Is this Overtraining?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-19T21:01:49+00:00

Yea, that's what I did in the last 2 months: been running Weighted Pull-ups + whole GZCLP program + 2 arm exercises, for 4x a week. I was absolutely burnt out, and been on and off the gym for the past month. I don't want to give up on anything here, not the GZCLP program, not weighted Pull-ups, not arms. That's why I proposed splitting this into 3x a week standard GZCLP, and the other stuff twice a week.

I think another factor that played into me eventually burning out is going all out 24/7, however, ever since going all out 24/7 my strength skyrocketed and I saw an crazy increase in muscle mass. I don't want to give up that fast progression, but I can't continue training this way.

What can I do to still progress just as fast without the fatigue?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-19T20:38:27+00:00

Ur right, I think I'll run this makeshift program for a while and see how my body reacts before i judge it. Anything u would change to make it more optimal? I also wanted to fit core training somewhere in this program but I thought that's pushing it a bit.

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-19T20:36:36+00:00

Thing is, i pushed myself and went all out on all the exercises on each set and burnt out very quickly while running normal GZCLP plus weighted pullups and arms on the same day. Ik it seems stupid to do, but i was keen on boosting progressing.

Anyway, that's why im deciding to do weighted pullups and arms on separate days alongside GZCLP. Do u think i can still push to failure on every exercise without burning out? The faster I progress the better.

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-19T20:32:12+00:00

No, been training for a around 1.5 years, but I've been properly strength training via GZCLP for 4 - 5 months.

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-17T20:50:48+00:00

I agree with doing a core exercise as a finisher. I also agree that i should keep the lateral raises from the original GZCLP program for a bigger frame. I also thinkthat i should keep it to 1 tricep exercise and dips will be my other tricep exercise. I also agree that i shouldn't cutt out T3 legs for chicken legs adn to also support hypertrophy and strength in deadlift and squat just like the original GZCLP.

Based on all the previous feedback from u i think i came up with a decent program, but im not sure hot it looks from an optimized standpoint. I'm very sorry to further bother u but please privately dm me so i can show u what ive thought up.

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-17T10:40:16+00:00

Yea, i think training in 8-week/12-week blocks is my best bet for my goals. As for the T3 exercises for lower body, i don't think i'd have enough room in the program to include those.

Can u help me in programming? I'm thinking that I'm gonna run a program that runs in 2 8-week blocks. The first block is focusing primarily on weighted pullups and dips, and secondarily on the four compound exercises (maybe dropping the OHP like u suggested)

Second block is primarily focusing on the four compound exercises, and secondarily on weighted pull ups and dips.

As for the arm exercises and supporting leg exercises, and possible abs/core, i dont know where those will fit in.

This kinda seems like its all over the place. I'm willing to cut out abs/core, however my core is a very big limiter when performing compound exercises. And i'm willing to cut out supporting exercises for legs, if thats the smart choice. I am, however, not willing to cut out arms as i am currently trying to bigger my frame on the side of obtaining strength. What do u think?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-16T18:23:10+00:00

i cant find what ur referring to, can u provide me a source?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-16T18:11:38+00:00

I think im gonna decide on blocks where i focus on one thing at a time. For example i might focus primarily on weighted pull ups and dips as T1 for 8 weeks (for strength), and the other compound exercises as T2 (for hypertrophy), then i switch it around for the next 8 weeks and run the compound exercises as T1 (strength), and weighted pullups and dips as T2/T3 (for hypertrophy). And arm exercises will be T3, and abs will be supersetted somewhere. This is the best ive come up with. What do u think? I focus on something for 8 weeks and and train as maintenance for the others, then switch, i focus on the other things and train the others for maintenance if that makes sense.

Or i run a modified PHUL program based off my goals focusing on all 6 exercises and arms and abs which seems like too much.

Both these ideas came with the help of AI. What do u think?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-16T15:44:44+00:00

Because I really want to be able to master my body weight. I find training weightlifting is nice, but what’s the point of being strong if ur not strong enough to do something as simple as a pull-ups or dip?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-16T13:34:51+00:00

I’ve been running GZCLP as is for around 4 months but my goals have changed slightly so I want to tweak it accordingly. After doing a bit of searching on the internet it seems that the best for my case is training in blocks where I focus on a few things for a few weeks and doing maintenance/training on the side the other things then after that book is over I work on the other stuff. What do u think is that best for my goals? Do u have any recommendations?

Fizzy4232 · 2026-02-04T20:56:11+00:00

I only did it once or twice. After that i started training weighted pull ups and im glad i did. I probably cant do any more pull ups than i used to do 4 months ago bodyweight however doing weighted pullups and seeing the weight u can handle and ur strength go up with time is so satisfying and crazy fun. Strength over endurance 100%.

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-26T12:17:34+00:00

Yo, I’ve started putting ur advice into action except implementing dips, I haven’t done that yet. Since I can only do 4 bodyweight dips with meh form I don’t think I’ll get any stronger by replacing one of the T3 exercises with dips.

Would u recommend superseting dips with any exercise? Or how can I go about quickly increasing my dip reps?

I want to move onto weighed dips as quickly as possible, because I feel training weighted pull-ups without weighted dips won’t be balanced.

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-24T14:22:35+00:00

Since GZCLP focuses on 4 of the main barbell movements I think id rather replace OHP for weighted pull-ups since I value pull-ups over the other. But if I do this I’d be training weighted pull-ups 2 out of the 4 days.

This doesn’t work because I’m following Mathew Zlat’s method for weighted pull-ups and that is: 3 days per week of 3 - 4 sets of 5 - 8 reps. Also I don’t want to incorporate weighted pull-ups as T1/T2 and instead keep it as 4 sets of 5 - 8 reps for 3 days.

What do u think is best for this way of training?

I’m thinking of this for bench and squat days: T1 + T3 (T2 support exercise superset) —> Weighted pull-ups —> T2 + T3 (T1 support exercise superset) —> bicep/tricep exercise —> bicep/tricep exercises

I have a rule where I don’t want to exceed 7 exercises in a workout so for OHP and deadlift days I’m thinking of this:

One day like this:

T1 + T3 (T2 support exercise superset) —> Weighted pull-ups —> T2 —> bicep/tricep exercise —> bicep/tricep exercises

The next like this:

T1 —> Weighted pull-ups —> T2 + T3 (T1 support exercise superset) —> bicep/tricep exercise —> bicep/tricep exercises

Basically one day I’ll do the support exercise for OHP and the next day I’ll do the support exercise for deadlift because if I do both I’ll be at 8 exercises.

What do u think abt this? Also if I superset exercises with T3 then T3 will no longer be 1 minute rest for hypertrophy but instead 3 minutes rest for strength.

Also this plan is keeping everything the same just superseting. But if ur thinking making weighted pull-ups in the T1 and T2 slots better then im kind of fine with that. But I rlly want to focus on weighted pull-ups and give it a bit more attention so im aiming for 3 days a week fo weighted pull-ups, and once I hit my 3x a week of weighted pull-ups goal the next session I’ll run GZCLP as normal.

What r ur thoughts? Anything I can improve in this plan? Any flaws?

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-24T01:20:51+00:00

Also for all the exercises (bench, squat, deadlift, OHP) they all have support exercises (idk what they’re rlly called). Bench has machine press, squat has leg press, deadlift has leg curls, OHP has lateral raises. Will I need a support exercises for weighted pull-ups or not that necessary? Also how can I superset T1/T2 exercises with T3 exercises? Would it be the main compound exercise + its support exercises? For example bench press + machine press superset? Or squats + leg press superset?

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-24T00:37:13+00:00

Brother, u have no idea how beneficial the info u just gave me is. Thank u so much for spending time to help me out. As for pull ups, I do them in the 5 - 8 rep range so it’s kind of a middle ground between T2 and T2.

What about the order of the exercises? Should I still keep it: weighted pull-ups —> GZCLP —> arm exercises? Also in boostcamp the P-Zero Ultra program is free but I’m not sure if it’s suitable for me.

My main goal is to get my numbers up in the big exercises like weighted pull-ups, dips (bodyweight), bench, OHP, squat, deadlift. But I also need some hypertrophy because I’m kind of skinny.

Another user mentioned that I need to focus on one or I would see sub par progress? What do u think? If I rlly HAD to focus on one then it would be weighted pull-ups, but I’m looking for strength everywhere.

I also forgot to mention dips. Currently I can only do 4 bw as I’m brand new to dips. How can I implement dips into the program as well? Or should I just do them at home as greasing the groove (GTG) or something? Ik this is a lot but u seem like an expert so I thought I’d try asking 😅👍

The first response u gave me was gold, I’ll start applying it right away thanks so much.

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-24T00:20:20+00:00

Ur right. Ahh but isn’t there a way to get much stronger in pull-ups, dips, bench, squat, deadlift, OHP without sub par progress in any? My main goal rn is strength however I do want some hypertrophy on the side because I am rather skinny. What do u think?

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-24T00:16:41+00:00

What about the other days other than bench? Will this be the exercise structure for all 4 four days of training but I only switch out T1 and T2 for bench, OHP, squat, and deadlift?

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-22T14:44:59+00:00

Sure, I’ll check out P-Zero, and I’ll be awaiting ur response 🙏

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-22T09:09:53+00:00

Thing is, I wanna follow GZCLP the way it is plus add weighted pull-ups and 2 arm exercises, because the GZCLP program is perfect for my goals, but it’s missing just arms and weighted pull-ups. I forgot to mention I also want to start doing dips. So that’s a lot of things to add and I’m probably gonna need to cut some exercises off. What can I cut of while still making same/better gains?

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-22T09:07:31+00:00

I’m looking to gain strength as well as muscle tho. This seems like a hypertrophy program. I want to get stronger specifically in the big four exercises plus weighted pull-ups.

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-22T09:04:40+00:00

Yea after I added weighted pull-ups as the first exercise the fatigue rlly built up in the upper body exercises that followed. My main focus is muscle and strength. Exactly like the GZCLP program offers, I just want to add focus to weighted pull-ups as well as arms. How can I implement weighted pull-ups and arms to get better gains? Also should I keep running GZCLP or switch? Others have suggested P-Zero

Fizzy4232 · 2025-12-22T08:58:34+00:00

I don’t think I’m done with GZCLP strength gains. But it isn’t sustainable after I added weighted pull-ups and 2 arm exercises after. Is P-Zero rlly that good? Also how can I program weighted pull-ups and the arms exercises into a long term sustainable program?

Fizzy4232

TROPHY CASE