Legitimate overtraining? Intermediate frustrations...

[Soda]

I think I might actually be overtraining. Well, call it under-recovering if you prefer, but it's all the same, I think... I know some don't believe in that term.

Don't worry, this is not a "meltdown" thread, I'm just venting a bit.

My sleep hasn't been great lately and I'm not sure why. I seem to wake up after 5-6 hrs. and I don't really fall back asleep after that. I just toss and turn.

Today I was supposed to do 325 for 3x5 but I was toast. I did 4, then 3, and while resting I decided to do a chin-up to stretch my arms. I held it with the chin at the bar but then started to feel extremely light-headed, as if I was about to faint. (I've fainted a couple of times in my life so I know that odd feeling.) I just canned the workout after that. Would rather live to lift another day, then pass out with 300 lb. or so on my back.

Apparently I'm going to have to cut way back in order to recover. Anyone else dealt with something like this?

Intermediate programming has been very frustrating. It seems like the same pattern keeps repeating...I make some progress, but then I always seem to crash and burn in some fashion. Then start over.

[Cody]

I think I might actually be overtraining. Well, call it under-recovering if you prefer, but it's all the same, I think... I know some don't believe in that term.

Don't worry, this is not a "meltdown" thread, I'm just venting a bit.

My sleep hasn't been great lately and I'm not sure why. I seem to wake up after 5-6 hrs. and I don't really fall back asleep after that. I just toss and turn.

Today I was supposed to do 325 for 3x5 but I was toast. I did 4, then 3, and while resting I decided to do a chin-up to stretch my arms. I held it with the chin at the bar but then started to feel extremely light-headed, as if I was about to faint. (I've fainted a couple of times in my life so I know that odd feeling.) I just canned the workout after that. Would rather live to lift another day, then pass out with 300 lb. or so on my back.

Apparently I'm going to have to cut way back in order to recover. Anyone else dealt with something like this?

Intermediate programming has been very frustrating. It seems like the same pattern keeps repeating...I make some progress, but then I always seem to crash and burn in some fashion. Then start over.

There's a dozen ways to address this. Try a 1 week deload, then pick right back up where you were (I prefer this to a reset). Change to bi-weekly increases. Cycle your rep ranges.

[Soda]

What percentage would you deload by?

[perman]

Overtraining is a prolonged state of regression that won't disappear merely by backing off a little, you can't say you're overtrained based on 1 session. You may be overreached (yeah, those are distinct terms) from underrecovering lately, which means you won't get any immediate gains, but overtraining is fundamentally different state which to my understanding is more profound and long lasting.

As for sleep, I'm similar. So long as you're waking up on your own and you're not tired all the time, I wouldn't worry too much about it. It's different if you're getting up long before you naturally wake up, you can control that, not as easy to sleep longer when you naturally wake up. Some people do need less sleep too.

Caffeine is very often the culprit in sleep issues I believe, so if you train late and use caffeine, maybe cut back on that.

[Cody]

What percentage would you deload by?

20-30%, maybe skip a training session that week, maybe cut your sets down. Really depends on your programming and individual capacity to recover.

[Soda]

Well I have been feeling very tired/drained/low energy lately. Less than my usual self.

[manis5]

This seems to happen every once in a while. I usually just train through it but put an extra emphasis on food and sleep (especially on the weekend where I can just completely focus on recovery). Taking 3-5mg of melatonin before bed seems to help with any sleep issues but it does leave me a little groggy so I only take it when I don't have to train early the next day. I also focus on hydration and make sure to get at least a gallon of water in and maybe sip on some bcaa infused pedialyte throughout the day. But really, sleep is the biggest thing. Get 2 really solid nights of sleep in a row and I have a feeling you will feel good to go again without the need for any kind of major deload protocol.

[Tiburon]

Eating enough? enough carbs?

[Mugaaz]

Don't skip anything, add 1 extra day of rest between sessions until it passes, go back to normal.

[MBasic]

add 1 extra day of rest between sessions until it passes, go back to normal.

I did this ^ . . . it worked