Overtraining?

[Ironbear24]

As many of you know (or may not know) I train in kenpo and Escrima and go to the gym 3 days a week. Lately I feel like my muscles have not been recovering as quickly and it is harder to lift heavy and do a full workout.

I also go to college too, and that has been more difficult lately. Is this a case if over training? I feel like everything hurts all of the time and this has been more frequent lately.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Yes. Go do nothing every so often.

 

[Ironbear24]

But that is not productive.

 

[drop bear]

Not really. Training hard is hard.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

But that is not productive.

Wanna bet?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

How many days a week do you not work out/train? And do you go light on any of the days when you do?

 

[Ironbear24]

Wanna bet?

You sound confident. So I will trust your judgement since you have experience here.

 

[Ironbear24]

How many days a week do you not work out/train? And do you go light on any of the days when you do?

I have one day off. I lift lighter on some days. Instead of 280 I do 250.

 

[Langenschwert]

Man, I feel your pain. On a full schedule, my week looks like this:

Monday: Judo
Tuesday: Modern Combatives and HEMA fight team
Wednesday: Judo
Thursday: HEMA
Sunday: Self-training and Battojutsu or Kenjutsu (alternating weeks, starting in a couple of hours)

I've taken to skipping every other Wednesday Judo class so I can function. I pushed it for as long as I could, and then we did a throwing line in Judo and my strength was just gone. I could barely throw anyone after a while. That's when I knew I had hit my limit. That Wednesday off is like an oasis. I go into Thursday feeling so strong and can push myself in sparring.

As you age, rest is as important as training. I'm 43 and getting over the guilt of not training when I'm wrecked has taken a while. Still working on that.

And it's not such a bad thing getting caught up on Game of Thrones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and any number of books and video games. Gotta relax once in a while, and my job is fairly physical too.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I have one day off. I lift lighter on some days. Instead of 280 I do 250.

Assuming you have Sunday off, make Wednesday/Thursday a light day. This is purely anecdotal, but in undergrad, I went pretty hard (fencing 5x a week, cardio/gym 3x a week, MA 2x a week, Sunday off), and was dead half the time. I dropped Wednesday Fencing and made it a light cardio day, helped me out way more than I thought it would.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

You sound confident. So I will trust your judgement since you have experience here.

I have found downtime to be necessary to good mental, spiritual, and physical health.

Like getting the oil changed on your car you don't have to do it, but it lasts longer if you do.

 

[Ironbear24]

Sunday isn't a day off. I go to the gym this evening, but I will look into making some time to do nothing.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Sunday isn't a day off. I go to the gym this evening, but I will look into making some time to do nothing.

Well, whichever day it is, a day 3 or for days later, to spread it evenly.

 

[kuniggety]

I have weeks that I do BJJ, strength condition, and do cardio all 7 days and then there's weeks I only do 4 or even an occasional 3. I am a family man which is often what makes the excuse for me not to train. Those days off really do help you recharge your batteries. You can only tear up your body so long without giving it time to rebuild. If you really feel like doing "something" then spend an entire hour stretching... Or go get a massage. It'll do wonders.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

But that is not productive.

You don't get stronger while working out. You get stronger while resting and recuperating from working out.

To elaborate: hard exercise actually breaks the body down - damages muscle fibers, uses up energy reserves, even depresses the immune system. When you rest up afterwards, your body goes to work rebuilding the body to handle the extra stress you are putting on it.

If you don't get enough good quality rest to do the rebuilding (or if you aren't getting enough good nutrition to do the rebuilding), then extra exercise isn't productive, it can actually be harmful.

 

[Danny T]

Rest and Recovery is a major part of good training.

 

[Ironbear24]

Ugh. Just failed to lift 300. I guess I have to take a break now, not much else I can do aside from lift lighter. I can do 280, I don't get why 20 more pounds is so out of the question for my body.

 

[Buka]

Let's start here -
How many hours of sleep do you get? (on a regular basis)
How many hours do you work a day (your job, not your training ) including travel time, to and from?
What does your normal diet consist of?

 

[Ironbear24]

Alot of protein and fats.

6-7 hours of sleep.

Part time job that is mostly book keeping stuff.

 

[Buka]

I ask these question as a trainer, not as someone who is judging or comparing to others.

How many hours is your part time job?

What is your normal breakfast? The more detailed, the better your question of "over training" can be addressed.

Any idea what your body fat percentage is? Do you know what your cholesterol level is?
And how do you come up with either number?