Overtraining again. Anyone have a solution?

[ascendant]

Well, here's my deal... just started getting back into working out the past few months after a layoff of about 2 years. spent the first couple months cutting up, and the past month just started bulking again.

well, since i've started bulking, i've managed to overtrain 3 or 4 times already. thing is, my muscles don't really get that sore from my workouts, so it doesn't seem like it's the muscles that can't keep up. i've put on 20lbs, most of which has been lean mass (yes, i'm a very fast gainer) since i've been bulking, so things are definitely headed in the right direction, but half the time my workouts are literally all i have energy for during the week.

my overtraining symptoms are basically the insomnia (which has always been a clear indication i've overtrained), and just really run down the next day or two. saying as i'm not getting excessively sore from my workouts but i'm definitely overpushing it, where could the problem be and is there anything i can do to help it catch up to where my muscles are at?

i'm assuming since i've put on so much muscle mass so quickly, some other part of my bodies system is having a hard time keeping up. i think i might just be overloading my cns between adding so much weight in such little time and slamming it with all the intensity in the gym. if anyone knows though what the problem most likely is and if there's anything i can do to help it catch up to my muscular development (supplements, vits, etc), i'd appreciate it. thanks.

[1buffsob]

Without seeing your workout, it's hard to know if you're overtraining. As for the insomnia and lethargic feeling, I always get that when bulking. Like you said, that quick of a weight gain will put stress on the other systems in your body.

Only my traps get sore anymore, probably because they're the one body part that is lagging. I don't feel soreness can be used as an indicator for growth or overtraining.

Post you workout bro.

1buffsob

[crash187ct]

maybe not soreness, but extreme soreness for longated periods of time most definitely can be translated as a sign of overtraining. but with what 1buttsob said, its hard to tell if you are or not, because really you haven't told us anything besides "i can't sleep".

[ascendant]

alright guys, here's my workout schedule right now:

mon - back (12 sets), calves (10 sets)
tues - biceps (10), triceps (10)

thurs - chest (12), shoulders (12)
fri - legs (14)

not sure what good that will do, as i know my workout schedule would not seem to indicate that i'm overtraining. i don't do high volume, just very high intensity. i am also on my feet for work a lot, so i don't get much of a break. also, you have to take into account here that i have only been working out again for about 3 months, out of which only the past month has been focused on bulking up.

saying as it seemed as if you guys wanted more of an explanation, the insomnia i get when i overtrain is basically, i'll be tired as usual at night, but when i lay down to go to sleep, as soon as i'll start to fall asleep, my body will usually, for lack of a better explanation, twitch or jump a bit, and suddenly i'm wide awake and my heart rate increases. then for the rest of the night, though my body will be exhausted, mentally i'll feel wide awake and anxious and won't be able to get to sleep. of course the next day though, all i want to do is sleep and i'll have no energy to do anything. i'll also just feel really "blah" for the next day or two as well.

that's just always been my gauge of what i've used to tell i've overtrained. i'm thinking of maybe cutting all my bodyparts exercises back just a set or so and easing the intensity off just a bit.

[1buffsob]

maybe not soreness, but extreme soreness for longated periods of time most definitely can be translated as a sign of overtraining. but with what 1buttsob said, its hard to tell if you are or not, because really you haven't told us anything besides "i can't sleep".

You want to tell me what that's about? haha

[1buffsob]

alright guys, here's my workout schedule right now:

mon - back (12 sets), calves (10 sets)
tues - biceps (10), triceps (10)

thurs - chest (12), shoulders (12)
fri - legs (14)

not sure what good that will do, as i know my workout schedule would not seem to indicate that i'm overtraining. i don't do high volume, just very high intensity. i am also on my feet for work a lot, so i don't get much of a break. also, you have to take into account here that i have only been working out again for about 3 months, out of which only the past month has been focused on bulking up.

saying as it seemed as if you guys wanted more of an explanation, the insomnia i get when i overtrain is basically, i'll be tired as usual at night, but when i lay down to go to sleep, as soon as i'll start to fall asleep, my body will usually, for lack of a better explanation, twitch or jump a bit, and suddenly i'm wide awake and my heart rate increases. then for the rest of the night, though my body will be exhausted, mentally i'll feel wide awake and anxious and won't be able to get to sleep. of course the next day though, all i want to do is sleep and i'll have no energy to do anything. i'll also just feel really "blah" for the next day or two as well.

that's just always been my gauge of what i've used to tell i've overtrained. i'm thinking of maybe cutting all my bodyparts exercises back just a set or so and easing the intensity off just a bit.

It has to be the fact that you're just getting back into the rythm of training. I do more sets than that, and I consider it 'low volume' haha. But cut it down just a bit and see if that helps. You may have jumped into things too quickly.

1buffsob

[-DedicateD-]

the only comment i can make is training biceps after back ...i like to BLAST my arms by giving them their own day, but i could never get in a great workout after working the major muscle group the day before.

[RJstrong]

how is your diet... in particular protein consumption? when I am in contest training mode (powerlifting) I basically double my normal protein intake to help recovery from high intensity training... on the other hand if diet is looking good maybe try to take an extra day off or maybe take a week off and then get right back to work... you also may want to alternate high intensity training with some more moderate workouts until you are feeling better... good luck!

[1buffsob]

I've seen ascendant's diet, it's not that.

1buffsob

[Kale]

Are you taking supplemets of any kind ? You could just be run down.

[ascendant]

Are you taking supplemets of any kind ? You could just be run down.

not really taking any supplements, just the usual kind of stuff like a decent multi, flax oils, zinc/magnesium before bed, whey proteins, etc. as far as my diet, it's definitely in check. i've worked on it a lot, but my calories are over 4000 and my protein is over 300g.

all day today all i've wanted to do was sleep, so i'll definitely be taking the next few days off from working out. once i come back, i'm just gonna do the first week with less sets than i had been doing and focus on increasing the intensity before upping the sets. i guess i was so used to the really intense workouts back in the day that i'm just too anxious to get back to where i was, and i should know enough that it's going to take months, not A month, to get there.

even back in the day when i had worked out for years, i used to overtrain like once a month or so. i have a very high pain threshold, so i just really push myself and by the time i realize it's been too much, it's too late. staying on the fine border of hardcore intensity and overtraining gets you great gains, but it puts a pretty heavy toll on your body.

thanks for all the help guys. hopefully i'll be feeling better soon and can get back to the gym. in the meantime, guess there's not much i can do but just rest and recuperate.

[ascendant]

you know, another thing i just realized that i think might be wearing me down is my allergies. i just moved here to FL last august, and for the past month, we've had absolutely no rain and the pollen count is ridiculous cause of it (no rain means nothing to flush the pollen out of the air).

i've had problems with allergies for a long time, and am starting to look into ways to cure them. seems like for some, these cleanses tend to do the trick. also, apple cider vinegar seems to work well also, but is not a cure, just a treatment to alleviate the histamine response.

i'm placing my bets that my cns is overloaded right now not so much from the training i've been doing, but from these damn allergies on top of everything else i'm doing. well, i'll be picking up some apple cider vinegar tomorrow and going to look into those cleanses and try to get over my allergies rather than doing the traditional "western" way, which is take meds for life. after all, antihistamine meds never helped me anyway, so might as well try these other methods people are swearing by.

can't believe i didn't relate this to my current overtraining problems until now. between work, my intense workouts, and the stress of how bad my allergies have been, it's no wonder i keep overtaxing my body. well, guess we'll see what happens tomorrow when i get that cider.