Overtraining??

[jpt]

i'm 27 and have been lifting for about 8 years. i'm 5'9 175lbs....when i was younger i used to powerlift. i used an iron curtain lab program which was actually pretty good. i was 160 lbs when i started and beefed up to 200lbs in 2 years of solid eating and training. a few years later i had 3 knee surgies and a shoulder surgery (torn labrum) so my powerlifting days are over but i can still get in there and do damage. here is what my routine has looked like for the last few years. the exercises i have chosen are due to my injuries so i can't do incline barbell press b/c it kills me etc.

mon chest/back

incline hammer strength 4x 15,12,10,8

flat flies 3x 15,12,10

cable cross over 3x 15,12,10

flat hammer strentgh 2x 10,8

bentover rows 3x 15,10,8

wide grip pull downs 3x 12,10,8

cable rows 3x 12,10,8

pullovers 2x 15,12


wed shoulders/legs

bent over laterals 3x 20,15,12

one arm dumbell laterals 3x 15,12,10

arnold presses 3x 15,12,10

upright rows 3x 15,12,10

as for legs i've had 3 knee surgeries so i go extremely light...not even worth mentioning

fri arms

standing barbell curls 3x 12,10,8

hammer curls 3x 12,10,8

concentration curls 3x 15,12,10

one arm preacher curls 1x 12

pushdowns 3x 15,12,10

close grips 3x 12,10,8

skull crushers 3x 15,12,10

i haven't really seen any progression at all in a while and i wanted to know if i started going 3 one 1 off with pretty much the same routine would that be overtaining. i have never tried it and was wondering if i would be over doing it? after lifiting my muscles feel fine to lift after 3 or 4 days but i always wait a full week b/c that's was i was taught...any advice here would be great.

oh...my diet is pretty on point i take in at least 180g of protein.....about 80% coming from real food...chicken, tuna, steak etc. i only have 2 shakes a day....ON gold standard.


any suggestions or comments would be appreciated! thx guys

 

[maldorf]

Just noticed that you are only taking in 180g of protein. I have always had more luck with taking in 2g per pound of bodyweight. So for you, youre only taking in half as much as you should. I would increase protein in take to at least 1.5 x your bodyweight and see what happens.

 

[perp69]

Yeah. I know some people will say anything over such and such is a waste but I have better results when my protein intake is between 1.5 to 2g/lb. Maybe give that a try and see happens.

Perp

 

[casualbb]

overtraining is a complicated issue. I can't just look at your routine and know immediately whether you are or are not overtrained.

There are many potential explanations for why you're not making progress.

Not gaining weight/not putting on muscle: you're not eating enough
Not making strength gains (any one of the following):
-you're not putting on muscle
-you're always working at the limit of your capacity and have plateaued
-you're actually overtrained (this rarely happens; you'll know because you'll feel like shit all the time, be prone to getting sick, low energy, etc)

so to answer your question we need more details, like
-are you gaining weight?
-do you feel tired outside the gym?

 

[jpt]

i know i can always up my protein....i've done that before where i was taking in about 220-250 a day at 170lbs....i really didn't notcie a difference so i just cut down on the protein b/c i was under the impression my body wasn't using all of it and the remainder was converting into fat. the wieght diffreence wasn't that much....and to be honest i think it was the wrong kind of weight gain...my stomach was def a little bigger but not the rest of my body . i'm also prone to acne and when i was drinking more protein shakes i was breaking out....

i'm def not overtrained.....i don't feel tired...and if i do it's b/c i don't sleep very well not ever lethargic or anything like that. i just figured i would give this a shot and if i feel like crap training the same muscle every 4-5 days i'll stop and go back to the drawing board.

 

[casualbb]

Okay so you're gaining weight but it's fat instead of muscle.

That means your diet is good, but your training isn't.

Here's what I'd recommend. Take 1 full week off from training. Maybe even 9 or 10 days if you can handle it mentally. Then look into a basic linear-progression style routine, like the single-factor 5x5 or HST. You can find information on those in the training methods sticky at the top of the forum.