Is there really a such thing as OVER-TRAINING?

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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?
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  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Yes, there is.


    Next!
  • eilbeck
    eilbeck Posts: 9
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    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
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    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: 2,676 Member
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    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
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    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?

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