Are you overtraining?

What is overtraining? 

While a majority of people don't exercise enough, there is a portion that can overtrain. Although you probably think you know how to maintain a healthy life style yourself. Investing in a good Personal Trainer will stop you overtraining and becoming injured or ill.

It is good to know the signs of overtraining and its effects.

Overtraining happens when a person exercises too much without allowing the body to recover. It occurs more often in weight training, however, it

is still possible in other physical activities such as running.



Some of the effects of overtraining

Overtraining is a good way to limit your progress. Instead of making gains from training a lot, you only end up limiting your progress due to a lack of rest that the body needs. Some of the most common symptoms of overtraining include:

Common warning signs and symptoms of overtraining syndrome

•                Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy

•                Mild leg soreness, general aches and pain

•                Pain in muscles and joint

•                Sudden drop in performanc

•                Insomnia

•                Headaches

•                Decrease in training capacity / intensity

•                Moodiness and irritability

•                Depression

•                Loss of enthusiasm for the sport

•                Decreased appetite

•                Decrease immunity (colds, flu, etc)

•                Increased incidence of injuries.

How to avoid overtraining

The most obvious way to avoid overtraining is by taking breaks. Allow at least a couple of days out of the week for recovery or work out different muscle groups each day to allow other parts to recover. Also try to reduce the intensity of some of your workouts. If you trained

really hard one day, take it easy the next.

I don't worry too much about overtraining since I am sure to take my rest days. I look forward to my rest days just as much as working out.  I specific train for marathons and rest is just as important as it is to train hard.

Ways to afford overtraining

•                Good nutrition - Post workout

•                Heart rate monitors

•                Inadequate recovery time

•                Appropriate intensity  (20 – 60 min) three times a week

•                (60-90%) maximum rate.

To maintain and improve and good health

 

Prevention is better than cure! 

Careful planning of the training programme is a key factor in

preventing overtraining. I recommend a good Personal Trainer.

A good trainer will take into account such things as external factors may have an adverse influence on a person’s well-being, leading to underperformance, but at least the trainer should be aware of some simple precepts that have been shown to work. Table 1, below, offers a succinct summary of what not to do.

How to overtrain

•                No rest days

•                No regeneration week every 2-3 weeks

•                Monotonous training programmes

•                More than 3 hours’ training a day

•                More than 30% training load increase in a week

•                No alternation of hard/easy days   

Train smart and hard: Take breaks!: