Overtraining or Overly worried friend?

**Oonjuk** · Posted On: 9/18/2011 2:12am

I have a friend who majors in exercise science and he said that I might be overtraining. I am neither an exercise science major nor someone with medical knowledge, so I wanted some opinions from bullies whether I am overtraining or I just have an overly concerned friend.

Below is my weekly work out during the semester.
My daily morning routine: 1 hour
30min treadmil
-5min: 4.5mph warm up
-4 x (1min: 10 mph sprint + 4min: 6mph jog)
-5min: 3.5mph cool down
30min rowing on the ergometer
~6000m
-I try keep 1.2 km/h

My afternoon routine:
Mon: 2hr BJJ w/Gi
Tues: 2hr in the mma gym (mostly Taekkyon training)
-15min stretching + warm up
-5 x (20 jump squat + 20 taekkyon squat)
-Drill a selection of 5 Taekyon kicks
-5 x (12 man makers + 12 boxer's push up)
-If I am lucky, few sparring sessions. If not more kicking.
-50 crunches + 50 judo push ups
-Stretching
Wed: 2hr Aikido, then 2hr BJJ w/no gi
Thurs: 2hr in the mma gym (mostly Taekkyon training)
-same as above
Fri: 2hr Judo
Sat: 2hr Judo

I also use electrical heat patch on my body to relieve any muscle soreness before I go to bed. I feel some muscle soreness after every work-out sessions (especially quads) but other than that I feel healthy. So am I overtraining?

PS: I made up my MMA gym routine by mixing conditioning I learned from Taekkyon and Judo, but I would appreciate any comments or suggestions on how to improve it.

**Gibbon** · Posted On: 9/18/2011 3:28am

I was under the impression that overtraining was a fairly individual thing and depends on whether you're acclimatised to the volume of training you're attempting. If I just jumped into training like an Olympian I would probably die, but they've all incremented their training slowly over time to get to where there were. So posting your routine doesn't really let us judge whether overtraining is going to be a problem. Classic signs of overtraining would be
poor sleep, an elevated resting heart rate (although you need to know what your natural RHR would be beforehand), and an increased susceptibility to injuries.

On another note, you should probably get someone who can row to look over your technique on the erg. Unless you're a midget you should be able to hold a split better than 2:30/500m even as a cool down type thing from other exercise.

**Eddie Hardon** · Posted On: 9/18/2011 9:32am

Broadly agree with Edward above.

Are you finding it difficult to sleep?

Are you waking early in the morning? As in, VERY early?

Raised Heart Rate? Pounding. Fast.

Short-tempered?

If not, you're probably young and vigorous. You might also want to check with your GP (Family Doctor, probably, in the US).

**Oonjuk** · Posted On: 9/18/2011 10:31am

I guess I am fine since I am having opposite effects from what you guys are telling me.

I have been sleeping like a dog for 7 hours on regular schedule, my RHR has gone down from 75 to 70, and I have been more relaxed since I get stress and any kind of aggression out through work out:D

@Gibbon: Thanks. I only got into rowing recently through a friend, and I try to keep the correct posture but of course, I have no clue what I actually look like.

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 9/19/2011 11:47pm

Sounds like your not overtraining yet but you may want to consider adding recovery work into your routine. Foam roller, yoga, joint mobility and dynamic stretching are good examples of things to consider adding.

***TaeBo_Master*** · Posted On: 9/20/2011 1:32am

One of the common sayings I hear among lifters, bodybuilders, athletes is: There's no such thing as overtraining, only under-recovering.

In reality, overtraining really is a very individual thing. If you're an absolute n00b who suddenly jumps into a routine where you're training 3 hours a day, 6 days a week (at significant intensity of course), then you're at a much higher risk of overtraining than an advanced lifter (or martial artist) who has been spending time working up to that.

**Oonjuk** · Posted On: 9/20/2011 3:26pm

@Dragon: Thank you for the suggestion!

@Taebo: It took me around 4 months before I could train 3 hours/day, 6 days a week. I progressively built on the routine and I have been on this routine for about a 5 months now.

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 9/20/2011 4:32pm

Oonjuk you may also want to consider cycling your programs. Doing the same thing for too long can lead to overuse injuries. Set specific goals, design your program to meet those goals and repeat. I've lost count of how many people brag to me about doing 200+ pushups and 500+ situps/crunches every morning and than want advise about what to do about their shoulder and back problems. ;)

**Oonjuk** · Posted On: 9/20/2011 5:53pm

@Dragon: That's why I like rowing. I am sore all over. Not just in my shoulder or back ;) I used to cycle instead of rowing, but I like rowing much better :D

**HereBeADragon** · Posted On: 9/20/2011 6:21pm

I dont mean like an exercise cycle. I mean a training cycle as in changing your training program from month to month based on a specific goal or set of goals. Btw I used to love rowing too when I had a gym membership. Great exerise.