How To Maximize Gains and NOT Overtrain | Overtraining Science Explained

As a collegiate athlete we trained almost every day in one way shape or form. I think in general 1 day on 1 day off is generally sufficient. Of course it can vary but 1 day rest is solid

Loved the analogy of the garden, by Greg Knuckles? Is that Jeff's alter ego xD

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smart marketing. i noticed most of his videos revolve around doing the least but the panacea is you get more

Even if i train until complete failure, i feel as though i haven't done enough

Why is their music in the background

This is not what people needs to hear. Most people undertrain by far🤣🤣

This put me in the right path. Definitely been hitting a wall. 9 months at 5 to 6 days a week. I think I’ll give de-loading a go for a week.

I workout 4 hours,is it bad?

Thanks for this man feeling really down after workout being so hard and loosing strength

i go 2 time perday 1 gym weight lifting and 2 is muaythai training , i feel beatup every single day

I have never heard anyone say "I overrested." Even if you do, so what. At least you will be that much more rested to hit it hard again.

Thank god I found this, I’ve been goin to the gym twice a day for 2-3 hours each 🫡

It effect your emune system.

If I do too much intensity on a given weightlifting day, then I'll be too fatigued to do anything other than walking for the next 3-5 days. I do not get that great of sleep though due to various health issues.

I agree with Jeff about it being more of an athlete thing. But what about things like the military? Your trained to carry out heavy physical activity over long periods of time while being sleep deprived. You need to learn to keep going while fatigued to the limit. One foot wrong could cost life’s. What about boxers? They never stop. What about builders? Do you know back in the day they only got an afternoon off on a Sunday. Some of them steel workers, miners etc providing they were getting enough nutrition which then type of trades could afford better quality of food back then. They were good shape. I’ve seen pictures of my grandads brothers who were miners back in the early 1940s-50s they were big blokes. You have the luxury to be able to have a rest.

I trained arms yesterday and today when I woke up, I’d slept with my arm bent, and I was unable to straighten my arm out without severe pain, (so severe I had to walk around with it bent for the day). The pain is where the bicep connects to my forearm, what could this be? I have been on about a 1 year break, I think I worked the muscle a lot harder than it’s used to but this is just ridiculous. It’s happened once before after a prticularly hard legday (but in my legs ofc)

is 10 - 12 sets a week to failure good? i go 5 times a week. enough recovery?

Only 1 set to failure is needed to stimulate growth. Tearing down the muscle with addition sets only slows progress.

I'm sorry Jeff, but I don't agree with this. Unfortunately I spent 3 years incarcerated in my late 20s and there was never a day I didn't "overtrain". I feel as though it did nothing but increase my endurance while also continuing to make gains. It would be a pleasure to touch base with you on this.

Thank mate. I really learn a lot from your videos. Keep it going. Much appreciated.👊

God, your voice is so fucking annoying

great video thanks

If you're not doing more reps or adding more weight you're over training

Can an obese person overtrian ?? If the goal is losing weight .. does it cause Hormonal imbalace that stunts fat loss? 🤔

Little

@jeffNippard I trained chest 48 hours ago and my chest is still 25% sore. Am I hurting my potential gains from that training session if I were to train chest again this morning while still a bit sore?

Not sure I'm your target audience. I'm male, 58 and have been training in some way, pretty much my whole adult life. I'm just looking to put on some muscle, keep body fat low and stay healthy, not looking to compete. Probably because I'm older and have horrible recovery despite good sleep hygiene & diet, I've had to back off from my workouts on 3 different occasions. I'm finally gaining again and not constantly exhausted/worn out, plus I'm much happier. Btw, I can't take off from the gym more than a week w/out serious losses especially on trouble training areas. A couple extra days off here and there do help. Thanks for all your free videos, you've helped & encourage me a lot!

The first two questions to ask yourself don't really help me. How's my sleep and energy? That depends on so much including my bipolar which can be a bit unpredictable and isn't ever 100% in my control even with treatment (my actions are technically in my control but my energy and focus aren't & that can be a real challenge). Ugh, I wish I could get real human feedback but I can't afford a trainer or anything. I think I'm doing the right thing, but I have never had a good sense of perception of my own body visually, and the scale is mostly trending down but it's bumpy. And I'm mostly feeling stronger but I have next to no confidence in my strength after my coma. It's been about a year and a half and I'm just starting to feel like me again. Sorry for the rant

It will totally depend on numerous factors. Nutrition, rest, volume, age, genetics, anabolics etc also play a critical role.

The more advanced a lifter gets and the bigger the load they lift becomes, the longer recovery will take.

Loads in the 1-3 rep range will be more taxing to the nervous system than reps in the 8-12 rep range.

It all comes down to trial and error

I noticed why the majority of body builers seem older than they are and discovered that this due intensive usage unconciousely of their face muscle during lifting weight.

the editing and infomation is so fkin good.

Does overtraining one body part, affect other muscles?

This is such good info

Yep, overtraining does exist but the suffering is enjoyable in a perverse way, oh, hangon, it's overreach, cool, i shall keep going after a day or two off.

What!!? Did you just really fall?😢You ok???

WOAH YOU GOTTA BETTER WATCH OUT FOR OVER TRANING BRO WHAT IF YOU OVERTRAIN?

Worry about Mike pal😅

I'm scared that I've over trained my glutes, but I didn't even push myself my last workout 😭

Hallo from 7 year after this video was made, in 2025

I'm just curious because there's people out there with the toughest jobs where physically they're overexerted every single day for a paycheck and no one ever considers over training or overworking. For the first two or three weeks they go in highly fatigued their whole bodies are sore because it's getting used to it and then all the sudden after about a month or two they feel like it's nothing second nature

I just hit overtraining syndrome. Running a stepped mile to hit my max heart before lifting for an hour. Completely destroyed my immune system. I was doing this 6-7 times a week. I became very ill 3 times in a month and that was it for me. 2 upper respiratory infections and the stomach flu. I literally would get better then fall sick again. Overtraining is a real thing. This difference is when you introduce a high intensity cardio program with weight training. You need to rest man. You need that rest day.

I am so dumb. I have been training 2-3 hours 4-5 days a week for the past 6 months. I should also note that I am a noob. I have only deloaded twice in that time, both were forced deloads I chose for myself. My coach doesn't believe in deloads, just in changing my program every 4 weeks. While I am a very lean woman and in the best shape of my life, I am exhausted and I have shoulder and wrist injuries that have been bugging me since Christmas. And I have been feeling fatigued and moody. Stupidly, it didn't occur to me that overtraining was possible so early on in my training journey until the other day when I was panting between sets and had leg trembling so bad that I was scared I wouldn't be able to walk home from the gym. I know now that this is exactly what it is.

should i do 3 train days, 1 rest and continue or 6 train and 1 rest and continue??