Chapter 11: Overtraining: What You Need To Know To Prevent This Problem

Taking a break once a while is good!

Overtraining: What You Need To Know To Prevent This Problem

As you go about your workout program, it’s going to be very critical that you are always paying some attention to the risk of overtraining.

Overtraining is something that is going to impact those who aren’t careful with their workout programming and who do have a tendency to do too much, too soon or who subscribe to the notion that ‘more is always better’.

If this describes you, you may want to step back and do a bit of reconsidering.

Overtraining is essentially a condition where you are placing more stress on the body than what it is capable of handling. As such, it stays in a broken down state and doesn’t ever get the chance to fully rebuild itself back up to where it should be.

As time progresses on, you become weaker and weaker, muscle mass loss takes place, your metabolism slows, and you become highly fatigued on a day to day basis.

Some of the most notable symptoms of overtraining to be on the lookout for include:

·         high levels of ongoing fatigue

·         decreased libido levels

·         feelings of depression/lost of interest in activities formerly enjoyed

·         weight gain or loss

·         change in appetite

·         difficulty falling or staying asleep

·         frequent headaches

·         general listlessness

·         body aches and pains that never seem to let up

·         increased feelings of irritability and sometimes aggression

·         increased resting heart rate upon waking

·         decline in physical performance

·         poor recovery abilities

·         lowered weights in the gym

If you notice any of these symptoms coming on, that’s a very good sign that you may want to consider backing away slightly and giving your body some more time to rest and up get recovered. 

The big problem for many people is the fact that when they start to see their performance declining in the gym or start noticing higher levels of fatigue, all this does is makes them push harder as they think they aren’t working at a high enough intensity.

In reality, it’s actually the opposite.  They’re working too hard and the last thing they should do is ‘push harder’.

There are a number of things that you should be focusing on in order to prevent overtraining from taking place.

Some of these include:

·         making sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night

·       practicing good nutritional strategies by consuming good pre and post workout nutrition, along with the right foods at all other times during the day

·         taking at least one day off from all exercise each week

·         structuring your workout schedule to allow for some easier/cardio only days

·        making sure to keep your overall stress levels lower in your life (as any stress will increase your risk of overtraining)

·         taking hot baths or getting a massage regularly

If you can be sure to do these on a regular basis, that will go a long way towards preventing overtraining from ever setting in.

Now, what if you have let it go too far? What if you’re currently in a state of semi overtraining and now need to do damage control?

If this is the case, then here are the things to do:

·         take one full week off immediately (no form exercise is to take place)

·         bring your calorie intake up to maintenance levels, getting at least 150 grams of carbs per day (most people will have a maintenance level of around 15 calories per pound of body weight)

·         get as much sleep as possible

·         re-evaluate your program to figure out what caused you to become overtrained in the first place.

·         Start back into a new and adjusted workout program slowly to ensure that you are fully recovered

The sooner you can catch overtraining occurring, the easier it will be to get out of it and back on track.  If you let yourself continue training despite being overtrained, you could be looking at having to take weeks or even months off training entirely depending on how bad the situation is.

Furthermore, other health problems can come about if overtraining is left to go on long enough such as weakened bones, hypothyroidism, altered sex hormones, and long-term chronic injuries just to name a few.

Overtraining is a very serious and real issue and something that you cannot afford to simply overlook.  By paying attention to your recovery and making sure that you are adjusting your workout program as needed, you can ensure that you do stay on top of it.

So now let’s move on and go over a few of the top nutritional concerns that you should be thinking about as you go about your workout program.