Overtraining is when an individuals exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. Overtraining can lead to loses in strength, size, overall fitness, endurance, and is a major problem in athletes, gym rats and everyday people trying to lose weight. The main issue people have is that they want to be in shape so bad they think doing more accomplishes more and this is simply not the case. Your body has a healing capacity and a capacity to rebuild muscle, and once you pass this threshold, you are now doing more harm than good. This is all to familiar to me, and I see it at least once everytime I am at the gym. I even made the same mistake myself starting out. I have been there, I have wanted those results just as bad as you and I ended up hurting myself. I had a sprained shoulder, little results, and constant fatigue, and all because I didn't know one principal designed by Tim Ferris, author of the 4 Hour Body. It is about doing the least amount required to get 100% of the results. Being at the gym longer, and doing more sets does NOT mean more muscle and better gains. Often times you will actually see DECREASES in strength and results. Here are some easy signs that you may be overtraining. Keep in mind guys, overtraining isn't just doing too much when you are at the gym, it is also caused by not taking enough days off to rest. Remember, you can't rebuild without giving your muscles the time to do so!
-You are finding it difficult to accomplish workouts you can normally do. This is normally a sign that you are not getting adequate rest. Eventually your body will get so fatigued that what was easy in the past may now be very difficult or strenuous.
-You are very tired. Overall tiredness can come from a number of reasons, however it is a major sign of overtraining. Your body is always in recovery mode and finds it difficult to do day to day things.
-You are noticing less results even with the addition of more work. This is the vicious circle of overtraining, and is the one I got stuck in as a young uneducated lifter. In many instances an individual isn't getting results, so they increase their work at the gym, which ultimately leads to losing gains, and thus again starting the cycle. Keep an eye on your results all the time guys. See how your clothes fit and how your body looks, it will tell you a lot!
-An easy way to tell is just looking at what you are doing. If you are doing high intensity training every day you are often times overtraining. I only lift 5 / 7 days of the week, and ensure I take an extra recovery day after very intense lifts. My workouts are always under an hour (before doing abs). Remember, if your muscles are still sore, don't work them again! Some exceptions to this are muscles that are hard to fatigue such as core and calves.
-Restlessness- When you are working on high intensity training too much, you can actually leave your nervous system activity elevated. This can lead to insomnia, and many other restlessness feelings. Make sure you let your body take a day off like you enjoy one after a stressful week of work. On the other hand, if you are normally an endurance athlete, the opposite can be felt. You may feel extra sluggish and tired more often.
-You just plain hurt. Your body is always trying to talk to you, you just need to look for the signs. If you are constantly in pain your body is telling you it is beat up. It needs the down time because that soreness is actually the process of rebuilding. Compare your muscles to a car. If the soreness is still there, the mechanic is still working on the car. You wouldn't walk in halfway through a tune up take your car and race it full speed again would you? Give your car a chance to get back to 100% so you can drive it all out again!
- Weakened immune system. When your muscles are run down, your body is run down. Your body is trying to constantly repair and this has adverse affects on your immune system. Much like when you are stressed, your immune system is weakened because your body itself is so weak and overworked.
Ways to combat overtraining
A good protein filled diet can do wonders. Things like BCAAs are recovery specific proteins and they can help you get back on your feet quicker. Another great addition are testosterone boosters. Test boosters not only help with overtraining, but rebuild more muscle and add a little libio to the bedroom as a bonus. Take note, body builders have a number of substances helping them get to the size they need to be. These substances also increase their recovery speed and allow them to workout at such a high end level. The average person would be in a state of overtraining if they were to do what body builders do. You have to work your way into it and supplement right.I often recommend no more than 5 exercises a workout (6 with a superset) and no more than3 sets for more than 2 of those exercises. Try to keep your routine short, and with adequate rest. I recommend normally 1-1.5 minutes, and make sure you take at least a day in between working the same body part twice. If you really feel the need to workout, try doing cardio on your day off, or short circuits with stretching and core at the end. Make sure you aren't at the gym for extremely long, that often means one of three things, too much rest, overtraining, or you are talking too much!
Remember guys. Your body doesn't always want to be in a state of recovery. The idea is not to build on torn muscles, it is to build on rebuilt muscles. Don't send yourself backwards in time! Only do what is needed, and you will wreak the best benefits. As Tim Ferris said in the 4 Hour Body, it is about doing the least amount of work required, to achieve 100% of the results, anything more is simply hurting your progress! Everyone is different, so find your perfect routine and avoid the issues!
EXTRA NOTE!
Those people who may be using abien as a sleep aid, it can cut your deep sleep by up to 90% This is the time of night when we do most of our recovering and building. If you are on abien you may have a feeling of overtraining and fatigue. This is a very common drug and if you are on something similar you should look into it!
Cheers
Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca
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