Am I overtraining - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

10-09-2003, 10:37 PM

Hi, everyone. I want to know if I'm overtraining. I'm 18 years old, 5'11", 215 lbs.

I've been weight training for a little over 2 years now. For the past month and a half I've started college and have finally gotten the time to really concentrate on getting into even better shape.

I work out about 5-6 days a week, alternating different sections of the body. I weight train for about 45mins and than run for about 15-20mins.

My big question is am I overtraining. I consume about 12x my body weight in calories, maybe a little more. I eat a balanced diet, with very little "cheat foods". I need to know if I'm overtraining and working against myself. My main goal is to get extremely ripped.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear em, thanx

roguewarrior131 · 10-10-2003, 05:10 PM

I agree with the other reply. You definitely need to be doing cardio BEFORE you weight train. Running for about 10 before you lift is a good policy. On the overtraining, 5 days a week should be plenty. Anything above that and your in danger of overtraining. What you really want to focus on is your intensity in the time that you go to the gym. As long as you give each muscle group atleast a full day to recover you should be fine.

Naxis · 10-10-2003, 10:39 PM

I disagree. Most often, cardio is done post workout (if it must be done in the same session as weight lifting - in which case I do agree that if possible, cardio is more efficient on a different day or a different time of day). If you burn all your carbs/blood sugar on cardio, your lifting is going to suffer. You will not have the energy to hit the intensity that you ought to be aiming for if muscle gain is important. 5 minutes of "cardio" before hand is just a warmup and that perfectly fine and in fact, quite important.

After lifting, 20-30 minutes of moderate to high intensity cardio (HIIT is perfect here, if it's not leg day) or 30-45 minutes of low intensity will target fat loss and have a little sports drink with some carbs and protein, reducing cortisol release before cardio and it will help prevent muscle loss. Then go for the post workout shake of carbs/protein on your way out of the gym or as soon as you get home. But again, if you can manage the time, try to do cardio apart from your resistance training. It will allow you to do more cardio with less risk to muscle allowing you to get ripped and keep size. Just my $0.02

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Keep your body lean, your blood clean and your mind sharp. -Rollins

Chasedog · 10-11-2003, 04:22 AM

In general, I'd recommend cardio on non lifting days or cardio in the morning and lifting in the evening. But, if you want to do both in one session, go for it. That said, cardio is better after lifting. First, you save your energy for lifting. Second, lifting helps release stored fat and the cardio can help burn it off. Just keep your total session time to an hour and make sure to rest the targeted muscles groups for 48 hours or more.