Overtraining while dieting

[The Thinker]

I'm 40 years old and have been in the gym lifting most of my adult life. Until a few years ago I would categorize my training as more sports oriented / power lifting. I finally got to the point where my priority was not athletic performance and transitioned to bodybuilding. Over that past few years I have dieted for one event or another but never really taken my bodyfat lower than 10%. Seeing that I would like to compete someday, I am currently doing a dry run at getting in competition shape. I am following Dave's diet and my "supplementation" would be considered moderate as I am just trying to hold onto as much muscle as possible. I have been dieting for five weeks and am really enjoying the process. Overall I feel great but I'm worried about becoming too obsessive and overtraining.

I've always been a "suck it up" type person when things start to get challenging but I am concerned that I may be overtraining and not getting the ROI that I expect. I'm currently doing cardio 5-6 days per week and lifting 4 days per week. I rarely take a day where I'm 100% out of the gym as I don't want to lose my focus. To date, I've actually considered a cardio only day as my day off, however, the last few days I've felt exhausted and have become concerned that I need to more rest / downtime. This morning I actually cut my cardio off at 20 minutes and went home as I thought it was counter productive. I felt really guilty about leaving as my mind says "suck it up" and that "I need to pay the price" to get lean.

I would really appreciate the input from others who have compete in the past. Where is the line? Are there any general guidelines / suggestions to ensure I am not over training (other than getting enough rest at night).

[esplendido]

Welcome to the dieting game! With carbs cut, you're not going to have the energy you did before to train balls to the wall. That doesn't mean you can't train intensely. It means you train tired.

I don't change my workout at all during the diet. I don't try to increase my effort...as in lifting heavier and heavier, but wherever I am when I start my diet, I try to maintain. I do take power naps, which help.

You just have to gut it out, unless you're hurting something physical.

[The Thinker]

Thanks for the sanity check. I have no problem with training tired. I will more forward with my workout this afternoon and make up the cardio I cut short this morning.

[HeavyDutyGuy]

My workouts actually get more intense. Not necessarily in terms of sheer weight moved, my power moves suffer a LITTLE. But I push even harder, more forced reps, negatives, rest pause (this one for this year anyway). Overtraining (somewhat) can actually) help you peak. I only train 3 days a week, but do cardio 6 days week, adding minutes as I need to. You need to keep your diet as good as you can make it. Rest as much as you can. Keep fluid intake very high. B vitamins, vit C, multi and pottasium are all very helpful.

[The Big Sexy]

Welcome to the dieting game! With carbs cut, you're not going to have the energy you did before to train balls to the wall. That doesn't mean you can't train intensely. It means you train tired.

I don't change my workout at all during the diet. I don't try to increase my effort...as in lifting heavier and heavier, but wherever I am when I start my diet, I try to maintain. I do take power naps, which help.

You just have to gut it out, unless you're hurting something physical.

I take power naps when I'm not dieting!!! LOL - it's just when I'm dieting, I just fall asleep where I'm sitting, with no control... I plan the naps when I am not dieting HAHA (You know you've been sitting on the couch and just passed out before!!!)

[esplendido]

I take power naps when I'm not dieting!!! LOL - it's just when I'm dieting, I just fall asleep where I'm sitting, with no control... I plan the naps when I am not dieting HAHA (You know you've been sitting on the couch and just passed out before!!!)

Daily!

[gman]

I haven't had a nap in God knows how long.

[FLEXR6]

I'm 40 years old and have been in the gym lifting most of my adult life. Until a few years ago I would categorize my training as more sports oriented / power lifting. I finally got to the point where my priority was not athletic performance and transitioned to bodybuilding. Over that past few years I have dieted for one event or another but never really taken my bodyfat lower than 10%. Seeing that I would like to compete someday, I am currently doing a dry run at getting in competition shape. I am following Dave's diet and my "supplementation" would be considered moderate as I am just trying to hold onto as much muscle as possible. I have been dieting for five weeks and am really enjoying the process. Overall I feel great but I'm worried about becoming too obsessive and overtraining.

I've always been a "suck it up" type person when things start to get challenging but I am concerned that I may be overtraining and not getting the ROI that I expect. I'm currently doing cardio 5-6 days per week and lifting 4 days per week. I rarely take a day where I'm 100% out of the gym as I don't want to lose my focus. To date, I've actually considered a cardio only day as my day off, however, the last few days I've felt exhausted and have become concerned that I need to more rest / downtime. This morning I actually cut my cardio off at 20 minutes and went home as I thought it was counter productive. I felt really guilty about leaving as my mind says "suck it up" and that "I need to pay the price" to get lean.

I would really appreciate the input from others who have compete in the past. Where is the line? Are there any general guidelines / suggestions to ensure I am not over training (other than getting enough rest at night).

Massive
All pretty normal. I'm 42 and will be doing my 4th show in 6 weeks this Sunday....and yes I am mad, angry and tired. But, it is interesting how you can push yourself beyond previous boundaries. I'm sitting at about 7% at the moment and I am a natural competitor.
Every hour of every day I learn something about my body, record it and use that knowledge.
What works for me is the 4th day carb up/re-feed day, two days after you do this the bf will drop off you, and you feel a lot better on that day - a good day to train at night!!

[sassy69]

You do need to pay attention to your lifting when you're dieting because you have greater chance for injury - you're not carrying as much water and such that is there to help protect your joints, etc. If you're already running depleted, you're going to be running even or negative after training.

I've talked to so many guys who prefer to not compete and stay bigger because they tend to get injured more often when they are dieting down.

[The Thinker]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the input. I think I'm on the right track and seem to have a similar mindset. Now that I've had a reality check I will not question my approach anymore. I'm really looking forward to joining the club of being a competitive BB in the next year.

For the sake of clarity (and my reputation) I completely understand feeling drained and tired while dieting. That's par for the course. I'm just trying to figure out if there is a line where I need to step back and say a day of rest will be more productive than gutting it out. From my perspective it is much better to rest one day than come down sick and be out of the gym for a few days. This is a problem I've had in the past as I get so excited when I'm making progress and I just train and train and train only to get sick and take a couple of steps back (both physically and mentally). I guess I'm going to be the only person who can really determine whether or not I should back off based on what my body is telling me.

[The Thinker]

I'M VENTING SO READ MY POST IN THAT CONTEXT...

I knew I was getting drained but tried to suck it up and attribute it contest dieting. I really thought I was out of the woods after resting Sunday and then a sinus infection hit me Monday night. Worst of all it moved to my lungs and my asthma put me down for the count (this is a recurring problem for me). Now I can't breathe and am frustrated. I'm resting and trying to focus on being perfect on the diet but I have admit I want to cheat in a BAD way. Luckily there is no way in hell I'll allow myself to come out of ketosis.

Does anyone have any suggestions on whether or not I should change my diet until I'm better? I see it one of two ways: 1)increase my calories to help my body fight through the illness or 2) decrease my calories because my energy expenditure has gone down (since I'm not at the gym).

Thoughts?

[HeavyDutyGuy]

Massive, keep your diet, but up your vitamin/mineral and fluid intake. Rest. No training til you feel better.

[esplendido]

I hate it when something gets in the way of perfectly good contest training! I had a boil develop just below my left ass cheek last week and ended up getting it lanced Friday. Something about picking up MRSA at the gym (nasty staff infection). I couldn't sit for all last week and things just started to heal up where I can sit last night. I haven't been in the gym for a week on Dr's orders. Doing legs tonight with a vengeance...pissed for missing every workout last week!

[The Thinker]

I hate it when something gets in the way of perfectly good contest training! I had a boil develop just below my left ass cheek last week and ended up getting it lanced Friday. Something about picking up MRSA at the gym (nasty staff infection). I couldn't sit for all last week and things just started to heal up where I can sit last night. I haven't been in the gym for a week on Dr's orders. Doing legs tonight with a vengeance...pissed for missing every workout last week!

You are lucky that you only had to sit for a week if it was MRSA. That is nasty stuff and can be fatal if not treated. The NFL has been quietly handling their problem with it for years until HBO sports did a couple of shows on it. I think one guy even lost his leg.

I agree that I HATE when life gets in the way. Somethings just force us to sit down and rest albeit begrudgingly. I agree that pissed is the best descriptor of the situation. It also nice to know that others are facing the same challenges.