heavy lifting and over training

Bump

Well I'm a girl so it's a bit different but I do an all body lifting routine 5-6 days a week and have been for a year now and it has not hurt me and I did gain a couple pounds of lean body mass (according to DXA body composition scan). A guy would have gained more. I do not eat "extra" but I make sure to get enough protein. I am on a rolling schedule simply listen to my body and when it needs rest. If I'm doing a heavier routine I might go 3 days in a row and need a rest, then pick it up the following day. Other times I can go 5-6 days in a row. I run as well. Everything I so all about listening to my body and giving it what it needs, eating, working out, rest, sleep, etc. I believe that is key, but I'm older and have learned this over the years,

I believe even for guys you do not need to eat extra and I base that on the reading I have done on the guys version of the workout I do.

If you really want to learn the truth about muscle gain for guys I would highly recommend the Adonis Index, even if you don't want the workout the manual with John Barbans story is worth GOLD. It was a real eye opener for me to understand the guys point of view on body image and the truth about how much muscle a guy can gain with the body type you are born with and no steriods.

I think some of this may have been said, but my 2 pence fwiw...

I do a 3 day split - day 1 is legs/shoulders, day 2 is chest/triceps and day 3 is back/biceps

day 1 is your standard compounds like squats/lunges/RDLs including some isolation moves like leg extension/ham curls/calf raises...

day 2 is bench press/dumbell press/flyes and then the isolation moves such as skullcrushers/tricep pushdowns etc.

day 3 is Deadlifts/rows/chins/shrugs and some bicep isolations (which are least important as they get hit a lot with the other stuff)

I have done 3x per week mostly for a few years now and it is when I have seen my largest gains. Each time I get on a bulk I see 14-28 lbs of gain. This has translated to around 7-14lbs of lean muscle each gain over a 3 month period. Rinsing yourself out is not necessarily the most efficient method. Just because you 'feel' like you haven't worked out properly shouldn't stop you using your logic to get the best workout plan you can.

The beauty of the way I have my plan laid out is that each body area gets a good few days of rest to maximise the potential gains after each workout. The intensity I workout at means that it still takes me around 2-s days before I stop aching.

After that long ramble - the point I am drawing to is, as has been mentioned, you don't seem to have a split of body areas really so Tuesday impacts on the same muscles as Monday did, and the same with Friday for Thursday's muscles. If you really want 4 days instead of 3, then focus on maybe an upper/lower split.

The problem really is one of looking at it in a logical way - if you work out on Monday, then use the same muscles on Tuesday. If you did appropriate intensity on Monday, then your muscles should still be fatigued on Tuesday and so you won't be able to get maximum results.

It's kind of the same thing as if you were to get an injury - the options are to keep going whilst only being able to do 50% of the weight and so getting no gains, or rest for a few sessions and be straight back to full strength.

You have to be sensible about what's best...

Don't change the routine, change your "supplementation"

I don't think a guy at his level needs to worry about that.

I assumed he meant what lifts I add to a basic 5x5 program?

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but he means that if you want to be able to reasonably maintain that routine you'd need to be on PEDs. Hence, "supplements".

Don't change the routine, change your "supplementation"

I don't think a guy at his level needs to worry about that.

I assumed he meant what lifts I add to a basic 5x5 program?

I assumed he meant steroids.

Don't change the routine, change your "supplementation"

I don't think a guy at his level needs to worry about that.

I assumed he meant what lifts I add to a basic 5x5 program?

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but he means that if you want to be able to reasonably maintain that routine you'd need to be on PEDs. Hence, "supplements".

Yes I was being sarcastic and yes I was referring to steroids, but MFP moderators get all pissy when someone suggests it.

Bump to read through later.

OMG you did more than 3 exercises? How do you live!!!?!?!?!?!?

Do you enjoy it?
Are you making gains?

There's merit to doing some grinding, and plenty of people have made tremendous gains with that paradigm (look at the olympic lifters who squat every single day, or the training programs from guys who set world records in the 70s that still stand today. Look at some of the better conditioning and strength programs for wrestling, football, boxing, etc in high schools and colleges. Now compare that with your average joe who lifts 5x5 on 2 moves once every six and half freaking months).

I'm not saying going balls out is right for everybody, and for people who it is beneficial for won't get the same benefit indefinitely, but if you want to crank it out and are self-aware enough to know when you've had enough, why not?

You may not NEED to put as much work in to get strong or defined, but I don't think you can write-off the benefits of that kind of training style so quickly.

look at the olympic lifters who squat every single day

I squat 5 times a week does that count?