I want to apologize in advance for the long post! I am 21, 5'6, 128lbs with an ultimate goal to do a figure competition with fat loss as goal #1 and gain muscle right behind. My diet was recently modified (thank you Frank) and was going good until I got the Swine Flu. I have been out of commission for 3 weeks and I am taking next week off as well. Anyway, I feel as though I am in a prime position to change up my workout and semi start fresh. My main question is if I am overtraining and this could be the reason I am not seeing results. I lift weights 6 days a week and cardio 4-5 days and really not seeing a lot of results. Here was my old routine:

Sun/Wed
Back (4 exercises, 4 sets)
Biceps (3 exercises, 3 sets)
Calves(2 exercises, 4 reps), Abs(4-5 exercises)

Mon/Thurs
Chest (4 exercises, 4 sets)
Shoulders (4 exercises, 4 sets)
Triceps (3 exercises, 3 sets)
Abs (4-5 exercises)

Tues/Fri
Legs (hip and leg strengthening exercises b/c I am coming back from a quad/groin pull)

Cardio was 35-40 min runs in the mornings and weights in the afternoon with extra cardio after workout 2-3 days a week.

I was considering changing my workout to Bev Int "No Nonsense Basic Bodybuilding Training". Any and all suggestions are welcomed and greatly appreciated!

As a gym Shark myself I typically run a 5-6 day per week program however recently I switched to a 4 day per week program which really has been working better. The reason for the switch wasn't as much due to slower results but more so due to achy joints and lethargy. On the 4 day program I am more energized and super enthusiastic to hit my workouts. My body loves the extra rest. Another aspect of your program to consider is what more can you really do? Once your body adapts to the stimuli that ou are currently doing then you have to either increase volume or intensity. It looks like your existing program is maxed out as far as volume goes and injury can be the result if you increase intensity while maintaining a 6x per week program with 2 a days. I suggest increasing intensity on your weight and dropping the sessions down to 3-4 days per week and dropping cardio to 1-2 days per week (unless preparing for a competition)

I would also look at your nutrition. Overtraining is often not due to workload, but lack of nutritional support for hard training. Look at elite athletes, ie: Michael Phelps. He spends hours, up to 6, per day in the pool and conducting dryland training. He does not have a problem maintaining that much training, but he feeds himself to support it. He is not alone, as many athletes maintain a high level without overtraining. It is harder to actually "overtrain" than many people believe, more often it is a slight overreaching without the proper nutritional support. If this is carried on, it can possibly lead to clinical overtraining.

quote:

more often it is a slight overreaching without the proper nutritional support.

I'm a believer that the body is a machine that can be worked 16 hours a day as long as it is maintained...like a machine. People worked in field, construction work of years ago (even now), is highly repetitious and many times, quite heavy work.

I've never had the courage to try and take in high calories and workout 3 times a day...lol. There are some Olympic lifters that will train legs in a cycle, up to 6 days a week. Figure that one.