Have you ever felt like you are putting in all the hours you can in the gym, desperately trying to achieve your goals but seem to be going backwards?
Or have you found your training sessions seem to be getting harder although you are not doing as much as you once were?
Or maybe you are feeling like you have lost your appetite for training all together and are struggling to motivate yourself to get to the gym at all??
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms then there is a chance that you are actually doing too much exercise and that you are in fact, over training.
Apart from just decreased performance in the gym, there are a number of symptoms that could indicate that you are asking too much of your body and it’s time to give it some rest! These include:
Pain in joints and muscles
Rapid heart increase
Chronic fatigue
Delayed recovery
Increased lactic acid
There are psychological effects as well, these include:
Depression
Decreased self-esteem
Difficulty concentrating and generally feeling irritable
Feeling stressed
Emotional instability
People tend to over train for a number of reasons, but I find it’s particularly common in beginners and people who are new to training.
They are in such a rush to get in shape as fast as they possibly can and believe that hitting the gym twice a day will turn them into a champion over night!
But the reality is that they will end up very tired and totally burnt out, they will not have seen any results, and will probably have seen the gym as such a negative experience that they are likely to fail to get back there again!
So here are some quick tips to help you to avoid over training.
Nutrition
A good nutritional diet plays a vital role in replacing energy in the body, so by following some of my simple tips you can help your body recover from your workouts more quickly.
NEVER miss breakfast...breakfast meaning to “break the fast". Assuming you have been sleeping for 6-8 hours then it’s probably been at least 10 hours since your last meal.....and to make your body wait another 5 hours until lunch time can cause loss of the lean muscle tissue you have been working so hard to gain.
Avoid getting hungry at all costs!!! Being hungry too often will make your body break down your hard earned lean muscle to give to your vital organs...so try to eat BEFORE YOU FEEL TO HUNGRY!
If you are feeling hungry try to avoid training until you have eaten unless your goal is to lose all your lean muscle!!??
Always try to eat within at least an hour of finishing your workout. The sooner you start replenishing your body’s depleted energy store the quicker the recovery process can start to get under way. A good quality protein or recovery shake is also highly recommended after a workout.
Always stay well hydrated!! When it comes to recovery dehydration is a big problem...workout recovery occurs a lot better when you are properly hydrated.
Get enough rest....and sleep!
We all need a different amount of sleep each night but if you are following a strenuous exercise programme I would recommend you aim for at least 8 hours. Your muscles require plenty of rest for adequate recovery between workouts and muscles actually recover and grow during periods of deep sleep.
Progress slowly
Remember even the strongest and fittest men and women in the world had to start somewhere. So just try to stick to your own personal capabilities and let yourself progress when you are ready. Take running as an example; if you want to start running don’t try and start with unrealistic times and distances. Just start by doing a slow jog/walk in intervals for about 10-15 minutes. So to start with it can be as simple as 30 seconds jogging to 4 minutes walking. What you want to aim to do is increase the time you jog and lower the time you walk. It should be done slowly and over a period of time. Eventually you will find that you can jog for the whole 15 minutes, and then you can start to increase it to 20 minutes and so on......
Work different muscle groups on different days
Rather than going into the gym for 2 hours and taking your whole body through a workout 3 times a week why not try just concentrating on working 2 or 3 muscle groups at a time? For example:
Workout one: chest and biceps
Workout two: legs and lower back
Workout three: back and triceps
Workout four: shoulders and forearms
This will not only cut down the time you spend training in the gym but also give each muscle group longer to recover which will result in an overall stronger body.
So if you are feeling like you have been doing a bit too much lately then just try to follow some of the above and it should hopefully help you. As much as it’s important to train hard and on a regular basis it’s just as important to let yourself rest and recover as well!
Happy training (and resting!)
Glenn
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