Training "a lot" beneficial or detrimental ?

[jl83]

Background (feel free to skip)
32 y/o, former couch potato, since early 2023 decided that I needed to get in shape, joined a gym, ended up getting equipment for house work outs, started climbing, occasionally freediving and occasionally slack lining.
(Ideally do read below this, questions to follow)

Currently I train at home(dumbell set, adjustable bench, pull up bar, bands), following a work out from CALIBER app (love and recommend it, but haven't tried others to be fair), which goes 4x per week, usually takes me 1hr + stretching time, it goes like this:
Day 1 (Monday)(back and biceps) 4 back exercises, 2 biceps, chin ups/pull ups
Day 2 (Tuesday)(chest and triceps) 4 chest exercises, 2 triceps
Day 3 (Thursday)(Legs and abs) 4 leg exercises, 2 abs
Day 4 (Friday)(shoulder and traps) 4 shoulder exercises, 1 traps

Besides this, I currently climb twice a week and run (4-9k per run) 3 times a week.
I feel like I have hit a massive plateau, which doesn't bother me THAT much, but I do feel like I have the energy to do more.
That being said, would you recommend or advise agains to the following:
1.- Doing strenght workouts twice a day (some days when I have more energy than others)
2.- Doing strenght, cardio and climbing on the same day
3.- Upping the climbing to 4x or 3x a week

I do my strenght before work (5-6ish am) and cardio and climb always after work. Given that I don't climb nor run every day, some days I do feel like I could literally repeat my strength session (I would rate them 7/10 intensity, as I only hit failure in probably 25% of my sets. Don't feel confident enough as of yet to hit failure in every set, as last year I had 3 big injuries that were because of gym activities, of couese, not done properly).
My goals are to be strong and healthy and if I get to look a bit better while doing it, very welcome.
Sorry for the long ass post, happy to share more info if it helps !

 

[itrm]

@jl83 As a general rule, if you feel like you could repeat your strength session the very next day, you're probably not training hard enough.

There's also seems to be some confusion about basic training principles here. You say you've had 3 big injuries because of gym activities, but you're also thinking about upping your strength training to either twice a day or just doing everything (strength, cardio and training) in one day? My friend, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but significantly increasing your training volume like that brings a high probability of injury. I would go so far as to say that training too much without proper rest and recovery carries an even greater likelihood/rate of injury than horsing around heavy weights with bad form (although I'm sure that's a big one too).

 

[jl83]

@itrm Yeah, I think I explained myself like crap. Had 3 injuries, 2 back ones, First, due to ego lifting, DO NOT EGO LIFT !, 2nd for not warming up properly and not resting, 3rd was a wrist problem, climbing plus throwing a heavy ball without warning up.
I'm definitely not training hard, as explained, maybe 7/10 effort, but I'm scared of going heavy again, as I keep thinking that I could injure myself (by doing more reps, sets or weights, usually my form gets poorer). That's the reason I was thinking of maybe doing strength twice a day.

 

[itrm]

@jl83 Pick you poison then i guess. While training hard and close to failure isn't a recipe for injury, injuries are a normal part of the process and you just have to work around them. However, training at high volumes at low intensity is (a) not going to give you the results you want, (b) an inefficient waste of time and (c), ironically, going to increase your risk of injury.

You can train close to failure by using lighter weights and operating in a higher rep range. Plenty of people take this approach precisely because they feel it reduces their injury risk. And if you find certain exercises strain your lower back or irritate your wrist, then swap them out for variants that accomplish the same thing.

You situation isn't unique - I think a huge percentage of people who lift consistently deal with elbow/wrist issues and lower back issues. I certainly have. Deadlifts and backsquats were killing my lower back, so I tinkered around and replaced the deadlifts with RDLs, GHRs, leg curls, etc and the back squats with front squats. For my tennis elbow, I adjusted my grip, started using straps, and used lengthened partials. There are countless options and variants at your disposal.

Good luck!

 

[dreuter032003]

@jl83 Does the app have a progression (weight/sets/reps) or is it just prescribing exercises?

 

[jl83]

@dreuter032003 So far, I have been using it for 2 months. Gives you the exercise, recommends warm up weights and amount of sets with recommended reps. It does have a strange "strength level" which I understand mixes your body weight with your weights but I'm not even remotely sure of how it works. I try to up a rep or a kg every week (progressive load ?) But it feels like I have reached a plateau image and strength wise (as in I look the same and don't feel any stronger, even though I do a bit heavier weights)

 

[dawn16]

@jl83 Training a lot is not informative so you need to measure the intensity. For cardio you can measure with your heart rate max and zones. For strength you can only do the certain max reps.

 

[jl83]

@dawn16 It's a strange area for me. As a general rule, I try to be close (maybe 3-5 reps shy) to failure, which usually means I do between 8-15 reps (depending on the exercise). Cardio I do it mainly because I do enjoy losing myself while running.

 

[tonyangiano]

@jl83 Hmm if I had that issue I’d slowly increase intensity and lower the volume or spend the free energy on low impact walking or hiking in nature.