How do you train more without getting sore?

[samoht]

I am having trouble upping my training from my current 4 or 5 times a week. The more I train the more exhausted I feel and the less I can train. My sensei says he trains three times a day!!! How do you do that without cramping up and getting sore muscles?

I eat plenty of food I think. At 172cm and 74kg I could easily lose a few pounds.

[Elky]

Why bother training more than 5 times week? You're gonna get very good with 5 days a week. Have a couple of days off. Chill out. Have a beer and a chocolate bar and watch movies! You'll be a more rounded individual!

[AikiGuy]

Why bother training more than 5 times week? You're gonna get very good with 5 days a week.

Elky's right. You may be overtraining your body. The exhaustion you feel is probably a sign to cut back a bit. Most people train a body part 2 or 3 times a week and see good results. It is unhealthy to do too much exercise since your body can adapt and recover only so fast.

[lordtariel]

The body NEEDS time to recover. If you really want to work out every day, try varying your workouts. Work on strikes and punches one day, kicks and stepping on another, throw in balance drills another day, stretching the next. By training different muscle groups, you give the others a chance to rest. Not to mention spicing up your training a bit so you don't get bored.

[TheRenegade]

I am willing to bet you do not get enough sleep. I get 9 to 9.5. And I notice a difference when I don't, believe me. You NEED that much to maintain proper hormone levels, if nothing else. You may be over training anyway, and with less than enough sleep, you will pay for it.

You say you eat a lot, but you do not say that you eat well. Make sure you do, or there is nothing that will help you.

Go to https://www.mikemahler.com and read up (and buy) on Vitalzym. Amazing product, worth every cent, and he sells it cheapest.

[samoht]

I eat well. No junk food. Maybe a little too much meat and coffee.

How did someone like Bruce Lee train. Surely he was training more than 5 times a week. My training sessions are only 1 hour. Olympic athletes train 30 hours a week dont they.

[Fish]

What other commitments do you have? Of course full time athletes and sportsmen train more than 5 hours a week. But its their job to do so, and they will have a coach whose job it is to regulate their training scientifically so they correctly balance stress, rest, nutrition and hydration etc to bring them to peak performance.

If you have other commitments (job, school, family or whatever), then you have to be realistic about how much time you can give to your sport, and you have to make sure you have adequate recovery time. You will not improve unless you do so.

[bushido_man96]

You may need to back off, and give your body time to adjust by gradually increasing your work loads. That way, your body adapts, and can then improve more.

[Shotokan Student]

I agree with Samoht. It's hard to imagine cutting back when all you want is to do more. I want to practice kata's, basics, stretch, cardio would be great if I could squeeze it in. However, with an hour class five times a week and work every day it's hard to do everything I want. Plus I'm exhausted.

I'm going to try lordtariel's advice and split up muscle groups and trainings. Good advice but I wish you'd just tell me a magic remedy to give me more energy

[Tiger1962]

I agree with the others. Trainers at my gym have told me that your body needs recovery time which is why they often tell people to work your upper body one day and the next your lower and then alternate.

Overworking your body without allowing for recovery is putting yourself at risk for injury. At my peak I trained at the most 4 times a week, no more. And I was sore and tired. Then due to work, etc., and other reasons I had to cut back.

But 3 to 4 times a week seems to be the norm from what I hear from other martial artists I know.