THE CONCEPT OF OVERTRAINING (342 words)

To begin with, overtraining should not be equated to ‘pushing the limits’ albeit; pushing the limits is an innate ingredient of the concept of overtraining. Overtriaining is essentially a bodybuilding principle manifested in such techniques as Drop—Sets and Mega—Set. Once the term bodybuilding comes in, it’s needless to state that the concept is looks oriented.

As discussed in my numerous preliminary posts, the method of muscle growth is NUERO—MUSCULAR shock triggering an adaptive temporal rebuttal of which increased fibrous mass is an aspect. As seen in the training programmes of Olympic athletes, elite troops, commands and et. al. the participants are forced to perform even after their bodies have rebelled to a period. Clearly this is the realization of the yet uncharted influence of human will & the evolutionary entities of physical existence—what we popularly understand as ‘pushing the limits’. And overtraining seductively flirts with these limits.

Let me illustrate with the biceps’ workout. It normally is 3-5 sets of the basic movements of barbell curl & hammer curls, either stopped here or an additional pumping exercise like the preacher curls is added. With this, muscle fatigues, and the basic mass building requirements of even the professionals for this (probably the smallest trainable) muscle is fulfilled.

But here begins overtraining. The biceps are further subjected to seated dumb-bell curls, reverse barbell curls, standing cable pulls & so on & so forth until you are devoid of any arm movement. These of course, needs the help of a spotter.

The benefits is two fold. It results in a sudden bulge of the targeted body part & will also gradually provide for those elusive muscular separations. These methods are generally used to gain a ‘built up’ look over a relatively short period. Is practiced chiefly by upcoming & professional bodybuilders, (only for short, planned training weeks) requires high levels of stamina & fitness. Can be considered beginning only at the intermediate stages. Is excessively draining on the recovery mechanisms of the body & is not uncommon to involve periods of anabolic steroids.