Has anyone experienced overtraining? How do you know? I've read a few articles on the topic, but wanted the opinion of you all. I used to be at the gym 4-5x a week doing mainly cardio but for the past 3 mos I've been there 6x a week and significantly increased my lifting. Lately I've been constantly exhausted and not sleeping so well. I know those are signs of overtraining but they are also signs of crazy hours and a stressful job which is what I have too!

So if any of you have experienced overtraining I would love to hear from you - how you knew and what you did. I'm too nervous to take time off, I don't want to lose the muscular gains I've made.

Thanks!

If you are overtraining then you already are!!

I am an expert at overtraining as I've done it so many times in a bid to be better. Obvious signs are tiredness and lack of recovery. If you are hitting a serious plataeu and your performance is dropping gradually then you are experiencing overtraining.

Muscular gains are made through recovery NOT in the gym! Less is more sometimes when training. I learned that the hard way myself.

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:QKWKafZ0czQJ:e xercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/toomuchexerc ise.htm+overtraining&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us


heres some info. from things ive read and heard,i think if you feel that exercising is ruling your life , you are doing too much.

just a side note- i had to take a month off from weight training due to injury and i actually gained muscle weight (only 1 pound). my nutritionist took bf measurements and said that it was probably due to adequate rest. very interesting. something i never would have thought.

Definitely listen to your body Elicia. Just the fact that you're asking about overtraining means you know that you're already doing it. Give yourself time to rest and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel afterwards. I overtrained at one point, so I took a week off from weights (back when I was more diligent with my training). After the week off, I saw significant growth in my muscles as well as my strength, even other people noticed. And I had only been lifting steadily for about a month. And I was able to sleep and had decreased stress levels. All from rest!!!

Again, listen to your body, especially while it's just whispering (exhaustion, sleeplessness) and not yelling at you (injury).

Assess your level of exercise objectively, and use these facts to analyze whether or not you are overtraining. Just because you are working out six days a week, even if the sessions are intense, does not necessarily mean you are overtraining.

Athletes, or even committed amateurs work out 12-15 hours a week, though not all of it is often high intensity. Though every body is different, I would say that unless you are putting in >10 hours a week, of which 75% is at very high intensity, chances are there are a number of factors that have influenced the way you feel now.

But if you are tired constantly, feel like crap, aren't recovering...you may not be overtraining but there is something certainly amiss with your daily regimen. It may not be the fact that you train 6 days a week, it may be something connected to your job, love life, or diet that is f!cking you up.

I mean, lets consider this scenario:

I eat a terrible dinner filled with chile sauce, then get in a fight with my wife about money, then only get 4 hours of sleep because I am all discombobulated.

The next day I have a terrible chest workout, feel tired all day, and conclude it's because I am overtraining.

Who is the real culprit? That hour I spent in the gym or my diet and lack of listening to my far smarter wife?

Such good advice! I'm always worried about that and try to keep telling myself its better to take a few rest days than have to take a month off due to an injury. Thanks!

Bourblaster - I am a superclean eater and rarely fight with my husband, but you're message definitely got me to laugh out loud

Dean - I'm not sure if I've hit a plateau, but I know my performance is drooping as well as is my desire to workout. When I started weight training I was raring to go, now it's like I have to mentally talk myself into getting to the gym every day - almost like I've lost the excitement I had. And I want it back! I'm starting Karate tomorrow.....maybe that will be a much needed change of pace from the gym routine???

Jen, as always you have great input, very much appreciated. I know rest is good for you but didn't realize it could help you GAIN muscle mass. Good to know!

This happens to me every 4-6 weeks when I'm lifting regularly. I take about a week off, and generally come back stronger. Just catch it quick, have some protein shakes before bed for a week, and get plenty of sleep.

elicia-keep us posted. let us know what happens. regardless, i hope you rest up and get less stressed soon ( i know, easier said than done!)

Yup, a week off is what I do too every now and then. (I find Tuscany is a great place to balance things out, heheh!), so enjoy some chill time and then as Dave noted, enjoy the BIONIC RETURN.

I LOVE Tuscany! I wish I could take a quick trip there, I'm so jealous! Best place on eart for a vegetarian to eat, I still drool when I think of the food.
Although I wouldn't mind a stop in Paris for a Nutella/Banana crepe.....can you stick one in the mail for me Minu?? That would definitely help my muscles recover

HAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I used to LOVE banana-nutella crepes, nice and buttery and crispy and well done. (Part of what got my ass to Chubsville!).

And yes, Tuscany is great for vegans and non-vegs alike. Apperitivo time alone is worth heading there, so relaxed and delicious and then there's the WIIIIIINES. I think I'm due for a trip.

I'll have to settle for the Nice this break-time though, comin' up soon in fact. I can't wait to feel some of that SUN.

Haha! I like the attitude!!

Elicia, I feel like I may be hitting a patch of overtraining as well. My tri is on Sun so I'll probably take it easy until then and take at least part of next week off. I started training for this thing about oh, the 1st full week of Jan and really kicked it into gear for an 11-week training program so perhaps I've pushed a little too hard, a little too fast. Who knows?

Seems like a few of us ladies'll be taking it easy comin' up. Nice to know I'll be in good company.

And Rachel, be wise and reign yourself in some before the contest like you say you will--a contest that I'm SO looking forward to reading about IN DETAIL.

You'll do awesomely, I'm sure!

It makes me even more excited about the tri to know that so many people on here are excited for me!! I can't wait to tell you guys ALL about it!

And yes I will be taking it easy. I'm going to do just 20 laps in the pool tonight (no lifting), then tomorrow I'm going to do a baby BRICK (biking & running) probably 8 miles on the bike and 1 or 1.5 mile run. Then total rest on Sat. Then hopefully I'll be totally ready for the tri.

bourblaster is married? poor girl.

rachael, that's awesome. i'll reply to your advice thread later today.

those bricks are legit, no?

I love BRICKS!!!! Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment though.

hah.

Wow Rachel, I'm so impressed. I would love to challenge my body with something different like that. Go you!

Thanks!! I've discovered that with a concrete goal (the sprint tri) training just comes more naturally. When it's just oh a I want to get in shape and lose weight and stuff, I find myself losing motivation much more quickly.

That's me as well. That's why I'm signed up for a 10K and a 10 Miler this year. I did the 10 miler last year as well and got into great shape--but I didn't have a goal after that and kind of drifted for a few months.

Back on topic--rest is just as important to training as workouts are. Make sure that you're getting at least one day of good rest, if not two. And after several months of hard training it's good to take one solid week off. You're body needs a vacation from stress too!

I'm really trying to rest up by I find myself getting sort of crabby and tense b/c i'm not at the gym. It's really hard to take a break mentally. The gym has become such a part of my everyday routine it's like I don't know what to do with myself. I can't say I feel guilty that I'm taking time off b/c I know my body needs it, but I just feel "off". It doesn't feel right to not be at the gym everyday......is that sick???!!!

Not if you're on holidays on a beach somewhere exotic. Next time you take a break, try to make it coincide with a lil get-away.

(Mine is comin' up next week, YAY, South of France!)

Glad to see you're resting. Maybe get at any garden/house/organizy stuff that's been pushed to the backburner over the winter?

Or go shopping every damn day!

morocco? that is one of my dream destinations.

Hilarious... Lord knows the French own heaps of it now. It's a place I still haven't been, (Tunisia, yes), and I can't wait to check it our in detail one fine day too. Maybe soon?

i was serious, it is south of france, but then, so is botswana.


absolutely!

Honestly? To me it's a sign of not having good balance in your life, and borders a little on obsession. You might consider making a conscious effort to rework your schedule- hit the gym 3-4 times/week for your good hard lifting sessions and cardio, but take walks, hikes, bike rides, or yoga at home on the other days. Fitness is a lot more than living at the gym.

Nice one...

And I meant, THEEE South of France. I just realized how vague it may read. Nice and those parts--I CAN'T WAIT!

Such great advice! I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have taken this week off the gym and it feels so good not to be pressing myself and rushing to get there and get a workout in. I have taken karate 2x this week for something different which was a good escape from the gym.
I feel maybe I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place - I would love to get into fitness competing, that is a goal of mine, but it requires die hard committment to the gym. How do you do that without burning out? I would love to know the secret!!