Learn How Overtraining On Purpose Can Get You Maximum Results FAST

Training on the Edge - Learn How Overtraining on Purpose Can Get You Maximum
Results FAST!
By Nick Nilsson

We’ve always been told that it’s bad to overtrain. Guess
what? Overtraining on purpose is where the REAL results are.

Overtraining is NOT evil. Overtraining can be exactly what you need to achieve continuous and
rapid results in your training.

But first, what is overtraining? Overtraining is, most simply, training too much. Your body is
unable to recover from the volume or frequency of training and begins to break down. You not
only lose motivation to train, you become more susceptible to injury and illness, and you may
even start to go backwards in your training, getting smaller and weaker on almost a daily basis.

So how can overtraining possibly be good for you? I’ll tell you.

It all begins with the incredible adaptive power of your body. As you become more advanced in
weight training, you will generally notice that you cannot make consistent gains for a long period
of time on one training system. Your body quickly adapts to whatever training system you’re using
and hits a plateau. To get around this, it’s usually recommended that you change your program
every three to six weeks.

The question now is how to use this adaptive ability to your advantage.

It’s really quite simple. You gradually build up to a state of temporary overtraining, then, when you’
re overtrained and your adaptive processes are working to their fullest capacity for recovery, you
back off. This backing off results in what is called overcompensation.

Imagine you’re driving a car and climbing a hill with the gas pedal to the floor. You’re giving it
everything you’ve got but you’re still going up slowly. This is similar to overtraining. When you
reach the top, the going gets a lot easier. If you keep the gas pedal on the floor when you go
over the top and head down, you’re going to go a lot faster very quickly. This is
overcompensation and this is where the results are.

On a normal program, you work a bodypart, it becomes temporarily weaker, then becomes
stronger as it overcompensates so you can lift more next time. What a normal program does on a
small, local basis, this overtraining program does on a full body, systemic basis.

Sound good? We’re not done. Now we’re going to harness the power of overtraining by using
what I call “Controlled Overtraining.”

The overtraining or ramping phase of this Controlled Overtraining program lasts three weeks,
which is about the time it takes the body to adapt to a training program. It then backs off to a fairly
easy phase for three weeks.

Notes:

- Take all sets to failure. The rep ranges are simply guidelines - if you can get more reps, do
them.
- Be sure to keep your workout time to less than 45 minutes for best results. Much longer and you
will break yourself down too much.
- Use a timer or stopwatch to time your rest between sets. It is critical to the success of the
program to keep your rest periods consistent.

Visit the following link for a day-to-day, set-by-set outline of how this training program works.
Reading through the program will give you a good idea of how it all comes together.

http://hop.clickbank.net/?muscled1/betteru&l=1063

As you can see, you start out doing 3 sets for your bodyparts the first week, 4 sets the second
week, and 5 sets the third week. While you’re increasing the volume, you’re simultaneously
decreasing the rest period. This gradually builds you up to overtraining.

For the next three weeks, you decrease the sets and reps and increase the rest periods. This
allows you to recover from the overtraining and take advantage of the overcompensation that
occurs when the body is still working at dealing with the hard work and then you cut the hard
work. Though it may feel like you’re hardly doing anything at all, you should see some great
results.

Continue this lower-volume training for at least three weeks. If, at the end of those three weeks,
you are still making progress, keep going! Don’t cut yourself off from any results. This phase
could last as long as 6 weeks or more. When you start to slow down, however, it’s time to ramp
back up to overtraining. Keeping up this cycling of volume and intensity is a strategy that gives
consistent results over long periods of time.

The first time you do the program, keep it exactly as it is. This will give you the best, practical
experience as to how the program feels.

After that, you can try playing with the numbers a little following this general outline, perhaps
starting at 3 minutes rest for the first week, 90 seconds the second week, and then dropping
down to 30 seconds by the third week.

If you do decide to play with the numbers, be absolutely certain to reduce your training volume
and increase your rest periods for the second three-week phase. If you don’t, you will continue to
overtrain yourself and you will break down.

The program that I’ve outlined uses a rep system called Micro-Periodization (Periodization is the
cycling of rep ranges. It is traditionally conducted over a period of months, e.g. three months high
reps, three months, medium reps, three months low reps.). Dividing the week into three separate
phases, such as in this program, is called Micro-Periodization. It is an extremely effective format
for building strength and muscle mass.

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As you can see, overtraining is not always the horrible thing it’s often made out to be. Training on
the edge is where the real results are. Those who shy away from it will never make as good of
progress as those who embrace it!

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Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a
degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been inventing new training techniques for
more than 16 years. Nick is the author of a number of bodybuilding eBooks including “Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss,” “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of,” “Gluteus to the
Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!” and “The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never
Heard Of” all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net/?muscled1/betteru). He can be
contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.