Am I overtraining?

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rimcdave
rimcdave Posts: 21 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Background;
62yo male novice weightlifter (less than two years). I eat right and get enough sleep. Still gaining strength but always tired. My workout is below; tell me what you think.

Day 1.
Barbell dead lift 4 sets of 8
Chin-ups 4 sets max reps
Barbell bent over row 4 sets of 8
Barbell bicep curl 4 sets of 8
Barbell shrugs 4 sets of 8

Day 2.
Barbell bench press 4 sets of 8
Dips 4 sets max reps
Barbell shoulder press 4 sets of 8
Tricep cable pull downs 4 sets of 8
Barbell incline bench press 4 sets of 8

Day 3.
Barbell back squat 4 sets of 8
Leg press 4 sets of 8
Barbell hip thrust 4 sets of 8
Standing call raise 2 sets of 8
Seated calf raise 2 sets of 8

Day 4.
Rest

Repeat

Replies

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 9,056 Member
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    Looks like you may have a tad too much volume for somebody with your level of lifting experience. I recommend either dropping the sets to 3 sets of each, or increasing to two days of rest before repeating at your current volume.
  • slade51
    slade51 Posts: 180 Member
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    It looks reasonable unless you’re pushing every set to failure. Are you also doing warmup sets? Leaving 2-3 RIR? Resting enough between sets? Otherwise, try decreasing reps on heavy compound lifts to 6 and/or sets to 3.

    If you’re overtired, try 2 days on, 1 day rest, repeat.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    I would reduce all by one set and see how you feel. At your age (I'm 59), you likely don't need to train with that much volume. I train everyday, but only one bodypart a day and won't touch it again till the next week.


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  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,514 Member
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    Congrats on all the work. I agree with the others though. Even if you hadn't stated being tired, I'd have said that's too much volume for a beginner/intermediate. 10-15 working sets per muscle per week should be your target. They don't all need to be to failure either. I mean you're doing 4 sets of chin-ups and dips to failure... and then doing more sets for back and chest in the same workout. That's a lot of fatigue building up, and you need recovery time. I'm not surprised with such high stimulus to fatigue ratio (especially for your age), that you're tired.

    Like niner said above, reduce everything (at least the compounds) by 1 set. I'd also suggest you consider going higher reps for some stuff, like 12-15, for more time under tension and lower SFR, also lower injury risk.

    It's not a big deal, but I notice you don't have any chest adduction there, i.e. fly's. You could do floor fly's if you have db's. Cables would be better if you have access. For one of your chest workouts each week sub out 3 sets of pressing with 3 sets of fly's.
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,514 Member
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    You'd probably benefit from a deload week every 6-8 weeks too.
  • rimcdave
    rimcdave Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks everyone, I will cut back my sets and increase my rest days.

    At my age the reason I lift is not to look like Arnold but to avoid being one of the people you see shopping at Walmart and sitting in those motorized shopping carts.

    I believe that strength training is the key to staying active later in life. As long as I can squat, bench, and dead lift with more than 1 1/2 times my bodyweight on the bar, I can live a productive and independent life.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,523 Member
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    rimcdave wrote: »
    Thanks everyone, I will cut back my sets and increase my rest days.

    At my age the reason I lift is not to look like Arnold but to avoid being one of the people you see shopping at Walmart and sitting in those motorized shopping carts.

    I believe that strength training is the key to staying active later in life. As long as I can squat, bench, and dead lift with more than 1 1/2 times my bodyweight on the bar, I can live a productive and independent life.
    If it's just for health, you can do fullbody 2-3 times a week with just a couple of exercises for each bodypart and 3 sets. It's NOT the volume that matters but the intensity of what you put into each set at that point.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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