Overtraining?

[thepostman]

I have been doing a 5 day a week routine, with cardio, and i am feeling really overtrained. If i move to a 3 day split and do cardio on off and non-leg days, i should start to see improvement again, correct?

I am really going to rest up this weekend for strength testing (for FB) on monday. Looking to get 370 at least 5 times on the ol' squat (1rm would be ~435). Also have a 185 bench rep test, which i am going to suck ass at. If not, it will be max bench. Lookin for 260.

Last year i got 280x5 (325) on squat and 11 on the 185 bench reps. Max bench was around 210.

 

[squat]

If you are really feeling overtrained,than it's time to back off a bit,take a week off from the gym to relax,then start over with a 3 day split,gradually uping the intensity,good luck!

 

[Frosty]

If you want to really improve those numbers, you could work on technique to get some immediate results (could possibly add 20-40 lbs on your bench immediately if your technique isn't good) and also do some lifts that will really help out.

Check out these articles by Louie Simmons:

http://www.elitefitnesssystems.com/elite-articles/louie-simmons/

He's not a very good writer, but he's knows his stuff. Read the articles on squatting. I don't know if he goes over bench technique, though.

Here's an article by Dave Tate on how to bench:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459808

I'm giving a Westside program a shot, so I'll let you know how it all goes. Lots of people say they can't recover on Westside, and I'm not very good at very high volume stuff, so I'll let you know how I respond.

 

[Frosty]

Oh, and if you're overtrained, try cutting the number of sets in half and use the same weights and see if that helps. Generally within a training program it's volume that causes overtraining, so simply cut back on the sets and that keeps the intensity up (which is important for training).

Get more sleep, drink more water, do relaxation techniques, etc.

 

[Lifter82]

Sleep is underrated, I think lack of sleep can affect your training in a big way

 

[Southernfish]

If I ever get run down or feel over trained, I take a week off, let my body and mind rest, theres nothing wrong with that, I feel its needed from time to time actually, keep your diet and protein intake up but maybe throw a few extra cheats in there and just relax, itll be a shock to your system and when you go back to training on a regular schedule you should be stronger and have more energy than before, I do at least when I do this, all the best to you, and your body will usually tell you when its had enough and its best to listen to it!