
Originally Posted by
Atomini
I agree, although I do think it is possible for someone to overtrain so utterly excessively that they would experience symptoms of overtraining that are so severe that they would be destructive to the quality of life.
The fact that the OP mentioned he would train so hard that he would puke and faint many times in the gym (keywords: many times) is a strong indication that that was probably not the ONLY indicator of overtraining he was engaging in at the time. Sounds to me like he was really going overboard to the extreme. I've puked in the gym before, but I can remember all of about 3 or 4 times. I've never fainted but i've come pretty close (seeing colors and feeling very light headed) but these were once again only a handful of moments that I can remember. The OP sounds like this was a regular basis effect of his unprecedented overtraining behavior.
It is also possible this individual may be more sensitive to the risks of overtraining than most other individuals, either perhaps because of his genetic and individual predisposition, or because he may have some underlying health condition that would worsen the condition of overtraining.
The fact is, overtraining is a highly ignored and overlooked factor of weight training. Most of the time people don't even notice or know they're over training. Other times it can suddenly hit you like a brick wall when you notice one day something is wrong with your nervous system, you are lethargic all the time no matter how much sleep you get, weights feel heavier and heavier in the gym, sexual function is totally shot, you've got immense brain fog and can't think, you fall into a depression, etc. It happens all the time to people who don't know what they're doing in the gym.
Fact of the matter is that most people train hard enough in the gym. Their problem is they do too much volume and train too frequently - so much so that the amount of damage occurring to the muscles is occuring at a far greater rate than the body can repair it (let alone grow new muscle on top of it). Combine that with shitty rest and poor nutritional habits, and you're going to fail at your physique aspirations and destroy your body while you're at it. The fact of the matter is that the body requires far less volume and frequency than most of us have been led to believe in the past.
Oh, and lets not forget damage to the CNS (Central Nervous System). NOBODY EVER CONSIDERS THIS. Everyone always thinks muscles, muscles, muscles! Nobody thinks "what about the amount of stress i'm placing on my nervous system? What about the massive amount of neurotoxicity i'm creating with these immense and painful lifts and sets?". Do you realize how heavily your neurons are firing and releasing LIMITED stores of neurotransmitters when you're engaging in those very intense and painful sets? The amount of strain you're placing on your nerve cells? And the immense amount of neurotransmitter activity in the synapses?The nervous system DOES NOT heal anywhere near as quickly or as efficiently as muscle tissue does. This is why you end up with symptoms like headaches, depression, impaired sexual function, brain fog, etc. when overtraining really begins to take a toll.
Working out and bodybuilding is not just about the muscles. It's also about the nervous system, and NOBODY ever thinks of their CNS recovery. It's allllways about the muscles...