When is Too Much Too Much?

Recently, I just started utilizing a new workout plan. After you have been training for a few years you run out of new ideas and must look elsewhere for tips. Do not feel like you are cheating or weaker in anyway because you need assistance from someone else. I guarantee that people who research consistently enjoy better results than those that don’t research. This specific plan I’m starting is almost completely unlike any plan I’ve used in the past. It is actually quite unique to any plan my friends or myself have ever seen. My friends have actually criticized the plan many times since I started it and if it weren’t for the credibility of the creator I would feel the same way.

During 3 weeks of the 6 week program, I will be targeting a certain muscle group 3 times a week. For the past 3 years, I have only worked out each muscle group once a week. However, the more experience and knowledge you gain, the more you realize how little you actually know about weight training (or anything in life for that matter) so I was willing to give it a shot.

The workout plan which I found on bodybuilding.com was developed by Jim Stoppani. Stoppani holds a doctorate in exercise physiology and is senior science editor for many top physical fitness magazines and companies. He has been the personal consultant to many physically fit celebrities such as LL Cool J, The Rock, and Dr. Dre. Stoppani explains the uniqueness of the plan:

If you think that sounds like overtraining, you're precisely right. But overtraining does not happen immediately. It takes several weeks to actually become overtrained. The technical term for training that can lead to overtraining is called overreaching. Several studies from the university of Connecticut have shown that when subjects overreach for several weeks, during the two weeks following, they grow significantly bigger and stronger while taking it easy. The key is to stop the overreaching just before it turns into overtraining.

Stoppani explains how there is a difference between over-training and over-reaching, over-reaching being the positive effect of the two. He presents a point that is unknown to many people, which used to include myself. I think it will be interesting to see the results, whether positive or negative, after the 6 week program to find first hand if over-reaching can be positive.