Am I overtraining, undereating or just in a slump? ... And should I care?

[Lachy]

[sorry about the length]

The last few sessions in the gym I haven't been able to acheive the same results as the sessions before. I'm feeling weaker, and I'm not too happy about it.

I've been hitting the gym and exercising more in genral for the last 6 months or so. In that time I've droped about 7kg(~15.5lbs), down from around 92kg(202lbs) to around 85kg(187lbs). In that time I haven't really focused on my diet much, other than to avoid the big no nos (fast food, chocolate, softdrinks, etc) for most of the time, and make a few smarter choices where I could (brown rice instead of white, etc). My strength has certainly improved in that time, though I didn't take logs back when I started. I don't know what BF% is/was, but it's certainly droped going by visual ques.

For the last several months, I've been exercising about 6 days a week, and 5 days a week would be with weights. Weight sessions last about an hour. My workouts have evolved slightly, but have always been pretty similar to what you'll see in my log.

I'm happy with the weight I've lost, and wouldn't classify myself as overweight, but I still have fat on my belly and hips that I just want gone! So I have begun monitoring my food more strictly, just started using myfitnesspal (love it!), and am eating at a deficit to shed the fat.

In the new year, I want to switch and start eating to gain muscle, but first, "fat be gone" is the mantra. But I don't like this feeling that I've had the last few days that I'm getting weaker.

Am I training too often? Too long? Is my deficit in calories to explain my feelings? Could I just be at a plateau? And given that my imediate goal is to shift these last few kilos, should I care? Should I just persevere a little longer?

Thanks NF!

[Dio]

Initial thoughts:

Make sure you are getting enough sleep. 8 hours is good. 9 is better.

Second, muscles need to rest to grow. If you're going to be working out all the muscle groups in a single work out, you need 48 hours in between to rest. It's effectively work, eat, rest/growth, repeat.

Also, variety can help, although people will say mixed things about this. Consider adding some bodyweight training. Do tabata-style exercises. Grease the groove for a while. Most importantly, make sure you're having fun. I haven't read a study, but I assume endorphins help overall body health.

Consider trying to replace some of your simple carbs (rice, pasta, bread) with healthier ones (broccoli, sweet potatoes) or protein (MEATTTTT!) whenever possible and see how that makes you feel. If it makes a huge difference, consider paleo, primal, or other low-carb diet.

Just my initial thoughts like I said. Most importantly, experiment to find what works for you. Good luck!

[ETFnerd]

I would test the variables one at a time. Try lifting less for a little while and see if you get stronger. If you do it MAY mean that you are overtraining. Try eating a little more and see if strength comes up. MAY mean you are undereating. Take a break and do fun stuff, sometimes we just need to decompress in order to right the ship. Do these at different times so you can see the effect separately, otherwise you won't know which factor is the one causing your sluggishness. Compound factors are more difficult to pinpoint, but experiment by following up on your suspicions. As you advance, you need to be able to self-diagnose in order to tweak your plan. I don't recommend a trainer unless it is someone very experienced who is willing to really dive deep into getting to know you because they'll never be in tune with you as much as you will be with yourself. Good luck.

[Guest Carjack]

Screw doing anything intense. If you train six days a week, deload all your lifts and do super-easy versions of your workouts for a week or two. When you put the weight back on, the "overtraining" fatigue will have worn off and your lifts should be at or higher than their best.

After that, consider the order, intensity and time of your workouts.

If you're deadlifting frequently, you'll get worn out easier than if you're squatting frequently.

If your workouts are long two hour grinds, same thing.

Take a cheat day to load up on calories if you're in a calorie deficit.

[js290]

"Our results suggest that compared with continuous 15-week training, 3-week detraining does not inhibit muscle adaptations."

[ETFnerd]

Pulling back on workouts is sometimes easier said than done, especially if you have had momentum to that point. It stresses me out, being infear that the gains I worked so hard for may be wasting away. I've got some head problems in this regard.

[Guest Carjack]

In my experience, gains are only lost when you cease activity, and they come back fast.

Deloading by 50 pounds and working back up to a max over a few weeks should do the trick if you're scared.

[Lachy]

I'm getting good sleep. I'm up at sparrow's fart, early morning workout before work, but I'm in bed early. I am exhuasted by the end of the day, so it's not an effort to go to bed early. I've been working on a 3 day split up of body parts, chest & back (benches, rows, etc), legs (squat, deadlift, lunges, etc), shoulders & arms (shoulder press, dips, curls, etc).

I've already dropped weight on several exercises, and upped the reps. Maybe I should just go cruisey for a little while lower still? Perform the reps more slowly? If my goal is fat loss right now though, does it even matter? I don't intend to keep the deficit for more than a month.

I work out from 5.30am, it's a half hour drive from home. I've been having a protein shake after the workout, but nothing before. Might try moving the shake to before training, for energy.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll try experimenting a bit.

[Lachy]

I don't want to cut back my sessions, for me the habit of getting up and doing something is important. If I start having sleep ins and days off too regularly, I'm affraid they'll spread, and I'll take too many days off, then only days off. It's happened before. If I cut back to 3 - 4 weight sessions a week, I might throw some walks in, just to keep to the schedule.

[Lachy]

"Our results suggest that compared with continuous 15-week training, 3-week detraining does not inhibit muscle adaptations."

Damn, js290, that's a bit technical! So, if I understand it, detraining will have a negligable effect on gains? Does detraing mean not training, or going lighter/easier?

[Thrymstan]

When I look at my graph of my weight, I can place the biggest weight losses right after a week of no or very little training. I could almost say that it follows a pattern of 8 weeks training and 1 week off.

Motivation and energy levels tend to wear off when doing a calorie deficit for a long time. Distracting yourself from training and dieting during that one week helps to refocus when it's time to start again.

[Guest Carjack]

The metabolism might run faster when you alternate between calorie surpluses and deficits (calorie cycling) rather than blindly doing the same thing forever.

[aj_rock]

Carjack: while calorie cycling does slow down metabolic losses from dieting down, in the end, any diet with a caloric intake below maintanence is going to impair metabolism eventually to some degree.

Lachy: six times a week, for someone trying to LOSE fat, is not ideal in the slightest. That's basically asking for overtraining I'd say cut back to 2 workouts through the week, and some walking like you said, or light jogging, etc.

However, a de-load may be necessary first. Take a week to do lighter volume training. So like, follow the same rep/set scheme, but with like half the weight. Also eat at maintanence. When you get back into your fat loss scheme, 2 heavy workouts a week, coupled with adequate protein, should protect most of your muscle mass.