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I'm not too sure how or why but I find myself in a position where i'm slowly obtaining more injuries year-by-year.

In college I could go to the gym 4/5 times a week, play football (soccer) or basketball on the same day.

Whilst I wasn't lifting as heavy back then as I am now (progression yay!), i'm doing much less exercise but feeling more pain, and more tired.

In College/University:

Monday: Chest + Legs (morning), Basketball (2 hours of scrimmage/training)

Tuesday: Back (morning), Basketball Game 40 mins max (evening)

Wednesday: Arms + Intense Core (morning), Football 2pm til dusk depending on numbers (afternoon/evening)

Thursday: Shoulders + Legs (morning, light legs), Football match 40 minutes max (evening)

Friday: Basketball (1hr 30 scrimmage)

Saturday: Nothing

Sunday: Once every 2 weeks, Basketball Training (Scrimmage, shooting drills, resistance)

Now working:

Sunday: Chest + Leg

Monday:Rest, maybe light core workout at home, jump rope

Tuesday: Shoulders OR Back (depends on how busy gym is)

Wednesday: Football OR Gym (Arms and Core if I go)

Thursday: Back OR Shoulders (whichever I did not do on Tuesday)

Friday: Basketball (2 hours)

Saturday: Rest or depending on how I feel, I pick up whatever I feel wasn't done well during the week (Chest, Leg, Shoulders, Back, Arms whichever).

I am 2 years removed from College, and I never injured my body apart from the occasional ankle sprain.

I'm worried i'm not getting enough rest, but my body could take a larger beating beforehand, so i'm scared something is seriously wrong.

Can anyone recommend or make adjustments in my workout schedule or shed light on their experiences?

tl;dr

How do you balance your working life, sports, and lifting in the gym.

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    What are you trying to get from the weight room (strength, size, sport performance, etc)?
    – Remo Williams
    Jul 15, 2016 at 14:38
  • @RemoWilliams I want to get stronger athletically. I don't want a body like people competing, I want something where I can still run fast, but be stronger, perhaps drop my body fat whilst gaining in muscle. A bit of size gaining is a plus, but I realise if I focus on gaining size, my performance in sports decreases quite significantly (adjusting to a larger weight) etc
    – user3564421
    Jul 18, 2016 at 7:41

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You are right, you can't recover as well as you could when you were in college. Such is the nature of the human body. However, you can do a few things to give your body the best chance at recovering:

  • Eat enough. If you want to progress and work at 70-90% RM in your gym workouts then you need to eat enough to help your body recover. Work out your TDEE and use that as a guide.
  • Sleep enough. 8 hours is what you should aim for. Best amount varies from person-to-person so try some different numbers.
  • Practice form with perfect form its near impossible to give yourself a injury (except maybe dropping the bar on yourself). You have been working out for a while which means you are nearing the end of a cycle (working out usually at 90% often failing last rep). Consider restarting with a de-load to practice form. Throw in mobility exercises to help with this.
  • Set your priorities straight Set yourself some goals and design your day around meeting them. I would love to be able to fit a cooked breakfast, 9.5hr work day, 3 hours gaming, 2 hours gymming, a nice cooked dinner, 1 hour playing with my cats and 8.5 hours sleep but there are not enough hours in the day. If you want progress in the gym you need to make time for GYM, FOOD, AND SLEEP
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  • with regards to eating: the only thing i'm tracking right now is protein, and that's to gain (without shake) around 80-100g a day. Which others should I be aware of? (I want to avoid gaining bf%) Sleep: Definitely have that one down aha Practise form: Ahh thats pretty good advice, never considered to de-load. I've started stretching as most injuries i've had (according to physio) are because my hamstrings/glutes are too tight, and if no warm up. Definitely going to look up de-load. thanks! With priorities: Eat, Work, Workout, Sleep on weekdays. I rarely socialise unless weekend.
    – user3564421
    Jul 18, 2016 at 8:06
  • Track calories, not just macros. Hamstrings/glutes are often a issue and foam rolling is the common answer for helping. IF you are looking to gain muscle with a lean bulk then a surplus of 200-400 calories is probably best provided you are accurately tracking your calorie intake.
    – John
    Jul 18, 2016 at 8:13

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