Male Fitness | | Oct 29, 2022 | Ally's Angels
Hey Angels and Alphas,
If you’ve been training consistently, chances are you’ve been working out six days per week on occasion. Maybe you want to build muscle and strength, or maybe you just love exercising and want to get more workouts in per week than usual. Whatever the reason, training six days per week can present its own set of problems and challenges if it isn’t done correctly and often leads to overtraining, which can put your health and fitness at risk if left unchecked.
The definition of ‘overtraining’
Overtraining, according to the Mayo Clinic, is when you exercise too much, too often. It also occurs when your body isn’t given adequate time to recover from workouts. The result is that your performance and health will decline. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) defines overtraining as a state of chronic training-related fatigue where increases in training volume or intensity are not matched by an increase in performance. If left unchecked, overtraining can lead to serious illness and injury.
Is training six days a week too much?
Training six days a week is not too much, but can lead to overtraining. Overtraining occurs when the body doesn’t get enough time to recover and build muscle. To prevent overtraining, it’s best to train four or five days per week with at least one day of rest in between each workout. It’s also important not to repeat the same workout two days in a row and always give yourself at least 24 hours of recovery before training again.
Why most people need more than 1 rest day a week.
It’s important to take at least one day off from training every week so that your body can heal and grow. Otherwise, you might risk overtraining, which is when you start exercising excessively and not allowing your body time to recover.
People who workout six days a week often do it because they are addicted to the endorphins it releases in their brains. But this type of exercise is self-defeating because it will eventually lead them down the path of overtraining, which will then lead them to stop exercising altogether because they are injured or burned out. Exercise addiction can also be dangerous if you have an eating disorder. This type of addiction usually starts with someone telling themselves that they’re fat or ugly and need more physical activity in order to lose weight or get in shape.
How do we avoid overtraining with high training volume?
By training six days a week, you are more likely to overtrain. The best way to avoid overtraining is by training three days on, one day off, three days on and one day off. This allows for your body time to recover from the stress of lifting weights and running/biking/swimming long distances.
This schedule allows for your body time to recover from the stress of lifting weights and running/biking/swimming long distances. It also gives your mind a break so that you can focus on other aspects of life without feeling like you’re always working towards a goal.
The bottom line
Overtraining can happen when you are working out too frequently and/or intensely. Here is how to avoid overtraining:
-Start by using a three-day split (three workouts per week). This will allow your body enough time to recover between workouts so that you don’t come down with any injuries.
-Be sure not to work out the same muscle groups consecutively more than once per week, or else risk developing muscle imbalances.
-If you are going hard on every set of every exercise, try alternating between heavier sets and lighter sets.
-Listen to your body and know when it’s telling you that it needs rest.
