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Why
haven't your long hours at the gym rewarded you with the physique of
your dreams?
Is it
your genetics? Probably not.
Is it your diet? Possibly.
Is it your
training program? Most likely.
Bodybuilders in general are average people with a few differences. We
think differently. We practice self denial with religious fervor. We
embrace pain like a lover. Unfortunately these attributes do not
necessarily make us any more intelligent or wiser than average people
and as such, we often make mistakes. And what is the most common mistake
that bodybuilders make?
Related Article:
Expect Pain
Overtraining
Doubtless some of you will become defensive at that statement and revel
in the tremendous gains that you have made on your 2 hour a day, six day
a week training program. It is important however to remember what I
said. AVERAGE.
 Average
people have average genetics. Average people have day jobs and families
to support. Average people are not on
anabolic steroids and this is exactly my point. If you don't have
the genetics of an Olympic athlete, if you don't have a sponsor who pays
you to lift weights and if you don't want to stick a needle in your ass
every other day, then don't train as if you do.
When
it comes to building an impressive, natural physique, more is not only
not better, it's actually counterproductive.
So
What Is Overtraining?
Very
simply stated, overtraining is working
a muscle before it has had a chance to recover from a previous workout.
Are you serous about growing? Then read the following carefully. Weight
training provides the catalyst for muscle growth but actual growth only
occurs after you have left the gym.
s I
don't care if you have the muscle fiber of a distance
athlete or the build of a seasoned
powerlifter. If your
goal is to be a bodybuilder than
you must learn to recognize your training/recovery threshold and then
learn to work within it. Train too infrequently and you're just a
recreational lifter. Train too often or too hard and your just wasting
your time.
Keep
reading and I'll tell you exactly what overtraining is. If you're not
into biology, skip a couple of paragraphs and I'll tell you how not only
decrease your risk of overtraining, but how to actually decrease your
recovery time.
After
the onset of heavy resistance training, the adrenal gland releases a
hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is a great hormone because it breaks
down protein into its constituent parts that are then shuttled to the
liver where they can be converted into glucose to fuel the body's energy
needs. That's good because you need a lot of energy to fuel a long
workout. The bad news is that the
protein that is being broken down
is coming directly from your muscles.
That's
right, the longer that you workout, the more cortisol is released eating
away the precious muscle tissue that you are trying so desperately to
build. This isn't as bad as it sounds. Your body is naturally
conditioned to respond to this type of stress through a mechanism known
as supercompensation.
Your
body is evolutionarily programmed to not only compensate, but
super-compensate for the muscle loss by not only repairing the damaged
tissue, but by adding a little extra just in case. This is exactly why
you become bigger and stronger. But there's a catch. If you don't give
your body enough time to recover (compensate), it will never be able to
create additional muscle (supercompensate).
Stop
trying to imitate the training program of the pro's. Not only do they
have exceptional genetics, they are on enough gear to keep a pharmacist
shelf well stocked.
What
Are Some Signs Of Overtraining?
-
Decreased
appetite
-
Weight loss
-
Muscle
tenderness
-
Head colds
and/or allergic reactions
-
Elevated resting
heart rate
-
Elevated blood
pressure
-
Sleep
disturbances
-
Emotional
instability
-
NO GAINS IN
STRENGTH OR SIZE
Ask
yourself this question. Are you making gains every time that you go to
the gym? Unless you are a seasoned athlete and have exhausted you
genetic potential, you should see a small but measurable gain from
workout to workout, either in the amount of weight lifted or the number
of repetitions preformed.
Look
at your training program as you would an investment in a bank. If you
put a large sum of money in a bank and came back a year latter to find
that your investment hadn't grown at all, would you be satisfied with
your rate of return?
Hell
No!
You
would pull your money out of that bank and put it into another
investment that would actually pay you something back. It really is that
simple and yet many people return to the gym, time and time again doing
the same thing over and over and walking away with nothing to show for
it. Are you tired of hitting the gym day after day, week after week,
month after month and not getting results? Then do something about it!
How To
Avoid Overtraining
-
Train with
intensity but within limits.
-
Allow yourself
time to recover fully before working the same muscle group. If you
are still sore from the previous workout, take more time off or work
a different muscle group.
-
Consume
carbohydrates two hours prior to training and immediately after
training. Research has shown that a fatigued muscle is more
responsive to energy storage within 30 minutes following a workout.
-
 Consume
protein one to two hours before a workout and immediately after a
workout. This is a great
time for a
meal replacement or
protein supplement.
-
Take an
occasional vacation from the gym.
A week or two will allow you time to recover and start fresh. If
your workout takes longer than an hour then you are probably talking
too much or training too
long. Shut up
and Grow!
Until
next time, train smart and don't take fitness lightly.
Natural Bodybuilding at its Finest
- Lift for Life.com
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