Too much volume for a Natty/ worried about "Over-training"

Hey guys,

Sorry to bother, Just wanted to ask for some advice as to whether you think my current training plan has too much volume and could possibly lead me to stagnate in terms of gains due to over-training please keep in mind that I'm natural. I don't really know what to think on the whole "Over-training" thing...

Split:
Mon - Legs
Tue - Shoulders + Traps
Wed - Cardio (light)
Thurs - Back + Calves
Friday - Chest + Triceps
Sat - Biceps + Forearms + Core work
Sun - Rest

Legs:
Squats - 2 sets 8 reps (warm-up)
Smith machine squats - 3 sets 8-12 reps
Leg kick back machine - 3 sets 8-10 reps
Leg extensions - 3 sets 8-10 reps
Lying leg curls - 3 sets 8-10 reps
Leg press or Lunges (Varies week to week) - 3 sets 8-10 reps

Shoulders:
Dumbbell Press - 3 sets 8 to 12 reps
Dumbbell side raise superset with Dumbbell front raise - 3 sets 8 to 12 reps each
Incline rear delt raise superset with bent over Rear delt row - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps each
Barbell press - 3 sets 8 - 10 reps
Upright row - 3 sets 8 - 10 reps

Traps:
Smith machine shrugs front - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Smith machine shrugs back - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps

Back:
Pull-ups 3 sets to failure
Dumbbell rows - 3 sets 8 - 10 reps
V-bar pull down superset with Cable rows - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Deadlift/ Rack-pulls - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Lat pull down machine - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps

Calves:
Front Calf Raise on leg extension machine - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Calf raise on leg press machine - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
One leg seated calf raise - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps

Chest:
Incline Dumbbell press - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Flat Smith Machine Press - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Flat Flyes - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Pullovers - 2 sets 8 - 12 reps
Pec deck - 2 sets 8 - 12 reps
Cable flyes - 5 sets 8 - 12 reps

Triceps:
Tricep Dip machine - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Tricep Pulldowns - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Reverse grip one arm pulldown - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps

Biceps:
Hammercurls - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
One arm machine curls - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Cable curls - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps

Forearms:
Underhand grip forearm curl - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Overhand grip forearm curl - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps
Behind back forearm curl - 3 sets 8 - 12 reps

Core:
Plank 3 to failure
To be honest my core workouts have been weak lately, feel my core gets a good enough workout from squats and deads.

As always, any info and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Regards Outlaw

I would cut back to only 4 days training a week as a natural- rather train triceps and biceps on a day you do back and shoulders/chest.

Also work your working sets up over a few weeks.

So for example first 2 weeks do 2 working sets. 2nd 2 weeks 3 working sets,3rd 2 weeks 4 working sets then take a week off and repeat, you will then be able to see where u sit in terms of recovery. You will need to make sure your nutrition is spot on. Supplements such as bcaa will be needed in your work out water 20-30g will be essential.

Focus on getting good sleep in,zma before bed with some gaba will aid sleep quite a bit but help with your muscle building.

Diet keep some saturated fats in from beef and eggs for healthy hormone levels, then other meals keep healthy fats in from nuts and oils and coconut oil too. Cardiovascular work keep to 3 a week at a heart rate of 130-140 bpm

My advice is try it see how it goes. How can you predetermine if it will or won't be overtraining before trying it?

As long as your eating enough I don't see you over training on that.

Thanks for your replies guys!

@ SteveC

I'll give the four day split a try but usually Saturdays arm workout is pretty chilled plus I like to go so I can get out of the house a bit...

Ahh, I used to have 20g of BCAA's in my workout water but since SSN have replaced their BCAA powder with that 3:1:1 BCAA I only use about 5g. They totally screwed us with that, will address that though.

And I'll definitely look into the Gaba and ZMA as although I get my 8 hours of sleep and sometimes more, I do believe the quality of my sleep could be a bit better.

@ Chem1

Yea, I've actually been doing this for a few weeks but every time I hear about someone else's training plan I get worried that I may be over training.

@ Rhino

Cool, that's what I wanted to hear haha. I should be at around 4000 kcal a day so I should be okay.

Also the fact that I can increase weight (albeit by a small amount) on my main exercises may be an indication that I'm not really over training.

Thanks again guys

Outlaw #19 wrote: Hey guys,
Split:
Mon - Legs
Tue - Shoulders + Traps
Wed - Cardio (light)
Thurs - Back + Calves
Friday - Chest + Triceps
Sat - Biceps + Forearms + Core work
Sun - Rest

No way is that over training/ over reaching. Look at it like this:
1. You are training 1 body part per week (so to say), so that's a week for recovery.
2. Interactives and synergistic muscles have at least 2 days between workout days. (Mon Legs & Thurs Calves, Tues Shoulders & Fri Chest). Just keep your traps in mind, decide how they feel on Thursdays.
3. Sunday is an entire day devoted to rest & recovery.


All IMO bud

Like you said, if you can increase the weight you lifting every week, then its a good indication that you're not over training.

You can also do traps with back. You could slot it in after your deadlifts.

Over training happens when you don't have sufficient rest between workouts , at least 48 hours

If you are not progressing you are over training or you have a good program that works for you.