OVER-TRAINING
We are now in month 2 of 2016. Goals have been set, the motivation is through the roof and you’ve been to the gym every day this week. It sounds fantastic and you feel on top of the world, but is this actually good for you?
Over-training is something, we more than often don’t realise, could be doing harm to our bodies rather than good. ’Over-training’ occurs when the volume and intensity of the exercise exceeds an individual’s ability to recover adequately. Put simply, the individual is not resting enough between sessions to allow their body time to rest and repair muscle fibres. Speaking long term, this can cause the exerciser to actually lose strength and become persistently fatigued.
There is a difference between over-training and over reaching. Over-reaching refers to athletes that train hard all the time, but do allow themselves recovery time and recovery sessions as required by their bodies. Over-training is when someone is training very hard, numerous times a week, without allowing rest in between.
Symptoms of over-training include (but are not limited too):
- Elevated resting heart rate
- Insomnia
- Decreased appetite
- Persistent muscle soreness
- Increased susceptibility to injuries
- Irritability
- Depression
- Weight loss
- Increased susceptibility to infections
- Loss of concentration
- Lack of motivation
- Haltered progress
To avoid over training you need to rest!
Allow at least two days between training a certain body part, before targeting it again. Always allow yourself 1—2 days of rest each week to ensure your body has enough time to rest and recuperate.
The most important thing to do is to listen to your body. It will tell you when it needs to rest and when it is ready to move again!
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