"There is no such thing as overtraining"

[PDC]

Ok, so here's the deal: I made the jump from strength training/powerlifting to martial arts. As a result, I'm now a complete psychopath who takes boxing, kickboxing, jiu jitsu and does strength training all in the same day. In order to compensate, I took today off mind you and have been working on front squats instead of back squats(less overall stress on my body) and haven't deadlifted heavy in about a week..so I haven't completely lost it.

So, here's my question...after reading Repeat After Me: There Is No Such Thing as Overtraining | Breaking Muscle my perspective on things has changed quite dramatically. I have started eating a lot more(especially carbs and protein) and have taken it upon myself to do anything and everything I can until I've narrowed down the things I need the most to improve my MMA, BJJ and boxing. After that I can maybe cut down my diet again, as it stands I'm still eating whatever I want and losing weight.

HOW DO I MAXIMIZE MY RECOVERY?! The way I see it is, the more I can recover the more I can train and the more I train the more I find what works, can throw away what doesn't and improve the quality of my training and my results.

The ideas in this article are: Sleeping 8 hrs a night in a super dark room, doing light workouts(30-60 minute walks or very light cardio) to keep the blood flowing, deadlifts with 30% of your max for sets of 20, planks, foam rolling, massage, etc. These all make sense obviously, and I'm willing to do everything I can to get my training right and allow me to front squat 300lbs, clean 225(power, baby) all while learning the way of the ninja. Although there are a lot of people who disagree with lifting weights for martial arts, there are plenty of high level athletes that do it and quite frankly even if there is a better way to develop power I may need more strength and other stuff before I can actually do what they are doing - which means I may have nothing but the weights anyway at least for a while until I can do ring dips and jump around with 185 on my back or w/e crazy crossfit gymnastics people are somehow supposed to be able to do without the strength to bench more than their body weight or squat 300lbs.

[Frankie]

What was the question?

Assuming sleep and diet aren't a problem my experience is that 'over training' is usually a psychological issue. Make sure you are still having fun and it's not a grinder every time and it will increase your longevity is my advice. Whatever it takes to do that, I dunno: watch porn on your phone, lift drunk, sing songs, read in between sets, mix in some odd lifts. I wouldn't waste mental energy or time on stretching, foam rolling, 60 minute walks.

[PDC]

What was the question?

Assuming sleep and diet aren't a problem my experience is that 'over training' is usually a psychological issue. Make sure you are still having fun and it's not a grinder every time and it will increase your longevity is my advice. Whatever it takes to do that, I dunno: watch porn on your phone, lift drunk, sing songs, read in between sets, mix in some odd lifts. I wouldn't waste mental energy or time on stretching, foam rolling, 60 minute walks.

The question was "how do I maximize my recovery?" Thanks though

[Frankie]

The question was "how do I maximize my recovery?" Thanks though

Like I said, beyond the obvious I think it becomes a psychological issue. You do something because you love it, it's not a torture you need to 'recover' from like some kinda victim. That's my thesis.

[Sean Herbison]

deadlifts with 30% of your max for sets of 20.... These all make sense obviously

How are high-rep deadlifts in the same category as sleeping, foam rolling, and massage?

[Meshuggah]

Overtraining is a real thing, but the people that think they are overtrained rarely work hard enough to reach that point.

[manveer]

Overtraining is a real thing, but the people that think they are overtrained rarely work hard enough to reach that point.

This seems to be the opinion of most really strong people.

Sleep is the biggest factor for me. Get that in order first if you haven't already, PDC.

[MattBraunstein]

I find it hard to believe that there is no such thing as overtraining. I'm sure the mental side can play into it a lot, and make some people think they are overtraining. But isn't this the primary reason for steroids at the elite level. Your body just cannot keep up with all the demands of workouts and practices everyday. I highly doubt these people are having issue with the mental side.

Do you really think that if you start to get sick, that it is all in your head? I doubt that. Everybody has a different capacity for recovery. There are a lot of factors that play into it that are completely out of your control. Sure sleeping and eating more helps, but sometimes your body is just incapable of fully recovering when you place all these demands on it.

[Cullen Baldwin]

I find it hard to believe that there is no such thing as overtraining. I'm sure the mental side can play into it a lot, and make some people think they are overtraining. But isn't this the primary reason for steroids at the elite level. Your body just cannot keep up with all the demands of workouts and practices everyday. I highly doubt these people are having issue with the mental side.

Do you really think that if you start to get sick, that it is all in your head? I doubt that. Everybody has a different capacity for recovery. There are a lot of factors that play into it that are completely out of your control. Sure sleeping and eating more helps, but sometimes your body is just incapable of fully recovering when you place all these demands on it.

Mike Israetel did a short video on it - sounds like there's definitely a such a thing as overtraining (not just under recovery), his example being if you do four two hour workouts a day every day, no matter how perfect your meals are, how perfect your supplementation is, how much sleep you're getting, etc. you'll eventually break down.

[Satch12879]

While gains occur in bed, rhabdomyolysis definitely occurs in the gym.