Have You Been Overtraining?

I've been guilty of it before. You know, when you workout hard for multiple days in a row (little to no rest days in between) and feel sore and fatigue, but write it off as, "It was just a good workout." More times than not the issue could run deeper then just some muscle tightness that should go away. I know my body pretty well, and when I over-train I'm extremely tired (mentally and physically) and could lay down or sleep all day.

Overtraining can be defined as exceeding your body's ability to recover from exercising. If you do not know your body, it may be hard to decipher if you just had a series of good workouts, or if you're overtraining.

In this blog I will list signs of overtraining, and how to help prevent it (spoiler alert: it's a one word answer). This list can also help you understand your body, so you can workout smarter.

1. Fatigue: It is normal to feel tired after a good workout, but the type of fatigue I'm talking about is constant. Fatigue you feel before and after your workout, daily.

2. Not feeling hungry: Overtraining can cause hormonal imbalance which can control how hungry you may or may not feel.

3. Causing your workouts to plateau or decrease in intensity: You may not see any "gains" or improvements from your workout, because you haven't rest properly.

4. No motivation: This could happen because you're mentally and physically drained, due to overtraining.

5. Heavy and sore muscles: Again, feeling sore is normal, but excessive, constant soreness can be a sign of overtraining.

6. Loss of enjoyment: It has been known that exercises can release a hormone called dopamine. Dopamine is known to help improve mood. Overtraining can cause a lack of enjoyment and could mask the release of this neurotransmitter.

7. Problems with sleeping: Overtraining could possibly cause insomnia.

8. Increase in resting heart rate: Your resting heart rate could increase 10-15 beats per minute due to overtraining.

Now that we've established some symptoms of overtraining, how do you fix it? The answer sounds simple, but may not be as easy as you think. To fix overtraining you need to REST! Some people (myself included) thought that if I take a day off from consistent exercise, I'm going to lose my gains. Actually the opposite happens. Your body needs rest in order for you to see your results.

Taking days off between consistent exercise is part of the process. You will feel better and will be ready to attack that next workout.