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2003/05/06, 10:51 PM
lately, i've noticed that everytime i bench, the weight that i can bench seems to be decreasing. i don't know what's going on!! i think i'm getting weaker. this has really been affecting me because i feel ashamed to go to the gym anymore. can someone give me some advice or tips to increase my strenght because if i don't get any, i might just stop going to the gym completey!!
thanx!
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2003/05/07, 01:14 AM
Please fill in your profile, we can get an idea of your goals and fitness level...an immediate question arises, how many times per week do you bench? And number 2, what is your diet like? Too many unknowns to really answer your question.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/05/07, 01:25 AM
On the surface, it sounds like over-training. This from www.thefactsaboutfitness.com:
"An easy way to tell if you're overtraining...
The whole point of training is to improve in some way. This means you must apply the principle of progressive overload — to continually demand more of your body in an attempt to make it leaner, fitter, stronger, or healthier. Too much training, however, especially when it's combined with a low-calorie diet, can lead to a condition known as overtraining.
A classic sign of overtraining is that you're training as hard as ever, but your performance in the gym is consistently getting worse, rather than better. This drop in performance is usually accompanied by changes in mood, together with a large number of biochemical and physiological symptoms. Joint and muscle pain, fatigue, and loss of appetite are just a few signs of overtraining.
Overtraining
Overtraining can best be defined as the state where rest is no longer adequate to allow for recovery. The "overtraining syndrome" is the name given to the collection of emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms that persists for weeks (maybe even months).
Overtraining often stems from the frustration many people feel at their slow rate of progress — especially if they've been training for some time. This leads them to spend longer and longer in the gym in the belief that if a little exercise is good, then more is better.
In contrast to overtraining, overreaching describes a temporary decline in performance. Some athletes incorporate overreaching in their training cycle, but make sure to include the correct amount of recovery. Without this balance, overreaching can lead to overtraining.
Researchers have tried to determine what happens to athletes when they begin to overtrain. Although numerous measurements have been tested in an effort to spot overtraining in its early stages, none has proven totally effective.
However, writing in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Dr. Lucille Lakier Smith suggests that one common factor could be at the heart of many of the symptoms of overtraining.
Cytokines
Most forms of training lead to some form of "injury", known as a microtrauma — or, more accurately — adaptive microtrauma. The reason it's called adaptive is that the microtrauma leads to some kind of adaptation in bone, muscle, or connective tissue. That's why muscles get bigger and bones get stronger.
This small level of microtrauma leads to the production of substances called cytokines (pronounced sigh-toe-kines). Cytokines are a little like hormones, and they can give you an early warning that you're about to enter an overtrained state. You see, your brain contains specific cytokine receptors. Think of cytokines like a key, and receptors like a lock.
When cytokines bind these receptors, they lead to changes in mood. In fact, there is evidence to link cytokines with depression. Test subjects administered cytokines tend to become distressed. And the higher the level of cytokines, the worse the symptoms get.
Mood
Although a reduction in performance is normally considered as a sign of overtraining, it can be preceded by changes in mood. If you're aware of this, you can prevent an overtrained state before it manifests itself as a decline in performance.
Dr. Michael Stone suggests that overtraining syndrome for someone following an "anaerobic" training program (such as strength training) manifests itself as anxiety or agitation. In contrast, an overtrained state caused by aerobic exercise can lead to feelings of depression.
Of course, overtraining isn't the only reason that you could be feeling anxious or depressed. However, if you are feeling a little down, and you can't identify the cause, then take a critical look at your exercise program. Although it's not always easy to do, taking one step back is sometimes what you need to do in order to take two steps forward."
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--There are no versions of the truth.--
Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park II
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2003/05/07, 10:32 AM
Great post Ogun.
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2003/05/07, 08:38 PM
thanx for the post on overtraining but i don't think i'm overtrainging. this is my schedule:
day 1 - chest
day 2 - biceps
day 3 - triceps
day 4 - biceps
day 5 - chest
day 6 and 7 - rest
i go to the gym for about 40 to 50 mins everytime
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2003/05/07, 10:00 PM
Thanks storm ;) Fuzion I'd refer you back to bb1...give us some details.
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2003/05/08, 07:16 PM
Why so much for biceps and so little triceps? Tri's make up 3/4 of your upper arms. If anything can handle twice a week it's triceps (if you're gonna work stuff twice a week that is.)
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. . . to crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women . . .
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2003/05/10, 10:50 AM
Thanks storm; I'd gone off my path...I was doing very little tri's--warmups on tri pushdown and then cable pull down for regular. Yesterday, I worked my tris way harder than my bis, and I can feel it. Yikes. This is going to lead me to another post somewhere about the most "suprising," changes you've seen in your body vs. the ones you expected... Anyway, thanks again
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--There are no versions of the truth.--
Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park II
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2003/05/11, 05:21 AM
For what length of time have you been increasing the weight you try to bench press. If its been for a few months already then I'd go into an off cycle, meaning you decrease the weight you lift and do more reps, for three weeks before going back to your heavy routine.
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2003/05/13, 01:04 PM
This might sound dumb....but why aren't you training back or abs or shoulders or legs? My trainer keeps after me to train every major muscle group at least once a week. Is this a special training schedule to get ready for an event?
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