| You have been training on a good exercise | | | | to the same routine and stops responding. This is |
| program regularly at your local gym for a couple | | | | the dreaded plateau every athletic fear. Hence |
| of months now. At the beginning, you may have | | | | there should be a delicate balance between |
| lost some weight, gain some muscle tone, | | | | exercise and rest. |
| strength and feeling wonderful after every | | | | Exercising is great for your body, mind and soul, |
| exercise session, but you do not experience | | | | however if you start feeling tired, fatigued and |
| those wonderful moments anymore. Your results | | | | irritated, then you may be creating a very |
| are now dismal at best or worse, you are not | | | | unfavorable physical internal environment. |
| getting the results that you wanted anymore. | | | | Physiologically, repetitive training alters your |
| You stayed on a healthy diet, supplemented with | | | | hormone levels, weakens immunity and triggers |
| vitamins and minerals, but somehow you always | | | | emotional instability wreaking havoc on your mind |
| feel tired and exhausted nowadays. Your | | | | and body. |
| enthusiasm for your workout sessions seemed to | | | | Insomnia, elevated resting heart rate, lack of |
| have waned. You even feel irritable and all | | | | appetite, feeling unmotivated, low libido and a lack |
| stressed up. What is happening? | | | | of progress are all symptoms of overtraining. |
| You know something? If you find yourself | | | | The first thing most people do which leads to |
| dreading your exercise sessions or dragging | | | | overtraining is performing too many sets of |
| yourself through the day, you may be pushing | | | | different exercises in their workouts. From what I |
| yourself too hard. This is how overtraining affects | | | | have observed in the gym, most people do |
| your exercise program. Training plateau is your | | | | between 20 -30 sets per workout. |
| body's way of crying out for rest. It is time to | | | | Have you asked yourself is it necessary to do so |
| now take a rest and recharge your body. | | | | many sets? Did you find out how many sets you |
| When it comes to getting a good physical shape, | | | | must do to get the optimum results? What are |
| most people expect too much too soon. They | | | | you trying to accomplish by doing so many sets? |
| would usually push themselves too hard at the | | | | Do the extra sets make your muscle stronger |
| beginning in order to get faster results. But what | | | | and bigger? Are they getting you leaner and more |
| happens then? They feel tired, exhausted, easily | | | | muscular? Are they helping you to recruit more |
| irritated and so become depressed and lose the | | | | motor units? Are you stretching the fascia and |
| desire and enthusiasm for the activities they used | | | | inducing hyperplasia? |
| to enjoy. Isn't that such a waste? | | | | If you are really training hard, it is very difficult |
| Overtraining happens when the physical stress of | | | | for most people to perform so many sets and |
| training is not balanced by adequate rest and | | | | still be able to recover. So reduce you sets. |
| nutrition to allow the body recuperate and repair | | | | The next mistake is that people train too long and |
| itself. Overtraining is defined as "untreated | | | | too often in the gym. Intensive workouts should |
| overreaching that result in chronic decreases in | | | | never exceed an hour. When you begin training, |
| performance and impaired ability to train" by the | | | | your anabolic hormones are immediately elevated. |
| The Unites States Olympic Committee (USOC) | | | | After a while they will reach a peak and then |
| and the American College of Sports Medicine. | | | | start to decline. |
| In medical term, the overtraining syndrome is | | | | They eventually return to normal baseline and if |
| classified as a neuro-endocrine disorder where the | | | | you keep training beyond that point, they will dip |
| normal fine balance in the interaction between | | | | down to below normal levels. This is when cortisol, |
| nervous and hormonal systems is disturbed and | | | | which is a stress hormone that eats muscle and |
| the body is so tired that it now has a decreased | | | | stores body fat is produced more abundantly. |
| ability to repair itself during rest. | | | | This is bad news if you want to gain bigger |
| So if you are consistently push your limits without | | | | muscles and lose body fat. |
| giving your body a chance to recover, your entire | | | | You also get over trained by training too often. |
| engine may just suffer a major break down. This | | | | You must know that training does not stress just |
| is because most of us think that if a little exercise | | | | the muscles but the entire body including your |
| can do wonders for your body, more exercise | | | | nervous system. If your nervous system has not |
| must be even better. That is why we tend to put | | | | recovered, you cannot train again. You can try, |
| all the energy into every workout and push | | | | but you will not make any progress at all and will |
| ourselves expecting to reach the set goals | | | | just dig yourself deeper into the overtraining |
| sooner. Some of us will even hit the gym almost | | | | phenomenon. If you are training five or six days |
| everyday for hours at a time. This is wrong! More | | | | per week, you are probably overtraining. |
| is not better in this game. | | | | So if you are not seeing results and is suffering |
| It is true that in order to make improvements, | | | | from overtraining symptoms, give yourself a 2 to |
| you will need to challenge yourself out of your | | | | 4 week break from exercising and let your body |
| comfort zone. That means that you may want to | | | | recover fully before you hit the gym again. Don't |
| squat heavier or run more miles than you did the | | | | be surprised that when you are back, your |
| month before. Progression is the way you can | | | | muscles will be shocked into new growth and the |
| make improvements towards your cherished | | | | fat starts melting away again. |
| goals. The only problem is that your body adapts | | | | |