Richard Gibney's 365 Days of Fitness: Day 60
Day 60 This week brought an interesting lesson. Only today, did my lower body feel somewhat normal. If I'm to make 365 days I can't let myself overtrain the way I did this week. The Spartacus workout was very satisfying but I underestimated the toll it would take on my body.
In the 4 hr Body by Tim Ferris he refers to the minimum effective dose or MED. If you haven't read his book, I highly recommend it. He's basically made a name for himself by discovering the fastest most efficient ways to achieve a desired result. The minimum effective dose refers to the smallest amount of work needed to produce a desired result. Anything above the MED is considered unnecessary and perhaps even detrimental.
In the 4 hr Body Ferris uses the example of sun tanning. It takes most people about 15 minutes to achieve a melanin response. The further beyond 15 minutes the greater the chance of sun burn. If you get burnt you can't tan again the next day which prevents you from getting another melanin response. Tim Ferris believes that most of life is affected by this principle. More is not necessarily better.
In my case with the Spartacus workout I used more weight than I needed to for the number of reps I performed. I was able to complete the workout but in the process I far exceeded what my body needed to get a training response. The result was that my lower body took almost 5 days to recover. If I had used less weight and perhaps performed fewer sets, I might have been able to do it again two days later. This sometimes happens when you try something new but still a valuable lesson was learned.
I decided to do a similar circuit style workout today but instead of 3 sets I only did one and used much lighter weights.
Today's Circuit Workout
1. Kettlebell Swing: 50 2. TRX Inverted Row: 20 3. Walking Lunges: 50 4: Med Ball Slams: 20 5: Hanging Leg Raises: 20 6: Push up (hand to knee) 20 7: Double Unders: 50 8: Seated Med Ball Twist: 50 9: Burpees: 20 10: 500 metre Row
After a few minutes rest, I hit the Treadmill for a 1/2 mile sprint at 9 mph
In the end it felt great to do something intense but I managed to not over do it. I should be able to train again tomorrow without any restrictions.
If you're interested, below is a link explaining rhabdomyolysis, a very severe and potentially fatal result of overtraining. If you are looking to get into Crossfit or a something similar this is worth a read.
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/
If you're interesting in learning more about Tim Ferris and the Four Hr Body visit
http://fourhourbody.com/