A terrible temptation to overtrain....

[tbennett]

Does anyone else have this problem? ;-)

I'm DTP, pretty close to moving to TM on squats and bench, though still microloading on press and cleans, and deadlifts are their own weird critter. I also do chins every other workout, and microloading that weight as well with linear progress.

Suffice to say, that's a good workout by almost anyone's standards. I'm 41, 6'0 and 205, and a ton stronger than I've ever been in my life (though I did squat about 30 pounds more in the summer, but I got pneumonia and it took me a helluva long time to bounce back from that, and my squat weight is still not fully recovered).

But every time I hit the gym, I have the *terrible* urge to do more :-P Rip posted his vid on tricep extensions, and I wanted to do that 1-2x a week. Deads stalling? Throw in some Romanians! And why not, let's make it 6x3 for this set of cleans!

Rationally, I realize that overtraining is just as big an issue as undertraining, the program is the way it is for a reason, etc. But is it just me, or do other folks hate leaving the gym after doing the 3 and maybe 4 exercises for the day? You hit that zone where you're tired and sweaty, but it's so damned exhilarating you just want to do something else and keep it going....

(and no, it's not because my job or home life suck so bad I wish to avoid them!)

[FatButWeak]

I understand your urge. Nothing breeds success like success!

However, you are not there to exercise, feel the burn or exhaust yourself. We train. Intelligently. Do you work, then leave to go home and grow. At 41 (my age, as well, by the way) we need to maximize our rest and recuperation. Hence you pneumonia, perhaps.

[tbennett]

LOL - no, the pneumonia was due to exposure to germ-riddled children with the same bugs :-P Not to mention, the urge has been stronger lately - perhaps due to greed/impatience at wanting to get back to my earlier pre-pneumonia levels ASAP.

I find it's a funny thing to manage, it's quite different from the usual urge to do just whatever needs be done and then move on. I suppose an analogy might be alcohol -a few drinks is a good buzz, so a LOT of drinks must be better! (um, no.)

And I suppose this is a time-limited thing - when you're squatting 300 pounds for 3x5, you may have some gas left in the tank - if you're doing TM and 5x5 of 400, one probably doesn't have much energy for anything else after that...

[FKYT]

I understand the temptation, especially when I first started training. While doing SS, I'd throw in a little here and there -- some back-off sets at first, then some extra grip-specific training, then some weighted sit-ups and back extensions to "assist" my squats and deadlifts, then an all-out set of leg presses on Fridays to "finish myself off". Eventually you get burned by this, then you shed everything and get back to the bare-bones program.

I'm less tempted to do this nowadays, when my PR attempts feel really heavy. I can do just 3-4 exercises and feel satisfied that I got a great workout in.

Basically, as you make more progress and experience some of this first-hand, it becomes less tempting.