Go hard or go home, right? Nope, not always. This is such a misconception, that is, in many people’s minds. People talk a lot about not exercising enough, but what the notion of about exercising too much, or too hard?
Recently I had a friend tell me about a new workout she was attending. The more we talked, the more I realized she might be taking a class that is leading some, if not all, of participants down a potential road to overtraining. She reported feeling wiped out after every class to the point where she felt useless for the remainder of her day, and sometimes for the rest of the week: my training background and experience signaled this was a red flag.
She, like myself, is extremely competitive. She found herself pushing hard to keep up with other in the class while ignoring the ‘rest, refrain and refuel’ signals her body was naturally giving he. So, not only did she end up with extreme fatigue, but she also unknowingly lacked proper form and ended up in severe pain.
So the questions of the day are: what is overtraining? And how do you know when you’re doing it?
To put it simply, overtraining is putting an over abundance of stress on your body, to the point your body begins to struggle to keep up. The truth is: each of our bodies have a limit on what they can and will withstand as well as a time span they need to repair. Overtraining can easily result from working out in excess with no rest. Working out too hard, for too long, without proper recovery are the three main ingredients for overtraining.
Not listening to your body can increase the likelihood of overtraining. Feeling completely drained and exhausted after a workout, doesn’t necessarily mean you had a “really good workout”. It could signify that you possibly pushed your body too far. Feeling fatigued after a workout is normal, feeling fatigued to the point that you can barely complete your workout due to pain and/or severe exhaustion often signal overtraining.
Why is this bad?
Physiologically, exercise causes the breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids release nitrogen containing wastes. The body must eliminate this waste before they build up, and the excretory system traps waste and expels it from the body, preserving the necessary balance. Sweat is the first step in the excretory process, and the lungs, skin and the kidneys create the routes to removal of metabolic waste.
Metabolic waste reduces the amount of healthy essentials that are needed by the body to repair the damage of tissues that happen as a result of exercising. Usually, this repair process allows our body to rebuilt and get stronger, but if our body is unable to keep up, it will weaken us.
Signs that you’re overtraining and overdoing exercise
Fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, frequent sickness, suppressed immune system, gastrointestinal issues, heavy muscles, inability to complete routine training, excessive sweating, slow return of HR to normal after exercise, depression, loss of appetite, increase fluid intake, loss of libido, lightheadedness, sleep issues, lack of motivation, cycle changes, more aches and pains, anxiety, depression, irritability, and finally your performance is not improving.
How to avoid overtraining
Listen to your body! If we are in-tune with our bodies, we will recognize the initial signs when our body tells us we need more rest, instead of more work.
Compete with yourself, not others. This might be challenging if you are a strong competitor. Competition, in whole, is not unhealthy, especially if you commit to listening to your body and remain aware of your own abilities, and inabilities.
In an effort to avoid overtraining, it will be essential to get sufficient rest, during, and post workout. This cannot be emphasized enough. Exercise is where we ‘tear’ our muscles, rest is how we replenish and strengthen them. Micro-tearing is what exercise does, and if we don’t allow enough recovery time, our body can progress towards deteriorative state, instead of strengthening and improving.
It will be interest to avoid overdoing full intensity training sessions. This could be as simple as reducing the time you spend doing high intensity exercises during one workout. Each body is different and has a different threshold of what it can take. Some people should only do HITT once a week, and some can do it up to four times. Some people can withstand an hour of higher intensity workouts, while others should stick to under 20 minutes. Exercise is personal, and there is no cookie cutter approach.
Taking supplements can be to helpful in improve your overall recovery and protect against muscle damage. Supplements like BCAA’s (Branch chain amino acids), can help provide your body with the necessary “ingredients” it needs repair and recover. Always consult a doctor before taking supplements, especially if you are taking medications, or have any medical issues.
In conclusion, it’s okay to push yourself, but don’t go overboard. Always listen to your body. Be aware of the aforementioned signs of overtraining, and by all means, get enough rest!
Featured photo by: Sparkpeople.com
