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BodybuildingPro.com  Training Database Advanced Training Tips Types of Overtraining
Introduction to
Overtraining
Overtraining is a problem bodybuilders may potentially face during
the course of their training. There are different types of stress
and overtraining which can occur and also ways to avoid them. Aside
from disturbing regular bodily functions, overtraining will lead to
paused bodybuilding goals at best, and at worst, reduction in what
you already have! All this, and additional fatigue which will only
hurt you in the rest of your daily life.
Muscle Soreness Versus
Muscle Strain
Aside from overtraining, it is very important to be able to
recognize the differences between muscle soreness and muscle pain.
Let us begin by analyzing muscle soreness, which is what can and
should be expected after intensive bodybuilding training:
Muscle Soreness
Muscle soreness occurs to areas of your body that you trained, and
is usually noticeable the day after training. For example, after a
heavy day of chest training, you should expect your chest to
experience muscle soreness, as well as possible soreness to the
secondary muscles for many of the movements you performed. For
example, if much of your workout was comprised of bench presses,
you can expect soreness in your chest, as well as possible soreness
in your triceps and delts. However, normal muscle soreness
primarily effects the main muscle group exercised.
Soreness as a Training Guide
If you schedule chest training once every five days, and at that
point, your chest is still feeling sore, you can use the instinctive training principle and exercise
sometime later in the week. If you are still feeling sore, it is a
sign that your muscles have not fully recovered, and additional
rest and recuperation will be required before you continue training
the target area (in this case, chest).
Muscle Strain Unlike muscle soreness, muscle strain is not
a sign of productive training, and it can be recognized
immediately. Muscle strain is characterized by a larger amount of
immediate structural damage to your muscle tissue. This is
not caused by productive and intense training, but rather by
overdoing it.
Types of
Overtraining
Short-Term
Overtraining
Progress is very easy to recognize. However, progress may become
stagnant if workouts are not mixed up to shock the body into new
growth. At some points, a plateau may be seen. If at this point,
the bodybuilder continues to train intensely with the same routine,
overtraining may occur. After the plateau is met, you may
experience fatique in your workouts, or worse yet, a reduction in
gains of both strength and muscle. At this point, it is important
for your workout program to taper and allow for full recovery.
If you continue to train without full recovery, the muscle fibers
that you recruit during a workout become prematurely fatigued. The
physiological response from your body is to call in new motor units
for you to continue your workout. This will cause you to have
elevated heart action, heavier breathing, and very noticeably -
higher levels of lactic acid buildup. All, very uncomfortable and
counter productive situations you can create for yourself.
Recruiting these additional muscle fibers will not help your
bodybuilding gains, as they are not normally used for the range of
motion in your exercise. This will only hinder your results.
Long-Term
Overtraining
Long-term overtraining is different from short-term overtraining
and degrades your body even more (for a longer period or time and
with additional side effects). Unlike short-term overtraining, it
will not be possible to work through long-term overtraining with
minimal negative effects. Long-term overtraining will
require rest and recuperation in order to continue on with your
normal bodybuilding progress.
Signs of long-term overtraining are fairly easy to recognize.
Expect to see a higher resting heart rate, loss of strength and
muscular endurance, greater feelings of emotion and irritability,
abnormal sleep patterns, loss of appetite, and a drop in
bodyweight.
Observe the table below for signs and symptons of both types of
overtraining and possible solutions:
Types of Overtraining and Solutions
| SYMPTOM OF OVERTRAINING |
SOLUTION |
| Muscle strain. |
Massage, muscle rub between sets. |
Short-Term Overtraining:
- Fluid loss.
- Depleted glycogen stores.
- Negative nitrogen balance.
- Loss of energy.
- Fatigue during the set.
|
|
Long-Term Overtraining:
- Increasing protein utilization.
- Dealing with chronic workout stresses.
|
|
| Recovery:
Difficulty sleeping.
|
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Take care,
webmaster@bodybuildingpro.com
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