Is There Such Thing As Overworking/Overtraining?

[Perfect Plex]

I know it happens in Boxing. But is it possible in the cardio & weight lifting departments? Do we really need to have ''Days Off'?

Pro Wrestler Ultimate Warrior says overtraining is a myth and he trains every day. And I once spoke to a pretty good bodybuilder and he also said train every day, it will do you know harm and all that overtraining & overwroking is just crap.

Thoughts>?

[Foolish.Dead]

I think it's definitely possible to overwork with cardio and weight lifting, if you burn yourself out too much you won't have the energy to get a good enough work out the next day and you won't have time for your muscles to grow and recover when weight lifting.

[Klemman]

I know it happens in Boxing. But is it possible in the cardio & weight lifting departments? Do we really need to have ''Days Off'?

Pro Wrestler Ultimate Warrior says overtraining is a myth and he trains every day. And I once spoke to a pretty good bodybuilder and he also said train every day, it will do you know harm and all that overtraining & overwroking is just crap.

Thoughts>?

With steroids and other PEDs you can train hard and recover without having days off. For anyone else, you need them. Now an off day can involve light training or some other activity. This is called active rest. A world famous trainer told me, "You can build rest into your program, or your body will do it for you (as in an injury)"

[F l i c k e r]

Yes. You don't build muscle, if you don't give the muscle time to rebuild first. Doesn't matter how many consecutive days you do it.

14 days straight no rest = same results as 1 day on, 1 day off.


Just the way the body works.

[Perfect Plex]

Yes. You don't build muscle, if you don't give the muscle time to rebuild first. Doesn't matter how many consecutive days you do it.

14 days straight no rest = same results as 1 day on, 1 day off.

Just the way the body works.

Nah man. You would see some good improvements if you were taking a pre & post protien shake and training. You would defo see some results imo.

[Young Money]

First and foremost you should listen to your body, especially when it is telling you it needs a rest.

People are going to tell you that you aren't going to build muscle if you train everyday. A boxer's goal is not to build muscle so that point is moot.


From the fitness black book:

Functional Training is the Opposite of Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding is more about blitzing a muscle with high volume and training that muscle infrequently. Functional training is the opposite…frequently training the muscle without blitzing and damaging the muscle with an excessive amount of volume.

Train the Muscle Frequently to Get Stronger

Certainly bodybuilders get stronger, but they do so while adding mass. The problem with adding mass when you get stronger is that it doesn't make as big of an impact on athleticism. To get stronger without adding mass, the volume of sets and reps need to be kept low, but the tension needs to be high. As long as the muscles aren't damaged, they can be trained many times each week.


Most athletes don't have any choice but to work their entire body daily. Take that picture of the the boxers up above. When they are 1-2 months away from the fight, they are sparring daily. All of the muscles in their bodies are getting worked on a frequent basis. Same thing with soccer players, basketball players, gymnasts, etc. They are all working their entire body many times per week.

[Klemman]

I tend to post in generalities on this board. How much rest you need is a function of what type of shape you're in, what is the purpose of your training, and if it is for a fight or tournament, how far out are you from the targeted event.

For general training purposes, it is unlikely that you are going 100% intensity all the time, so how much rest you need depends on how much you are beating up your body, and how often you train.

Also, what type of boxing training are you doing? Shadow boxing, bag work, mit/pad work, or actual sparring. Are you doing resistance work (body weight for reps, weights for reps, or weights for strength?). What is your cardio... biking, swimming, running (roadwork or treadmill?), skipping rope, etc... How long and how hard?

As you can see, there are a lot of variables.

[barfly12]

Overtraining is REAL

You are simply breaking down tissue faster than your body can replace it. Dempsey said before the Willard fight he was overtrained, so his manager, Doc Kearns put him on a one week on, one week off routine, till the fight got closer. The only people who perhaps cannot overtrain are those on steroids, but for the rest of us, signs of overtraining incude: inability to get a pump, a loss of strength or the loss of desire to train, your muscles loose their round, full look and look stringy, you get irritablle or emotional, insomnia, and rapid pulse. One of the best ways to avoid overtraining is to train three weeks on, and take one week off, then resume training for three weeks, etc. On the week off, eliminiate supplements also, so your body stays sensitive to them.

[THE REED]

Absolutely, the body increases muscle by working out the muscle... tearing it, and then repairing the tears stronger than they were before.

If you do not allow for rest and recovery, the tears never get a chance to heal, and recover stronger than before.