrdsweet. Do you have any type of professional publication behind your protein recommendation? If not, I would really recommend continued research given that, if you are mistaken and someone takes your advice, it could have serious ramifications on their health.