YAET: Overtraining

[Vic]

Originally posted by: edro
Weight lifting...Weight lifting...Weight lifting...

The bike routine sounds good though.

Don't worry about overtraining. Overtraining is something lazy people use as an excuse not to workout.

There is mental overtraining, where you get burned out by working out so much. Just watch out for that.

This is not true. There is such a thing as physical overtraining. Body development takes place during the rest periods in between trainings. Not resting long enough and not getting enough sleep can lead to overtraining. It's a real and serious problem. Light cardio usually won't cause it though, which is why is bike routine is fine. Weightlifting OTOH can lead to serious overtraining if you don't provide specific muscle groups at least 36-48 hours of rest in-between workouts.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: edro
Weight lifting...Weight lifting...Weight lifting...

The bike routine sounds good though.

Don't worry about overtraining. Overtraining is something lazy people use as an excuse not to workout.

There is mental overtraining, where you get burned out by working out so much. Just watch out for that.

This is not true. There is such a thing as physical overtraining. Body development takes place during the rest periods in between trainings. Not resting long enough and not getting enough sleep can lead to overtraining. It's a real and serious problem. Light cardio usually won't cause it though, which is why is bike routine is fine. Weightlifting OTOH can lead to serious overtraining if you don't provide specific muscle groups at least 36-48 hours of rest in-between workouts.

Overtraining usually manifests itself in nagging injuries like tendonitis and stress fractures. Your muscles are your primary shock absorbers for your body. They absorb a lot of the force that is generated when you impact from things like running, jumping, pushing off, ect. When they fatigue they no longer can absorb that shock and a lot more of it is transferred to bones and connective tissues.

But this is normally not something that a casual exerciser will encounter. It's usually for more "dedicated" athletes that are pushing themselves too hard. Not to say it can't happen, but it's certainly a bigger concern for athletes training for a season/event.

 

[fongo888]

Originally posted by: BigPoppa
Ok, so a little about me first:

22 years old, male, 5'10" 310lb. I carry the weight well, but I'm still what everyone would consider obese. The last time I got truly regular exercise would be Sophmore year of highschool when I played football.

My first step towards losing weight was changing my eating habits, and I've pretty much got my eating to where it should be. Pretty much no beef or pork. Meat in the form of chicken, turkey, and tuna. Eggs (if boiled, I'll only eat ~1/2 the yolks, don't really like em in the first place). Better carb intake through whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice (God I love Alton Brown). Leafy greens, broccoli, etc. I try to eat smaller meals more often, its difficult with my school + work schedule, but I make it happen.

Ok, so the past few days I've been doing 30 mins straight of stationary bike at 65% of my max heart rate for my age (65% is 130bpm). Everything i've read says this is a great area to be in to burn fat. I'm not winded at all while doing this and always feel great (absolutely no pain, legs might get a little sore an hour or so later, and I mean little) when I'm done.

Is it OK to do this everyday? I'm really not overexerting myself by any means so far, just wanna be safe for the long run.

Your stats almost sound exactly like mine before I lost 35 lbs. I was 295 and I dropped to 260 in a little over 3 months. (after I joined a Frat)Pretty much you want to run or do cardio at a comfortable pace, push yourself for about a minute, go to normal pace and repeat. My fitness trainer says I actually need to do less Lifting and focus more on cardio. So this semester i'm planning to do roughly 45 min of Cardrio at least 3 days a week, a hip hop dance class and a tennis class.

If you keep active you don't have to go extreme on your diet imo. but if you want to get super results try the Body for Life Program, I think you may like that.

 

[mrkun]

http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/leaneating_2.htm