You workout like an animal. You push yourself to the limit. You always strive for one more rep, one more sprint, one more set, just one more… but do you take a rest day? Are you sure you aren’t overtraining?
Overtraining is defined as a physical, behavioral, and emotional condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. There is a fine line between working out hard and overdoing it. The body needs rest after exercise in order for improvements in fitness and strength to occur. Without a proper rest period, complete regeneration cannot occur. If this continues than the individual’s performance will plateau and decline. Several days of rest or mild activity will be needed in order to fully restore an athlete’s fitness level.
Exercise can be addicting. Physical exercise stimulates the pituitary gland to release endorphins (endogenous morphine) and they resemble the opiates in their ability to make us “feel good”. Not only do we feel good when we exercise but psychologically we feel like we have accomplished something and are one step closer to getting the physique we want. Rest days can be hard because we feel like we are being lazy and wasting time. We all set goals for ourselves and work as hard as we can to achieve them. This isn’t a bad thing BUT just like everything else we have to use moderation.
Here are some symptoms of overtraining syndrome:
- 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
Schedule rest days into your workout schedule. Your body NEEDS that rest to recover. It is just as important as your workouts. If you think you are overtraining then take 4-7 rest days – little to no activity. You will be amazed at the changes you will see once you start up again. As we always say — LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
Annie Taverna
