Overtraining? How Long To Lift

[bigdofba]

i try to do for example on chest 15 sets of exercises, same with back, same with everything really. about 15 sets per muscle group. always trying to change it up to stay sore. i donno, anyone got input on this

I aim for about 17-20 sets on larger body parts and about 13-15 for small body parts.

I have to split up my back training into two days. I have a lower back day and an upper back day.

 

[herblcure]

For example. Yesterday was my Quad, Calves, Hamstrings. After an hour in the gym, this morning was Legs do NOT hurt. You'd figure they would after 5 works sets on each and then one failure set. Guess I need to add some more intensity or time. Thanks for the info guys. BTW -- If I cut down on fat/carb intake in a day, would my body take my stored fat as energy? I just try to keep my protein up very very high for my bodyweight.

First of all, there is no reason to workout quads and hams on the same day...

The reason? Because when you do your quads (if you do them till puke..that is about 1 more rep after failure) then you simply should not have enough left in you to do anymore. I think that we have to define the difference between working out and working out hard.

The most important thing I could stress to anyone working out hard - (and I mean fucking hard..not this shit where you can do a set and then carry on a conversation with someone, but hard to where you see stars and can't talk after your set because you are too busy sucking in air trying to get ready for the next set...) is to write everything down that you do. why?/ because it is rather pointless to do the same weight over and over again. You should chart every rep, every set, everything.

so let's say for example you are working out Quads- (and i promise that if you do this, you will not ever want to workout hams on the same day again!) and let's say that you are going to do a pyramid 12/10/8/10/12. so you start and on week 1 you do leg press and it looks something like this..

set1(12 reps) 700lbs, set2(10 reps)800lbs, set3(8 reps) 900lbs, set4(10 reps)800lbs, set5(12reps) 700lbs

First thing to point out is that you had better make sure you are struggling to actually get the weight up that many times. If it is coming too easy, increase the weight. Now, here is why you really jot this down...

You need NEED NEED to make sure that the next time you do this workout you INCREASE each weight. You see, by doing this you will ensure that you are achieving gains and not simply doing the same shit over and over. The one thing I see more than anything else in the gym is that people come in one day..do the same freaking weight they did the last time they were in the gym. Same weight, same reps..etc..and they sit there thinking that they had a good workout....but in reality..they did not push themselves harder than the last time which means they accomplished jack shit.

Look, in the end remember this..NO PAIN NO GAIN..NO PAIN NO GAIN...lift heavy but correctly..not heavy and stupid. Concentrate on isolation and good reps. I guarantee you that if you push yourself to puke level, you will hurt the next day..less than that..well, that is for the weak..

 

[bigdofba]

First of all, there is no reason to workout quads and hams on the same day...

The reason? Because when you do your quads (if you do them till puke..that is about 1 more rep after failure) then you simply should not have enough left in you to do anymore. I think that we have to define the difference between working out and working out hard.

The most important thing I could stress to anyone working out hard - (and I mean fucking hard..not this shit where you can do a set and then carry on a conversation with someone, but hard to where you see stars and can't talk after your set because you are too busy sucking in air trying to get ready for the next set...) is to write everything down that you do. why?/ because it is rather pointless to do the same weight over and over again. You should chart every rep, every set, everything.

so let's say for example you are working out Quads- (and i promise that if you do this, you will not ever want to workout hams on the same day again!) and let's say that you are going to do a pyramid 12/10/8/10/12. so you start and on week 1 you do leg press and it looks something like this..

set1(12 reps) 700lbs, set2(10 reps)800lbs, set3(8 reps) 900lbs, set4(10 reps)800lbs, set5(12reps) 700lbs

First thing to point out is that you had better make sure you are struggling to actually get the weight up that many times. If it is coming too easy, increase the weight. Now, here is why you really jot this down...

You need NEED NEED to make sure that the next time you do this workout you INCREASE each weight. You see, by doing this you will ensure that you are achieving gains and not simply doing the same shit over and over. The one thing I see more than anything else in the gym is that people come in one day..do the same freaking weight they did the last time they were in the gym. Same weight, same reps..etc..and they sit there thinking that they had a good workout....but in reality..they did not push themselves harder than the last time which means they accomplished jack shit.

Look, in the end remember this..NO PAIN NO GAIN..NO PAIN NO GAIN...lift heavy but correctly..not heavy and stupid. Concentrate on isolation and good reps. I guarantee you that if you push yourself to puke level, you will hurt the next day..less than that..well, that is for the weak..

Thank you!

If your goal is to get 10 reps and you get to rep 10 without much of a struggle then you aren't lifting enough weight. It should be a struggle. Don't sacrifice form but don't sell yourself short. The last rep or two should take about everything you have.

 

[jagerbombme]

I aim for about 17-20 sets on larger body parts and about 13-15 for small body parts.

I have to split up my back training into two days. I have a lower back day and an upper back day.

i do do that too. on chest/back day i work upper back. shoulder day i do deadlifts

 

[njmuscleguy]

I have mixed feelings about the "over-training issue" ... I've always heard that you can afford to take fewer days off while on-cycle because of faster recovery...that essentially, you can't overtrain while 'ON'.

So rather than training only 5 days per week when I'm OFF (3 days on, 1 off, 2 days on, 1 off)... I train 6 days per week when I'm ON...taking only Sunday off... yet even with 6 days, I still give myself at least 3 days off before re-training each muscle group.

The thing is, from time to time, I am forced to skip 2-3 days consecutively because of work traveling, etc... and I notice that I always GROW more that way...my body always LOOKS better after those 2-3 days off... and this is while ON...

So though mentally, I feel like I HAVE to train as much as possible, my body tells me that it's better to take the days off to rest and GROW.

My training sessions usually include two muscle groups, 1.5-2 hours... but that's mostly because our gym is tiny and gets pretty crowded...gotta wait for benches, weights, and machines.

Just food for thought

 

[LifttoLive]

First of all, there is no reason to workout quads and hams on the same day...

The reason? Because when you do your quads (if you do them till puke..that is about 1 more rep after failure) then you simply should not have enough left in you to do anymore. I think that we have to define the difference between working out and working out hard.

The most important thing I could stress to anyone working out hard - (and I mean fucking hard..not this shit where you can do a set and then carry on a conversation with someone, but hard to where you see stars and can't talk after your set because you are too busy sucking in air trying to get ready for the next set...) is to write everything down that you do. why?/ because it is rather pointless to do the same weight over and over again. You should chart every rep, every set, everything.

so let's say for example you are working out Quads- (and i promise that if you do this, you will not ever want to workout hams on the same day again!) and let's say that you are going to do a pyramid 12/10/8/10/12. so you start and on week 1 you do leg press and it looks something like this..

set1(12 reps) 700lbs, set2(10 reps)800lbs, set3(8 reps) 900lbs, set4(10 reps)800lbs, set5(12reps) 700lbs

First thing to point out is that you had better make sure you are struggling to actually get the weight up that many times. If it is coming too easy, increase the weight. Now, here is why you really jot this down...

You need NEED NEED to make sure that the next time you do this workout you INCREASE each weight. You see, by doing this you will ensure that you are achieving gains and not simply doing the same shit over and over. The one thing I see more than anything else in the gym is that people come in one day..do the same freaking weight they did the last time they were in the gym. Same weight, same reps..etc..and they sit there thinking that they had a good workout....but in reality..they did not push themselves harder than the last time which means they accomplished jack shit.

Look, in the end remember this..NO PAIN NO GAIN..NO PAIN NO GAIN...lift heavy but correctly..not heavy and stupid. Concentrate on isolation and good reps. I guarantee you that if you push yourself to puke level, you will hurt the next day..less than that..well, that is for the weak..

NO PAIN NO GAIN..NO PAIN NO GAIN
So true, So true... I wonder if some of you have phd's in weightlifting.

 

[njmuscleguy]

I've read that biceps, for example, are easily "overtrained"... limit to around 9 sets...lower weight, higher reps.... shouldn't take longer than 30minutes total

 

[LMOB121212]

I have mixed feelings about the "over-training issue" ... I've always heard that you can afford to take fewer days off while on-cycle because of faster recovery...that essentially, you can't overtrain while 'ON'.

So rather than training only 5 days per week when I'm OFF (3 days on, 1 off, 2 days on, 1 off)... I train 6 days per week when I'm ON...taking only Sunday off... yet even with 6 days, I still give myself at least 3 days off before re-training each muscle group.

The thing is, from time to time, I am forced to skip 2-3 days consecutively because of work traveling, etc... and I notice that I always GROW more that way...my body always LOOKS better after those 2-3 days off... and this is while ON...

So though mentally, I feel like I HAVE to train as much as possible, my body tells me that it's better to take the days off to rest and GROW.

My training sessions usually include two muscle groups, 1.5-2 hours... but that's mostly because our gym is tiny and gets pretty crowded...gotta wait for benches, weights, and machines.

Just food for thought

+1

 

[b_light]

Listen to your body, if you are run down then take it easy or take the day off, if you have been in the game long enough you should know the diff. between "good" pain and "bad" pain. Best thing i learned is that you don't need to stick to a strict workout, things change from day to day and you need to adapt to it. If you force your body to do something it can't/doesn't want to do you will get injured or make your self more beat up and take longer to recover.

 

[timtim]

good post with good info except the a.m. cardio bit. new research shows that its not better than cardio later in the day, might want to look into that.