Intentional Overtraining

Adam Levenson · 05-23-2007, 11:42 AM

My current schedule does not allow me to rest effectively or take a break from my main Sport Specific Training. I train BJJ 6 sessions a week and 2 sessions of Judo.

My question is how do I incorporate some strength training without obliterating my progress? Do I simply add three weight training days a week and then get tons of sleep? Do I train on my off days for my SPP and have no true rest day? Eat tons? What is the best method of serious recovery for serious training?

My Schedule:

Monday Weds Friday: BJJ 7-9:30

Tuesday Thursday: BJJ 12-1, then Judo 7:30-9

Saturday: BJJ 11-1

Now a bit of this training is open mat time after class with some breaks, but it is still exhausting. Combine this with my week end tasks of yard work and my other hobby of working cars I want some help on keeping myself injury free.

Connie Morreale · 05-23-2007, 01:27 PM

adam,
i do basically the same thing with krav maga every couple of months when i go to maryland (since there is no place near me to train.) i'll train every class, sometimes 4 a day, up to 11 in a 4 day span. it is exhausting, to say the least.
i try to keep my split strength schedule. heavy leg day, arm day, chest/back day. but i use crossfit exercises to work those groups. since they are multi-joint i get more bang for the time investment. so i just go to failure and call it quits. i used to lift 3x week 30-45 minutes. now thats been reduced to 3x week 20-30 minutes. lost any muscle???? not a chance.
on days i work my arms, i hope to hell there's not too many punching drills. leg days, i'm hoping my evil instructor isn't calling out jumping squats and loads of kicks. but, hey, its gonna happen and it just causes me to dig a little deeper during class.
remember, on days that you are plum wore out one set to complete muscle failure will maintain your muscle.

let me know what works for you. i'll be moving to md late this summer and i don't know if i can (timewise) maintain the schedule i do when i just visit.

Adam Levenson · 05-23-2007, 02:10 PM

My main concern is to get stronger. I bought starting strength and I want to build strength for competition. I have found on average I am weaker in the upper body than others in my weight class.

That and I don't want to start something that is not sustainable.

My plan is do lift 3 days a week according to the starting strength schedule, likely Monday, Weds, Friday. Squat, deadlifts and presses would be the focus as the only interest I have is building strength. I get plenty of metcon from live sparring in class.

(Message edited by jiujitsurabbit on May 23, 2007)

Gorm Laursen · 05-23-2007, 02:49 PM

Go for at Power to the People strength cycle. Pick two lifts – e.g. deadlift and a press or a pull for the upperbody. Test your 10 RM and do two sets of 5 reps with that weigth. Second set ideally 90% weight of the first set. That's it for today. Day two add 5-10% weight, still 2 sets of 5 reps. Keep adding weight for each day and keep the sets at 5 reps. When the weight's so big you can only do 2-3 reps per set, terminate the cycle and rest for some days. Now start over again with the same weight your started with in the first cycle + 10%. If the cycle turns out to be longer than 6 days, take a day or two of. If the cycle turns out to be longer than 10-12 days, you're not increasing weight enough between days.

Try and change variations of your chosen lifts for each cycle: 1. cycle deadlift and barbell shoulderpress, 2. cycle sumo deadlift and dumbell shoulderpress, 3. cycle romanian deadlift and push press etc.

Matt Thomas · 05-23-2007, 09:02 PM

I don't know for sure and don't have any experience with it, but maybe Dan John's One Lift A Day program would work for you.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=483048 (might not be work/family safe).

Steven Low · 05-23-2007, 11:56 PM

Overreaching (the stage before overtraining) is a tried and true concept. Probably not exactly what you're after though. It goes more along the lines of periodized training. Although you could adapt your program to this, it would probably be better to do something like Power to the People like Gorm suggested.

Adam Levenson · 05-24-2007, 04:36 AM

Thanks for the advice, I am new to lifting and truly want to get my strength up.

Now Grom,

Are these cycles, consecutive days? Or can these cycles be my normal weight lifting days? What also do you mean by 10 RM or a better question would be how do I test this correctly?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Recovery and Overtraining?	Steve Sheffar	Injuries	4	04-13-2007 05:02 PM
Overtraining	Celio Silva	Fitness	10	03-23-2007 12:36 PM
Overtraining?	Mitchell Beers	Fitness	3	02-26-2007 06:48 PM
Overtraining	Marc Moffett	Fitness	19	04-19-2006 06:55 AM
Overtraining?	Michael McMahon	Injuries	6	08-11-2005 05:54 PM

05-23-2007, 11:42 AM	#1
Adam Levenson Member Profile: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Va Posts: 83	My current schedule does not allow me to rest effectively or take a break from my main Sport Specific Training. I train BJJ 6 sessions a week and 2 sessions of Judo. My question is how do I incorporate some strength training without obliterating my progress? Do I simply add three weight training days a week and then get tons of sleep? Do I train on my off days for my SPP and have no true rest day? Eat tons? What is the best method of serious recovery for serious training? My Schedule: Monday Weds Friday: BJJ 7-9:30 Tuesday Thursday: BJJ 12-1, then Judo 7:30-9 Saturday: BJJ 11-1 Now a bit of this training is open mat time after class with some breaks, but it is still exhausting. Combine this with my week end tasks of yard work and my other hobby of working cars I want some help on keeping myself injury free.

05-23-2007, 01:27 PM	#2
Connie Morreale Member Profile: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ellicott City MD Posts: 500	adam, i do basically the same thing with krav maga every couple of months when i go to maryland (since there is no place near me to train.) i'll train every class, sometimes 4 a day, up to 11 in a 4 day span. it is exhausting, to say the least. i try to keep my split strength schedule. heavy leg day, arm day, chest/back day. but i use crossfit exercises to work those groups. since they are multi-joint i get more bang for the time investment. so i just go to failure and call it quits. i used to lift 3x week 30-45 minutes. now thats been reduced to 3x week 20-30 minutes. lost any muscle???? not a chance. on days i work my arms, i hope to hell there's not too many punching drills. leg days, i'm hoping my evil instructor isn't calling out jumping squats and loads of kicks. but, hey, its gonna happen and it just causes me to dig a little deeper during class. remember, on days that you are plum wore out one set to complete muscle failure will maintain your muscle. let me know what works for you. i'll be moving to md late this summer and i don't know if i can (timewise) maintain the schedule i do when i just visit.

05-23-2007, 02:10 PM	#3
Adam Levenson Member Profile: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Va Posts: 83	My main concern is to get stronger. I bought starting strength and I want to build strength for competition. I have found on average I am weaker in the upper body than others in my weight class. That and I don't want to start something that is not sustainable. My plan is do lift 3 days a week according to the starting strength schedule, likely Monday, Weds, Friday. Squat, deadlifts and presses would be the focus as the only interest I have is building strength. I get plenty of metcon from live sparring in class. (Message edited by jiujitsurabbit on May 23, 2007)

05-23-2007, 02:49 PM	#4
Gorm Laursen Member Profile: Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Copenhagen ... Posts: 274	Go for at Power to the People strength cycle. Pick two lifts – e.g. deadlift and a press or a pull for the upperbody. Test your 10 RM and do two sets of 5 reps with that weigth. Second set ideally 90% weight of the first set. That's it for today. Day two add 5-10% weight, still 2 sets of 5 reps. Keep adding weight for each day and keep the sets at 5 reps. When the weight's so big you can only do 2-3 reps per set, terminate the cycle and rest for some days. Now start over again with the same weight your started with in the first cycle + 10%. If the cycle turns out to be longer than 6 days, take a day or two of. If the cycle turns out to be longer than 10-12 days, you're not increasing weight enough between days. Try and change variations of your chosen lifts for each cycle: 1. cycle deadlift and barbell shoulderpress, 2. cycle sumo deadlift and dumbell shoulderpress, 3. cycle romanian deadlift and push press etc.

05-23-2007, 09:02 PM	#5
Matt Thomas Member Profile: Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Orlando FL Posts: 809	I don't know for sure and don't have any experience with it, but maybe Dan John's One Lift A Day program would work for you. http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=483048 (might not be work/family safe).

05-23-2007, 11:56 PM	#6
Steven Low Member Profile: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: silver spring maryland Posts: 8,082	Overreaching (the stage before overtraining) is a tried and true concept. Probably not exactly what you're after though. It goes more along the lines of periodized training. Although you could adapt your program to this, it would probably be better to do something like Power to the People like Gorm suggested.

05-24-2007, 04:36 AM	#7
Adam Levenson Member Profile: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Va Posts: 83	Thanks for the advice, I am new to lifting and truly want to get my strength up. Now Grom, Are these cycles, consecutive days? Or can these cycles be my normal weight lifting days? What also do you mean by 10 RM or a better question would be how do I test this correctly?