Am I overtraining?

[thefonz]

I've been having problems with my workouts lately....i used to get sore the next day from working out but these days it takes a few days for the soreness to actually kick in.....i am taking creatine and shake so i have lots of energy wheni lift

I'm 5'11 152Lbs lanky build..tell me if this is too much....here's what i did for chest today

bench press 3 sets 145-10reps, 165lbs-8, 145lbs-8

incline dumbell press 3 sets 50lbs-10, 65lbs-10, 75lbs-7 (weight of 1 dumbell that is)

decline bench 2 sets of 135 X 2

delcine press machine (freeweight) 4 sets 180lbs-10, 270lbs-2, 220lbs-8, 220lbs-8

incline press machine (freeweight) 3 sets 90lbs-15, 180lbs-5, 140lbs-10

cable incline 3 sets 30lbs-10, 40lbs-10, 40lbs-10 (weight on each side)

decline cable 3 sets 45lbs-10, 70lbs-10, 60lbs-10

machine bench press 2 sets 200lbs-10, 300lbs-4 (highest)

what do you guys think? Am i starting to stagnate cus i'm lifting too much?

 

[Lifeforce]

Are you serious? Do you actually do 22 sets for your chest? I mean, the first three exercises should be enough for you.

 

[harwell]

Holy $h1t... that has to be world record for most exercises for one muscle group... i don't think power lifters on 'roids do that many...

 

[Captain Planet]

No way a "5'11, 152 pound lanky build" person can bench 4x300 pounds, machine or not. Shouldnt waste peoples time starting such a bull**** thread.

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

if you are in a bad mood, have trouble sleeping, lose your apetite and have a drop of performance in your work out and genral low enegry levles then you know oyu are probably overtraining.

 

[thefonz]

Guys....listen, I am in no way bsing any of you...I swear on my father's grave this was my chest workout last friday ( I actually neglected to mention 2 sets on machine i did at the end).....the big kicker of this workout was when i did the 75lb incline dumbells for 7 reps (with a spot). I've been working out for several years now so i'm used to this kind of thing. Plus the kid i workout with is hardcore so he will barade and verbally attack me if i don't keep up with him. I do the machines on a good day but i usually do all those freeweight on a regular basis.......plus the creatine i started taking has given me more push so i'm even more hardcore. I lift til i turn bright red.

and those freeweight machines i was talking about may be decieving in print....they're actually sit up straight sort of pushing the plates in a forward movement, i wasn't actually laying down and pushing 270lbs....no way

So back to the question, too much? Olympic atheletes and body builders train for hours every single day (more than me i might add) and they're all jacked. I like to oblierate the musle group that i work on each day but i'm worried it's having a reverse affect....no i sleep very well and have a HUGE appetite, i have a very skinny frame (worse than most) so if i didn't lift I'd weigh about 120lbs (i'm half indian)...this is all truth

 

[sapphire]

Generally your body will tell you whether you are overtraining or not.

If you are experiencing fatigue (low energy) or if you sense that your body is not responding well to training (usually loss of muscle mass) or things just don't feel right, then you are probably overtraining in which case you should give your body a rest for a day or two.

Also vary your training repetoire every couple of weeks to break the routine so your body will be shocked. This way your muscles will be stimulated to grow.

 

[thefonz]

saphire, i know about varying the routine but i'm not sure which direction i should go from here.....should i do less reps more weight for next week or vice versa? Should i just do toning exercises the week after that (like 15 or more reps with lowered weight)? What about focusing on doing 5 sets on one exercise instead of my usual 3, will that make a difference if i do less varing exercises?

 

[Jester]

somebody give this kid a chill pill.

 

[eggnawgkid]

Question:

So back to the question, too much?

Answer:

Are you serious? Do you actually do 22 sets for your chest? I mean, the first three exercises should be enough for you.

I think that about covers it.

 

[thefonz]

thanks for the negativity guys.....appreciate it.

 

[eggnawgkid]

I wasn't trying to be negative, I just thought that it was made quite clear that YES, you ARE lifting too much. Cut it down to 3 or 4 exercises of 3 sets each and I'm thinking you'll see some better gains. There's no way you can be gaining with all 20-some of those sets. Seriously, how much strength have you gained since you started on that routine? Not much, eh? It's ok, just fix it.

 

[-HPNOTIQ-]

Thats a monster chest workout...for one day...

Bro...I think you already know the answer to this one. Ease off the chest a lil bit and work on other parts of your body...your core group, legs, back, shoulders, arms, etc

I think people working out tend to focus on the 'big money' muscles like chest and arms..and neglect the back, legs, abs..etc.

Like many have already said, and I'm sure you already know. Whenever you feel a pleateu in your routine, its time to change it up. It maybe as simple as doing your Cable routines before the freeweights...using weighted dumbell flies instead of cable flies...change up the order you are doing things.

Muscle memorie is freggin amazing. A simple tweak of when a set is performed will help break through that plateu.

 

[thefonz]

Fair enough, I'll try doing less exercises ad see how it goes.....

 

[ScrewIt]

Originally posted by check_mate_kid_uk
if you are in a bad mood, have trouble sleeping, lose your apetite and have a drop of performance in your work out and genral low enegry levles then you know oyu are probably overtraining.

are you serious? lately i've been having trouble sleeping in addition to lost of appetite.

i dont know if it's to blame on my training, but i doubt it is...