Rapid Muscle Building - Overtraining ? Why Less Is More

When it comes to building quality mass, nothing could hurt your efforts more than over training. The recovery part of the muscle building equation is by far the most misunderstood. Muscle building will always be about two things primarily, breaking down muscle through overloading, and allowing enough time for the muscle to heal and rebuild itself. The reason the muscle will do this is in anticipation of future workloads. The muscle evolves because the body strives to become more efficient. Building larger stronger muscles increases efficiency, (i.e you can perform the same work with less effort) but this can ONLY take place when adequate rest is given to the muscle, coupled with high quality nutrition to support the training effect.

Almost 95% of individuals who regularly frequent the gyms are over training. You may have even seen many of them, guys who looked better 12 months ago. They had great physiques, large full muscles, but now appear withered away, gangly and sickly. Muscle loss is a clear indication of over training and restricting calories too much.

So how often should you train a muscle group?

There is no "one answer" to this question, because it all depends on the quality of the training, in particular the amount of overload, and this is a subjective matter that differs greatly from one individual to the next. However there is a good guideline. "The more you can overload the muscle, the greater the rest period needed." The human body is designed to work in bursts of energy followed by periods of recovery, just the same way as a mountain lion doesn't climb mountains all day, or a fish swim against the current constantly. Recovery is essential to muscle building, and the recovery period will change as the muscle grows stronger and is able to achieve greater degrees of intensity and more overload. When training large muscle groups more weight is used causing more microscopic muscle damage. As a result more rest is needed. Let's imaging you are using 150lbs on the bench press. You are completing four sets of 8-12 reps with a timed 90 second rest interval. If you are using correct form you will have created the desired micro trauma (muscle tearing) that catalyzes growth. Three days later you return to the gym and attempt to repeat the same chest workout. This time however you are struggling on the third set, and by the fourth set you cannot complete what you did three days ago. This is happening because your muscles have not yet recuperated from the damage of the first workout. But your ego tells you that you are being a wuss, so you push through adding more sets with slightly lighter weight, and the cycle of over training begins. So now you are lifting less weight with higher frequency and this has a direct impact on how your body will look. This type of training is called regressive overload. To build muscle the overload must be PROGRESSIVE. Take more time to rest that muscle. Come back stronger and increase the weight.

What is muscle overload?

This should not be confused with the amount of weight lifted. There are more ways than you can imagine to overload a muscle, one of which happens to be increasing the weight. Overload is the stress that is placed on a targeted muscle. For example, a person who bench presses 250lbs for 5 reps, may be able to achieve greater pectoral overload when bench pressing 180lbs for 12 reps, due to greater isolated stress placed on the pectoral muscle. Furthermore, that same individual may achieve even greater overload by performing 65lb dumbbell flyes for 10 reps due to an increase in the amount of rotational force (known as torque). This force can overload the pectoral muscle more effectively than any pressing movement which requires less torque. So overload can be achieved by

1. Increasing the amount of resistance

2. Increasing the amount of isolation

3. Choosing more effective exercises

4. Amplifying the intensity of an exercise

5. Shortening the rest interval

Three of my favorite techniques for increasing the intensity of an exercise are

1. Drop setting (after reaching failure with a weight, drop the weight by 20% and keep going, repeat this twice eg 50lb db flyes, 40lb db flyes, 30lb db flyes done in succession)

2. Giant setting (a type of super set that involves 3 different exercises for the same muscle group done in succession with no rest in between eg dips to bench press to incline db flyes. This type of training is extremely intense so use a spotter and rest 3-5 mins before repeating)

3. X-reps. X-reps are a type of set where you utilize different positions of flexion throughout the movement. You begin by performing regular reps until you reach failure. You then shorten the movement and perform bursts or pulses where the weight is moving 6-8 inches for 8-10 reps. Finally you hold a static contraction where the weight is held still about 6 inches from the starting point for 10 seconds. The lactic acid build up is intense but the results you can achieve are astounding from this type of training. Rest 3 mins between sets. If you have never done this kind of set use a spotter. You might be sore for a few days, but it will help jump start your results if your workouts have been stagnant for a while.

As your muscles heal, they will become larger. Larger muscles increase your resting metabolic rate, so you burn more fat sitting around at home. Your larger muscles are now stronger so you can increase the overload (progressive training). The increased overload creates more damage to your muscles. As a result you now need more rest. People who over train do the opposite. They interrupt the recovery process and therefore cannot overload the muscle, so they use lighter and lighter weights for higher reps and more sets. This regressive style of training results in muscle loss. Muscle loss results in lower resting metabolic rate, so you now burn less fat on a daily basis. This cycle will have disastrous effects on how your body looks.

When I first begin training after a lay off period I will begin with three days a week. This is usually Mon Wed Fri. Let takes chest for example. I will train chest Monday Wednesday and Friday because I am typically not strong enough at this point to do much damage and can recover chest in a few days. After 3- 4 weeks I am getting stronger and increasing the weight. I now increase the rest period between chest workouts to allow proper recovery from the overload. I train chest Mon and Friday. Three weeks later I am stronger still and am benching much more weight. I need more rest to recuperate. I now switch to training chest once a week, Mondays only. This is a typical periodized split done correctly, and the results speak for themselves. As I mentioned earlier the stronger your muscles become through progressive overload the more rest that muscle group requires before training it again. If you cannot repeat a workout you performed earlier, stop training that muscle immediately. Work on something else until it has fully recovered.

The Law of Calorie Balance

This is the first law governing weight loss but it is not gospel (more on that later). The law of Caloric Balance states that if a person consumes more calories than they expend they will gain weight. The opposite is also presumed, that if a person consumes less calories than they expend they will lose weight. Many diets and weight loss programs would have you believe this is all there is to it. Just eat less and you will get in shape. Why do they say this? Because in this world of instant gratification, people want one sentence solutions to complex problems. Let us examine for a moment why this law is not gospel.

According to the 'eat less than you expend theory', lets imagine a 200lb individual has a daily caloric requirement of 2500 calories per day to maintain that weight. If they were to eat only 2100 calories per day, the law states that they would lose weight. So they continue eating fast food, chocolates, candies, ice cream all to the sum of 2100 calories only. Hopefully common sense tells you they will not lose weight. The law of calorie balance is a guideline but it doesn't always work out on paper. What really controls whether the body gains weight or loses weight are hormones. These hormones also determine where that weight loss comes from, stored body fat or precious muscle. But that is an entirely different subject which I will address later.

There are some noteworthy points to consider regarding calories. Firstly, understand that too much of anything will make you gain weight, even healthy food. As we discussed in a previous article (meal frequency), even lean proteins along with healthy fruits and vegetables in excess will promote weight gain. Secondly, not all calories are the same. They differ in thermic (heat releasing) properties, and have alternate effects on your bodies release of hormones depending on what macro-nutrient the calories came from.

Meal Frequency - How Often Should I Eat ?

This has been a long debated question. There are so many factors that will affect the number of meals you choose to eat. Time constraints, age, gender, metabolism, even waking hours, or whether you want to lose weight or gain muscle. However there are some general guidelines to eating strategies that are considered 'nutritional laws'. These generalisations can be applied to any goal whether it be muscle gain or fat loss. What appears to be more specific to which goal you are trying to accomplish, is the number of calories per meal and the macro nutrient distribution of those calories.

The biggest reason why people fail when it comes to dieting for weight loss is that they just get too hungry. Diets that severely restrict your calories will always backfire, and in most cases the weight that was lost is gained back, often with interest. However, restricting calories to create a caloric deficit is a fundamental principle of weight loss. Weight loss cannot occur in a caloric surplus. So the question to answer is how do you restrict your calories without being constantly hungry ? And the answer, eat more often but less overall calories.

This strategy has many benefits, the biggest one being that it will control your hunger. Remember this is the #1 reason why most people fail. Secondly if you have constructed your meals correctly around a lean protein, a starchy carbohydrate, and a fibrous slow burning carbohydrate, your insulin levels will be steady throughout the day. This is also a fundamental law of weight loss, keeping insulin levels constant.

Weight gain occurs in the presence of excess calories especially fats, (which are most easily stored as body fat due to the structure of the fat molecule) and carbohydrates, (which are converted to glycogen in the blood and transported via insulin into the cell). Once the cells glycogen levels have been filled, insulin transports the excess to additional storage units in the liver and the bodies adipose tissue cells (as body fat). This is why insulin is sometimes referred to as the fat hormone. Eating small frequent meals provides a steady stream of energy to the body without overstimulating the release of insulin.

So how often should you eat? The generally accepted rule is to eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours. If you are sleeping 8 hours a night, then you have 16 waking hours during the day. Dividing up these hours by this rule will give you an average of 5 - 6 small meals. This is a great meal frequency for any goal, and should be the standard for general eating habits. The optimum number of meals for a woman is 5, and for men 6.

Where does this rule come from? If you are eating right, your meal will have all 4 macro nutrients. Proteins, carbohydrates, natural fats, and water. The body can store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, and fat. It can also store fats in the form of fat, but it cannot store protein in the form of protein or amino acids. When we consume protein, it is broken down into polypeptides and then further into amino acids, the basic building blocks of life. These amino acids are then reconstructed into whatever protein forms are required by the body whether it be for hair or nail growth, skin regeneration, muscle repair, and many other inter cellular functions. The excess amino acids can be broken down further via specialized pathways, and converted into energy if necessary, but typically the excess is stored as body fat. Protein plays a vital role in the health and well being of the body, but because it cannot be stored in the form of amino acids, these proteins must be supplied regularly throughout the day through diet. It can take anywhere from 1 - 3 hours for the body to break down proteins (depending on the form of the protein) into their usable amino acid form. This is where the 2 1/2 - 3 hour rule comes from.

Benefits Of The 3 Hour Rule

1. Insulin levels remain steady throughout the day
2. Blood sugar levels remain steady preventing energy crashes
3. Curbs excessive hunger
4. Provides constant supply of essential amino acids
5. Prevents overeating especially late in the day

Following the 3 hour rule is a big step in the right direction.