Over-training can be a problem too

Well for most us worrying about over-training is the furthest from our concerns. We tend to be very good at under-training our bodies to their fullest potential. But for some of you, in the pursuit of health and athletic accomplishment, over-training can be a significant problem that can rob you of your fullest potential. Over-training occurs when someone trains beyond their body’s ability to recover and thus resulting in decreased performance and increased health risks such as injury or illness.

How do you know if you are over-training? Some common signs that show up are repeated little overuse injuries, increased aches and pains. Also you may notice that you have more frequent illnesses, such as colds and general fatigue feeling that just don’t seem to go away. Other signs might be drop in performance and training intensity, mood shifts and irritability, loss of enjoyment with training activity, insomnia or decreased appetite.

Here are some tips to monitor your status to reduce the risk of moving into over-training. One of the best is to record your resting heart rate. The best way to do this is to take your heart rate first thing in the morning when you get up. As you get healthier you should see this resting heart rate decrease, this is a sign of a healthier cardiovascular system. Eventually it will level off as you near your optimal health level. If this resting heart rate starts to increase, that is often a sign you need to take some of the steps to let your body recover to reduce over-training. But the tricky part is you may notice this number continues to fall lower and lower as well, and not increase, with some people that are becoming more over-trained. If the number continues to fall and you feel fatigued or some of the other symptoms of over-training, then don’t let the falling number trick you into thinking you are doing good. Another is to record your training workouts and to watch for changes in intensity or if you feel more fatigued with doing them and not as energized after. Also you may notice some decrease hydration, so watch your pee (as gross as that sounds it can tell you if you are hydrated properly or not).

Some steps to avoid overtraining. Include at least one recovery day each week with no exercise. Alternate and change up your exercise routine to add in variability to it. When you are increasing intensity with your workout make sure to do so gradually over time. If you notice you are suffering the effects of over-training make sure to decrease exercise level and rest to allow your body the chance to recover. You can still exercise but decrease intensity and frequency of exercise. Get lots of water to help rehydrate your body along with getting plenty of healthy food to refuel your body to assist in the recovery process. Let this recovery process happen over several weeks depending on the severity of the over-training you are suffering from. Then SLOWLY get back to your exercise routine and try to find the sweet spot in your training.

We have to remember that more is not always better. Sometimes too much exercise can not be healthy for us either. But please don’t be fearful of overtraining or use that as an excuse to not exercise.