Signs of Overtraining - High Intensity Training Bites Back

Holy water won't save you from this monster's clutches. Nor garlic, nor crucifix, nor a wooden stake hammered deep into its blackened, infernal heart.

And don't think you can outrun this fiend, either...for as sure as night follows day, this devil will surely catch up with you and drag you screaming into the shadows.

So what is it? Which bodybuilding beast lies in wait for you, ready to hungrily pounce?

For our answer, we must turn to science.


Photo courtesy of Tucia

Am I Overtraining?

A study carried out at Nautilus North in Bracebridge, Ontario was to throw light onto this particular monster.

Earlier research at the Nautilus Strength & Fitness Centre had already showed how one high intensity set per exercise is all that is required for producing muscle growth. Yet the question now being raised by researchers John Little and his brother-in-law Cary Howe, was: "How often should a high intensity training stimulus be applied for optimal results?"

Until this time, the answer to this question had been vague, primarily because virtually no studies had been conducted to unravel its mystery.

In the summer months of 2005 all of that was about to change.

High Intensity Training Tested

So what did they find?

In an attempt to discover the ideal optimal training frequency, Little and Howe recruited eleven advanced trainees to take part in a two-week experiment.

Participants first performed a full-body composition test, then were introduced to a high intensity training stress, after which they did not train again during the 14-day test period. To follow any progress, body composition was tested daily to monitor any changes to lean body mass.

The results were astounding and would take everybody by surprise.

Signs of Overtraining Results

Here is what they concluded:

Following a high intensity training stress, the test subjects would take an average 7 days before exhibiting any muscle growth. Not 24 hours, nor even 48 hours, but 168 hours.

And the biggest surprise?

In some cases, this figure climbed to as high as 11 days. That equates to 264 hours to build an average one pound of muscle!

The implications of this are massive. Why? To resume training before the completion of the muscle growth process will prevent the optimum production of lean body mass.

Here is why it is almost always a mistake to follow a 3-times-per-week training protocol, as exercising in this manner not only short-circuits the muscle growth process, but quickly leads to overtraining. This explains how 99% of trainees are frustrated at their gains, and why so few reach their muscle building potential.

In Summary

How can high intensity training become a deadly killer?

Discover the danger signs of overtraining and put the bite on this bodybuilding beast.

Signs of Overtraining to Symptoms of Overtraining

Signs of Overtraining to Muscle Building