OVERTRAINING
What is overtraining?
Overtraining occurs of giving your body more work (training) than it can handle. This is not so easy to accomplish and does not happen overnight, or as a result of one or two extra hard workouts. It takes weeks, or even months of excessive training without enough rest to get into an overtrained state. Even then, it's not too big a deal and can usually be cured with a week off training.
Ideally, your training should be on the verge of
overtraining but with enough rest periods to allow recovery and growth.
Other factors such as diet, sleep and stress all play a part in how much you can
handle. The only way to know for sure what your optimum training intensity
and frequency is, is by trial and error. How do you know if you are
getting into an overtrained state: Here are some of the signs to watch out
for:
Signs of overtraining
Feel tired all the time but can't sleep well
No gains, maybe actually losing strength and/or size
No motivation to train
Muscles and joints aching all the time
Loss of appetite
No or not much of a pump when training
Jittery "stretched out" or weak feeling
Please note that there may be other causes for some of these signs such as lack of sleep or too much coffee, but if you notice several of these signs, take a week off to recover. When you resume training, use go light for the first week for sets in the 12-15 rep range. Be sure to change your routine a bit when you go back, either less overall work or more rest days.
