Over Training - A common and unknown hindrance to growth

Have you ever been at a point where it seems you keep pushing harder and harder but you can't make any progress? There's a good chance it's due to over training. Over training is when your training regime pushes your body beyond it's ability to recover. Here are some signs to help tell you if you're being affected by it:

• Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
• Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Sudden drop in performance
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
• Decrease in training capacity / intensity
• Moodiness and irritability
• Depression
• Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
• Decreased appetite
• Increased incidence of injuries.
• A compulsive need to exercise

as per: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/overtraining/a/aa062499a.htm


With my new job I've been suffering some of the above. For the most part it's been insomnia, washed out/drained of energy, decrease in performance and a lot of aches and pains! Soon as I felt these coming I decreased my workout routine (I even took a couple weeks off). I also looked into buying a mass gainer (high calorie protein shake) to make sure my body was getting enough energy. The most important thing though will be to get more rest!

So what constitutes as rest?

The big one is sleep. This is when you build muscle and repair tissue right? So it's also the most important for recovery. Try your hardest to get more sleep. When I'm working out really intensely I can need up to 9 hours of sleep! Studies have also shown that when you lack sleep you tend to build fat storage, Yikes!

That's not the only thing we consider rest though. Anything that helps alleviate our day to day stress that's moderate to mild physical activity. ie. going for a light walk, watching tv/movies/playing games, reading, etc etc.  In other words, relaxing and having some leisurely time will help your body recover because it helps to alleviate stress.

Here is some additional reading on the subject:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodybuilding#Overtraining

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/youre_overtraining

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/fatigue_fighter_supplements/nutrition/160 Suppliment advice. I'm not into sups but I figure some people reading probably are.