Overtraining

Symptoms of Overtraining in Bodybuilders

Overtraining is when you train too hard or too frequently for your body to recover from training. It is important when you start bodybuilding training to avoid over doing it. If you do overtrain, you will not recover adequately from your training. Chronic fatigue, excessively sore joints and muscles, a lack of willingness to return to the gym, depleted appetite, insomnia and recurring illness, are signs that you need to back off. Weight training causes muscle fibres to tear and when you rest, ensure proper nutrition and sleep, muscle hypertrophy occurs. When you overtrain, however, inadequate recovery happens before you return to the gym. This is counter productive.

Signs of Overtraining in Bodybuilders

Some muscle groups are actually prone to overtraining, such as biceps in the case of teenagers. Training a bodypart harder and longer does not necessarily equate to increased muscle growth in the trained muscle.

Preventing Overtraining in Bodybuilders

Establish a split training routine, you can enhance your ability to recover between training a bodypart. Try to give your muscles about a week before training it again. Many splits are possible, however and an example is provided here for your reference a 4 day split training routine. A routine structured like this allows optimal recovery and rest for each muscle group.

• Monday - Legs
• Tuesday - Back and Biceps
• Wednesday - Off
• Thursday - Chest and Tris
• Friday - Shoulders and Traps
• Saturday - Off
• Sunday - Off

Proper Nutrition & Sleep Prevents Overtraining

Nutrition is important to prevent overtraining. Muscle building required 2g of protein per kilo of bodyweight. Lifting necessitates muscle repair. Inadequate protein will hamper this. Inadequate recovery equals tired muscle fibres that will not only perform well the next session, but they are prone to straining or worse. A lack of sleep can cause overtraining. As muscles grow when you sleep, inadequate amounts will not permit the necessary rebuilding and recovery. A minimum of 8 hours a night would be required to achieve this.

Overtraining Stops Muscle Gains

Overtraining is an unfortunate state where your mental and physical energy can be sapped. As a result training with weights can be the last thing on your mind. If you are in this position, take a week off training to let your muscles recover. Ensure that you are only training each body part once a week using shorter, yet more intense training routines. Check that your nutrition is sufficiently feeding your muscles to enable them to recover and grow. Structure in a week off of training every 6 to 8 months to avoid overtraining. This will not only help prevent you overtraining, but help you recover fully from each workout. By listening to your body, rather than working against it, you will be back on track to achieve your training aims.