How can I tell if I’m overtraining?
Jenny B. e-mailed us at expert@sweetspot.ca; and our fitness expert, Larry Track answered:
Believe it our not it’s true...you can exercise too much! Exercise should be providing your body with more energy for your everyday life. You should also be able to give the same amount of effort with every workout. However, if you do too much too fast or don’t allow for your body to recover by doing too much, you will OVERTRAIN!
Overtraining happens when people train beyond their body’s ability to recover. There’s an idea out there of “No pain, no gain,” but our bodies actually need rest and recuperation post-workout in order to heal and develop muscle. Overtraining depletes our muscles of this much-needed recovery and actually impedes our progress—and puts us at a higher risk of injury.
How do you know if you’re overtraining? It goes beyond normal post-workout fatigue. You should watch out for muscle and joint pain, but also things like lethargy, headaches, trouble sleeping and a drop in your overall performance. If you feel any of these symptoms, it’s your body telling you that it needs to rest. So take a couple of days off!
To avoid overtraining altogether, it’s a good idea to work in 1-2 days of rest a week, and to make sure your workouts are manageable in intensity.
Larry Track is the owner of Track Fitness and is a personal trainer in Toronto. For more information visit www.trackfitness.com