Some individuals just want to train all the time. They simply can't stay away from the gym. The problem with this is that they can overdo things and get to the point of overtraining, or not being able to rest and eat enough to help refuel and repair the damage caused by exercise.

Overtraining is a greatly debated topic as some people believe there is no such thing as overtraining, but under resting and a lack of refueling is a real issue.

Lets take a look at top level competitive athletes. These guys can be training for many hours a day, 6-7 days a weeks. All you have to do is look at Michael Phelps’ training for the 2008 Olympics. He was doing around 8 miles a day in the pool, 6 days a week as well as 45-60 minutes in the gym 6 days a week.

This, for pretty much everyone else, would be near on impossible as we obviously don’t have the time, resources, and specialists in our corner etc, but it does show that the body can take a hell of a beating.

Are you training 6 times a week for an hour? Nothing compared to Phelps, but are you going out at the weekend and drinking, eating crap, have a stressful job and a family to look after? My point is it is not so much the training, but the lifestyle that goes along with it. Just something to think about...

The template shown is developed to help give you maximum results, without pushing the body into overtraining for those whose lifestyles are not perfect in helping the body recover.

The template will give you one day off a week; for the sake of the program the day off will be a Sunday. This though can be your choice and you can fit it around your own schedule.

Monday: Upper body weight training

Tuesday: Foam rolling, mobility work and 20 min of lower intensity interval training

Wednesday: Lower body weight training

Thursday: 20 minutes of high intensity interval training

Friday: Upper body weight training

Saturday: Foam rolling, mobility work and 20 min of lower intensity interval training

Sunday: Off

For more information cardio training, see this article.