overtraining Archives

Mass Mantra #41

Here’s a quote from former bodybuilder and physique coach Scott Abel, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years… [Read more…]

Mentzer’s High Intensity: Right or Wrong? Part 7

In the last training newsletter I said that volume, intensity, frequency and choosing the correct exercises are all factors governing damage that produces overtraining… [Read more…]

Mass Mantra #33

It’s becoming more clear that training efficiency that avoids damaging your joints and muscles is best for the fastest mass gains as well as for your future health.

Here’s a quote from high-intensity advocate and former pro bodybuilder Mike Mentzer on that subject (Wayne Gallasch photo). [Read more…]

Mentzer’s High Intensity: Right or Wrong? Part 3

For older bodybuilders, haphazard training is more of a threat than ever—if they’re not on anabolic steroids that is…

The older you get, the more precise and efficient your training should be to avoid over-stressing your recovery ability and creating excess muscle damage. [Read more…]

Mentzer’s High Intensity: Right or Wrong? Part 2

As the editor-in-chief of Iron Man magazine, I had the opportunity to talk to many scientists and experts in the strength-training field as well as bodybuilders, including Arnold, Mentzer, Boyer Coe, Tom Platz (below), Cory Everson, and more. [Read more…]

Mass Mantra #30

Here’s a thought-provoking quote from former pro bodybuilder and high-intensity-training advocate Mike Mentzer: [Read more…]

Mass Mantra #24

Here’s a quote from Mike Mentzer, high-intensity training innovator and legendary pro bodybuilder… [Read more…]

Reload-to-Grow Workout

I’ve talked about the dread factor before—no fire to train due to disdain. You could be overtrained…

That lack of excitement can also happen during an illness, like a head cold, for example. Do you just skip until you feel like training? [Read more…]

Less Damage, More Mass, Part 2

Yesterday I discussed one recent damage-reduction strategy: I’ve re-introduced Speed Sets.

Those sets with 1.5-second reps reduce the damage from “garbage negatives.”

If you lower the weight slowly on too many sets, you trigger excessive damage without a lot of hypertrophic return… [Read more…]

Less Damage, More Mass, Part 1

Q: Your newsletter on how you got sick after overtraining struck a chord. That happened to me also. What exactly were you doing different? Were you still using the workout from Old Man, Young Muscle?

A: I discussed a lot of damage reduction strategies in the newsletters prior to the one on overtraining. My illness spurred much of that, and I’m now applying those…

After I became ill and looked at my training, I realized I was using a bastardized version of the original OMYM workout… [Read more…]