Is there really a such thing as OVER-TRAINING?

tyraun_b
tyraun_b Posts: 65
in Fitness and Exercise
I love pushing my body to the max, and sometimes I find myself working out for hoursssss!!!!
I hear a lot of people say 45mins-1 hour is all you need. From others a hour and a half is sufficient.
whatever the case is.....what would you consider to be overtraining and why?
I mean....is there really a such thing, or is it a misconception?
«1

Replies

  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    It's more underfeeding and under-resting. If your rest is on point and you're continuing to feed the process, your body can keep up with just about anything. Look at the Sheiko and Bulgarian training methods for simple proof of that.

    For myself, I prefer keeping my workouts under two hours, but with heavy compounds at the core of each workout, I don't know how I'd go much longer than that without thinking I'd screwed up somewhere. If I could squat for over an hour and a half, I'd have to ask myself what I was doing for that first 90 minutes to leave that much in the tank.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    It's more underfeeding and under-resting. If your rest is on point and you're continuing to feed the process, your body can keep up with just about anything. Look at the Sheiko and Bulgarian training methods for simple proof of that.

    For myself, I prefer keeping my workouts under two hours, but with heavy compounds at the core of each workout, I don't know how I'd go much longer than that without thinking I'd screwed up somewhere. If I could squat for over an hour and a half, I'd have to ask myself what I was doing for that first 90 minutes to leave that much in the tank.

    pretty much this!
  • lovemuffin6
    lovemuffin6 Posts: 49
    You can definitely overtrain but I think its more to do with taking enough time to rest, MFP did a blog post about it last week. Some of the things to look out for are a loss in performance, slow healing of cuts and feeling generally run down. If you feel healthy and happy doing so much then probably it's fine, just make sure to take a rest day regularly.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    I was trying to hit a new one rep max each workout, with workouts lasting 3 hours or more, and doing this six times a week. I got away with it for a while, but ended up with a hamstring injury in the end.
    When you're feeling like **** the whole time, you're getting injuries frequently, and your performance is dropping, then you're over-training. But it's quite hard to get to that point, and most people aren't doing enough to do so.
    I dropped my workout length to 2 hours, and stopped trying to over-reach as much. Now I'm dieting, so I've dropped my lifting to 90 minutes and added in 30mins cardio per workout.
  • eilbeck
    eilbeck Posts: 9
    I used to do 90mins easy, but i have tried to cut down to an hour.
    Dorian Yates says never be in the gym for more than 45 mins because lifting (or Bodybuilding) is not an endurance sport. You want to tear the muscle then get out and eat and recover.

    My cut in time is due to reduced rest periods and including supersets every now and again. Also, an extra training day.
  • roxylola
    roxylola Posts: 540 Member
    I would run out of energy long before I got to 3 hours the way I work out at the moment. But I would run out of interest by 90 minutes. There just is not enough stuff to keep me going for that long.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    Dorian Yates says never be in the gym for more than 45 mins because lifting (or Bodybuilding) is not an endurance sport. You want to tear the muscle then get out and eat and recover.

    Dorian Yates got that big just from training 45 mins each workout?!
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
    Training too much and overtraining are two different things. Overtraining is a very real thing, but people throw the term around when they really mean training too much.
  • markink81
    markink81 Posts: 73 Member
    Realistically it is very difficult to over train. Your body is very adaptive. Pushing weights for a couple hours every day isn't going to do this.
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    It's not as simple as just an amount of time, it depends on what you are doing in that time too. Something with a lot of CNS activity, such as plyometrics, is going to take a different toll than steady state cardio, or standard isolation weightlifting.

    The simple indicators of overtraining, would be to track sleep quality and duration and resting heart rate on waking. If you notice a sudden change in these, you should consider if your training was the cause.

    There are other devices and methods you can use, but for cheap, simple and relatively decent, the above is pretty good.
  • candiceh3
    candiceh3 Posts: 379 Member
    It isn't just about muscular fatigue, but also CNS fatigue.

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/how-to-combat-cns-overtraining.html
  • eilbeck
    eilbeck Posts: 9
    Dorian Yates says never be in the gym for more than 45 mins because lifting (or Bodybuilding) is not an endurance sport. You want to tear the muscle then get out and eat and recover.

    Dorian Yates got that big just from training 45 mins each workout?!

    He states it in one of his "blood and guts" videos.
    He is a "HIIT Trainer". High intensity and minimal rest periods. He also seems to do 2 sets rather than 3,4 or even 5.
  • markink81
    markink81 Posts: 73 Member
    Dorian is on steroids you can't compare someone that is natural to someone using PEDS to create their end result.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Dorian is on steroids you can't compare someone that is natural to someone using PEDS to create their end result.

    qft.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Dorian Yates says never be in the gym for more than 45 mins because lifting (or Bodybuilding) is not an endurance sport. You want to tear the muscle then get out and eat and recover.

    Dorian Yates got that big just from training 45 mins each workout?!

    He states it in one of his "blood and guts" videos.
    He is a "HIIT Trainer". High intensity and minimal rest periods. He also seems to do 2 sets rather than 3,4 or even 5.

    You're not Dorian Yates.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    Yes, there is.


    Next!
  • eilbeck
    eilbeck Posts: 9
    Didn't say I was. Just that as a comparison, 45 minutes can be effective in the gym.

    As for the point in which you "over do it". Depends on what you do and you as a person I guess.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I think there is such a thing as over-training. You need to give your body recovery time to keep it functioning properly. Also, you risk injury by overworking muscles.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Hey, if you're having a good time, then...it's not over training. Obviously, you are fit enough to do that. But a person who's mind drives them beyond the body's screaming cues to STOP would overtrain.
  • hidbee
    hidbee Posts: 52 Member
    I was just about to post about this! I have been sleeping HORRIBLY for the past 4 weeks or so, feeling lethargic, getting sick a lot and just feeling blah about working out--specifically running which I LOVE. My cousin suggested that it could be over-training syndrome. She experienced something similar to this when she was at her peak performance.

    Has anyone else experienced this? How did you overcome?
  • markink81
    markink81 Posts: 73 Member
    I was just about to post about this! I have been sleeping HORRIBLY for the past 4 weeks or so, feeling lethargic, getting sick a lot and just feeling blah about working out--specifically running which I LOVE. My cousin suggested that it could be over-training syndrome. She experienced something similar to this when she was at her peak performance.

    Has anyone else experienced this? How did you overcome?
    Do a search for (biolayne video log 3) on youtube Dr. Layne Norton discusses this topic and some of the misconceptions and brings a modern day look at overtraining syndrome. Hopefully this helps
  • Bigjayinga
    Bigjayinga Posts: 128 Member
    No, go hard or go home, you know how we do homie.!!
  • tyraun_b
    tyraun_b Posts: 65
    Okay so here's my belief in a nutshell.... I don't believe in overtraining at all. I believe as long as you know how to pair up muscle groups, space out your workouts, get sufficient rest and recovery along with sufficient nutrition you'll be fine. I never put a time limit on my workouts. I push until I can't push anymore. But you better believe I get the recovery I need before I step back into the gym. I believe everyone's level of conditioning is different, so what some may call a workout could be someone leads warm up or even half of another's workout. I even superset my workouts by two, three and sometimes even four exercises for numerous and numerous sets. I have yet to get injured or have any chronic pains or issues. My body is stronger now than it's ever been at 35 than it was at 25. Every week I've been getting stronger and old minor injuries that set me back have vanished. I'm a veteran that served in the Army for 4 years in a combat arms MOS. We would train and be in the field for HOURSSSSS and days at a time. I pushed my body to the limit back then, so I know all about pushing our bodies. If anyone wanna look at people that train to max...just take a look at Navy Seals. Some of the most fittest people in the world. And yes I know everyone isn't on that level, but I use them as an example just to show that everyone is different. But also our body is able to endure more than mind. Once we find that connection we can go beyond what we think we can.
  • CoachDreesTraining
    CoachDreesTraining Posts: 223 Member
    Okay so here's my belief in a nutshell.... I don't believe in overtraining at all. I believe as long as you know how to pair up muscle groups, space out your workouts, get sufficient rest and recovery along with sufficient nutrition you'll be fine. I never put a time limit on my workouts. I push until I can't push anymore. But you better believe I get the recovery I need before I step back into the gym. I believe everyone's level of conditioning is different, so what some may call a workout could be someone leads warm up or even half of another's workout. I even superset my workouts by two, three and sometimes even four exercises for numerous and numerous sets. I have yet to get injured or have any chronic pains or issues. My body is stronger now than it's ever been at 35 than it was at 25. Every week I've been getting stronger and old minor injuries that set me back have vanished. I'm a veteran that served in the Army for 4 years in a combat arms MOS. We would train and be in the field for HOURSSSSS and days at a time. I pushed my body to the limit back then, so I know all about pushing our bodies. If anyone wanna look at people that train to max...just take a look at Navy Seals. Some of the most fittest people in the world. And yes I know everyone isn't on that level, but I use them as an example just to show that everyone is different. But also our body is able to endure more than mind. Once we find that connection we can go beyond what we think we can.

    Overtraining does not result from a single session, it occurs after many weeks/months/years of training. And yes it's real, but like others have said it's usually under-feeding/under-recovering.

    There have been studies stating that 45-90 minutes is the ideal maximum time for a training session (resistance training). That is because somewhere around the 1 hour mark cortisol levels begin to spike. People get to the gym when they can, but if possible, having multiple short sessions spread out through the week will yield better results than 1-3 marathon sessions.

    Most likely you are not benefiting at all from the extra hour at the gym, and there is a good chance you are actually hurting your gains by doing those extra sets.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I hear a lot of people say 45mins-1 hour is all you need.

    It depends on your goals. Elite fitness is certainly not achievable in 1 hour a day.
  • jasonalvear
    jasonalvear Posts: 72 Member
    It's more underfeeding and under-resting. If your rest is on point and you're continuing to feed the process, your body can keep up with just about anything.

    True dat ^
  • Smash666
    Smash666 Posts: 42 Member
    Not a misconception... The body needs time to build and repair muscles. Anyone who has over trained is familiar with the concept of hitting the wall.
    can also result in injury and loss of training time. If the body didn't get time to heal, its bound to shut down and force you To let it. Best to listen to it when it tells you things.
  • Mitchlou84
    Mitchlou84 Posts: 135
    Honestly I think if you rest enough and eat right and don't try to increase too dramatically then the world is your oyster. I read an article recently regarding how much cardio per day the Brownlee brothers do and its crazy.

    However mess up any of these things then I think you can have overtraining symptoms.

    There was recently a competition at my gym regarding the number of group exercise classes completed in 3 weeks, I ramped up far too quickly, only having Sundays out of the gym, and Sundays are quite active at home in themselves (food shopping with no car and lots of household jobs etc).

    I really felt exhausted, I was eating plenty, but really felt like I had hit a huge brick wall.

    However at times I have done 3 classes a day as norm, and I have been fine.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    What do you think happens when you hit a plateau and you dont reset? Your weights stop going up and you feel like crap....

    What do you call that?

    Do you think you could go from 30 tons of volume a session to 60 tons a session without any build up and not have adverse consequences? what do you call that?

    The more experience you have, the more you can do. Its that simple. Maybe your years in the Army combined with your time spent training has your body accustomed to more than you typically throw at it. Its that simple. Overtraining can only happen if you dont have ample recovery. That limit will be different for everyone.

    Ive seen the articles where people say overtraining is BS. They're wrong. The only thing they are right about is that people use it as an excuse to not try hard enough.
  • tyraun_b
    tyraun_b Posts: 65
    What do you think happens when you hit a plateau and you dont reset? Your weights stop going up and you feel like crap....

    What do you call that?

    Do you think you could go from 30 tons of volume a session to 60 tons a session without any build up and not have adverse consequences? what do you call that?

    The more experience you have, the more you can do. Its that simple. Maybe your years in the Army combined with your time spent training has your body accustomed to more than you typically throw at it. Its that simple. Overtraining can only happen if you dont have ample recovery. That limit will be different for everyone.

    .

Categories