How to Maximize Muscle Gain
Avoid Over-training

You will find that over-training is a common mistake that athletes, and bodybuilders in particular, make because they have been led to believe the lie that the more they train the more, and bigger, muscle they will build.  The truth is that over-training won't help you maximize muscle gain, but can lead to muscle loss! That isn’t the only problem with over-training, as it can also lead to chronic fatigue and serious injury.

It Can Get Confusing…

It’s a given that you need to be consistent and train hard whether you’re an athlete, a bodybuilder, or just an average guy who wants to pack more muscle mass onto your frame. In order to maximize your results in the gym, it is important that you progressively overload your muscles by increasing either the weight and/or the intensity of each workout. It gets confusing when you consider the fact that training too frequently and/or at too high an intensity means you’re over-training and sabotaging your earnest efforts.

The trick is to find the correct balance for workout volume and intensity, and periods of rest and recovery. This article will help you to find this delicate balance, but first let’s take a look at some of the side effects of over-training and how you can prevent them.

Effects of Over-training on the Nervous System

Over-training affects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in ways that are listed  below:

• Resting heart rate is higher
• Less appetite
• Blood pressure is higher
• Weight loss in the form of muscle loss
• Sleep patterns are disturbed
• Metabolic rate is increased
• Irritability
• Early onset of fatigue

Are you experiencing one or more of the symptoms listed above? If the answer to that question is “yes,” you may be in a state of over-training and should make a serious evaluation of your training routine immediately.

Effects of Over-training on Hormones

Hormones play a very important role in the muscle building process. Research indicates that hormone levels are negatively affected by over-training. Not only are the levels of hormones affected, but the body’s hormone response is also negatively impacted.

Research shows that over-training can lead to:

• Decrease in testosterone levels
• Decrease in thyroxine levels
• Increase in cortisol levels

A decrease in testosterone levels in combination with an increase in cortisol levels is counterproductive to your goal because it causes protein tissue breakdown. This will eventually lead to a loss of muscle tissue, which is the last thing someone participating in a weight training program wants to have happen.

Effects of Over-training on the Immune System

Your immune system is your body’s first line of defense against unwanted viruses and harmful bacteria. One of the most alarming consequences of over-training is the negative effect it has on your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.

Over-training drastically reduces your levels of antibodies and lymphocytes which are primary components of your immune system. So, if you are in a state of over-training you are more likely to get sick. This will mean missed workouts and your progress will be slowed down even more. 

Effects of Over-training on the Metabolic System

Following is a list of ways in which over-training can negatively affect your metabolic system that can’t be ignored:

• Micro tears in muscles
• Depletion of glycogen levels
• Weak and slow muscle contractions
• Depletion of creatine phosphate stores
• Excessive lactic acid accumulation
• Extreme DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)
• Damage to tendons and connective tissue

You get the point by now… over-training affects the entire body, and can have a serious negative impact on your weight training goals.   

Next we will look at types of over-training and how to avoid them.

Which Is Worse – To Over-train With Cardio or Weight Training?

Over-training of any type is not good for you, period. However, from my experience, both personally and from observing bodybuilders in the gym, over-training in the area of weight training is worse and more prevalent.  Here are some of the reasons why: 

• It is impossible to build muscle unless you give your muscles time to recover fully from every single workout. If you work your muscles before they have recovered completely, you further break down muscle tissue before it has had to time to repair and rebuilt  itself.
   
• When you over-train with weights, you set yourself up to experience all the negative side effects previously listed, including issues with your nervous system, immune system and hormone levels. This puts you at serious risk for unwanted health problems.
  
  
• Beginners are often led down the wrong path believing they need unnecessary supplements, or even worse, steroids.

Athletes who compete in swimming, running and biking are about the only ones who might run a serious risk of cardiovascular over-training, since they usually train for a minimum of two or more hours each day.

My conclusion is that it is far easier, and the negative effects are more serious, to over-train while weight training than cardiovascular training.  

How To Know If You’re Over-training

It is simple to determine whether or not you’re currently over-training. Ask yourself these questions:

• Am I losing interest in my workouts?
• Do I have trouble sleeping?
• Do I feel weak?
• Am I irritable?

If the answer to one or more of the questionsabove is “yes,” it should raise a red flag. It might be time to take a week or more off from your training schedule.

Another variable that can be useful in determining if you are over-training is to track your workouts and your level of performance.  

Ask Yourself This Question: “Has my physical performance improved over my last workout?”

Your goal is to see progress during every workout. Let’s say, for example, that during your workout last week you performed 10 pull-ups using your body weight, however, this week you were only able to perform 8 of them. This is an indication that it’s time to re-evaluate your program and modify it so that you will see improvement with every workout.

How To Prevent Over-training

Now that you better understand the negative consequences of over-training, you need to look at three components of your program: 1) determine the best training volume and intensity; 2) determine the best foods to eat; and 3) get adequate rest and recovery time between workouts. Let’s take a look at each of these three factors in more detail.

Correct Training Volume and Intensity

You must determine how much weight to lift, plus the number of repetitions and sets to perform for your workouts. Sometimes this isn’t easy, especially for a beginner.

I recommend that a beginner get the advice of a professional to minimize the risk of injury and over-training. It may take some trial and error to determine the best volume and intensity of your workouts.

I recommend to guys who have more experience to use their own common sense and judgment (however, it wouldn’t hurt for them to get the advice of a professional). Take into consideration your recovery ability and recovery methods. Don’t forget that your goal is to see improvement with every workout. If you aren’t experiencing this, you need to decrease your intensity.

What do you do if you start your workout and discover that you haven’t fully recovered from your last one? You have the choice to either continue with your workout at a lower intensity, or to skip the workout.

Which is the right choice? If you continue to train at a lower intensity, you will break down your muscle tissue even further and increase your risk of injury. So, as hard as it might be to actually do it, the better choice is to stop and go home. It is extremely important that you listen to your body when it is screaming that it needs more rest!

The Best Foods to Eat

Your choice of food is a major component in your effort to avoid over-training, Foods that are rich in nutrients will help you regulate your hormone levels, provide energy, and give you the necessary building blocks you need in order to build new tissue.

Here are some dietary tips for improving the quality of your workouts:  

• Whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast.  If you skip breakfast, it puts you in a catabolic state which can lead to muscle loss.
• Don’t ever allow yourself to get hungry.  You must constantly feed your body nutritious foods if you want to build muscle mass. Failing to do so will put you in a catabolic state.
• Eat prior to your workout and never, under any circumstances, workout if you are hungry.
• Make it a habit that within an hour after every single workout to have your largest meal for that day.
• Consider adding proven supplements like creatine to increase performance and antioxidants that fight free radicals to your dietary regimen.
• Even if it’s hard to do, it is important to eat every 2 to 3 hours to ensure your body stays in an anabolic state.
• In order to inhibit muscle tissue breakdown, keep your glycogen level high.

Get Proper Rest and Recovery

Rest and recovery are critical if you want to avoid over-training.  As a rule of thumb, it is important to get a minimum of 7 hours sleep each night, and that you do it consistently. When considering recovery time, try to take one day off between your workouts. It is critical that you never work the same muscle group during consecutive workouts.

Conclusion

If you follow the tips presented in this article you will greatly minimize the possibility of experiencing any negative side effects that might result from over-training and actually maximize muscle gain.

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About the Author:

Gene Cook
http://www.GainMuscleSite.com

Gene specializes in helping people achieve their desired body physique without drugs and expensive supplements and is interested in helping people to maximize their effort to build muscle