>worked out with weights Friday, upper body (do this 3 x wk Mon, Wed, Fri)
>For the first time since I started weight training 6 months ago I had kind of
>an energy collapse. I completed my first set of overhead press and could not
>finish my next two sets. It felt like I was lifting twice as much weight as I
>actually was. I did complete the whole workout but it was limited in reps and
>sets. The next day I was sore. Should not have been.

[snip]

>I lift weights fairly intensely on the 3 upper body days. On Tues and Thurs I
>do lower body workout. All five days I train my abdomen. I work out on
>weekends sometimes but not always.
>
>I figured I ran out of glycogen and my muscles just couldn't perform.
>What do you think?

Hi Mary - if you're making steady gains (handling more weight over a
fixed period of time) then it might have been an off day and the rest
of this post won't apply. But if exhaustion as you described becomes
commonplace during your workouts, then it could be the start of
training burn out.

I don't know what type of movements you use, how many per session,
and whether you're happy with the results so far, but because you're
still within your first year of training, the upper / lower body
split schedule over five sessions per week seems excessive. By
excessive, I mean inadequate rest and recovery, an equally critical
component of body building.

If you're willing to experiment, try consolidating your routine so
that every body part is trained each session. This provides TOTAL
rest between workouts (provided you're not participating in some high
intensity cross-training activity during your rest days). Eliminate
isolation or single joint exercises like lateral raises, chest flies,
concentration curls, cable tricep pushdowns, leg extensions, etc, and
instead focus your energies on massive multi-joint movements like
squats, dead-lifts, presses, chins, etc. Reduce the work load to two,
maximum three working sets per movement.

And start with one workout per week. No, I'm not kidding! If your
body can handle it, try three every two weeks, and then possibly two
per week. The idea here is to secure adequate rest between workouts
without fail. Each time the recovery phase is cut off by going into
the gym too early, the opportunity for growth is thwarted. Abusing
the body like this over time leads to systemic fatigue and stagnation.

Finally, cycling your training intensity (ramping up from 80% of your
previous cycle's maximum to 105% at the end of a cycle) over a 2 to 6
month period may also help you realize consistent strength gains.
Taking a couple of weeks off at the end of a cycle will provide
needed rest before starting another one.

I train once a week, a holdover from my raw vegan days, but with the
introduction of animal products, my recovery period has shortened.
I'll probably start experimenting with 4 to 5 days between workouts.
My routines have remained essentially the same (4 to 5 movements) and
I'm in and out of the gym in less than 30 - 40 minutes.

There is much more info on abbreviated high intensity training from the source:
http://www.hardgainer.com

One person's positive experience with this approach is at:
http://www.monmouth.com/~rclodfelter/hghghp2.htm

Best wishes on your training,
Jo