How to Avoid Overtraining

By

Is it True, Less is More?  JOI will explain how to avoid overtraining.

It can be tempting to go all-out with training. Sometimes once you get started, it’s hard to stop.

But there’s a point at which you start doing more harm than good. Muscle fatigue sets in, and the body starts to get overloaded in a situation known as overtraining.

How to Avoid Overtraining?

The quick answer is overtraining can occur in any type of fitness activity. It happens when you perform more training than your body can handle or recover from.

Your body functions on nerve impulses sent from the brain through the spine to tell the muscles what to do.

When you over train, it actually overloads the system and causes the impulse to weaken and become less effective.

7 Signs of Overtraining by JOI RehabHow to Avoid Overtraining
 
Here Are 7 Signs of Overtraining:

  1. You lack motivation: Instead of invigorated, your training leaves you flat. 
  2. You have increased soreness after a workout: This is a soreness that borders on pain and actually will last for a few days. 
  3. You stop seeing results: Working out too much can actually cause you to lose muscle and add fat. This happens as the body produces a lower testosterone (also bad for females) and an increased level of cortisol. The body will increase both insulin resistance and fat storage. 
  4. You become restless or lose focus: High training levels cause your sympathetic nervous system to go into hyper-drive. This causes restlessness and inability to focus. It also results in loss of sleep. 
  5. You feel sluggish all day: Again a result of decreased testosterone and increased cortisol levels.  Therefore, this can actually produce cold-like symptoms.
  6. Having chronic soreness in the joints, bones and limbs: DOMS, or Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, is normal after a workout, but if you feel like a Mack truck hit you, then that is overtraining. 
  7. You are getting sick or have injuries more often. You work out to be healthy, but if overtraining can actually weaken your immune system and you may have more injuries.

How to avoid overtraining:

  • Get plenty of sleep.
  • Eat right. 
  • Vary your training routine and add some variety
  • Take 1-2 days between training sessions to recover.
  • Train with a partner or group.  This is a proven technique to add competition.
  • Make some of your workouts fun!

We hope you have learned some ways to identify how to avoid overtraining.  If you have questions or have an injury, give us call. 

By: Drew Heideman

Related Links:

Book An Appointment Today!

JOI has physical therapy clinics conveniently located in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida that specialize in orthopedic rehabilitation. Please see us if you are suffering from back issues, joint pain, or injuries resulting from any type of activity! Call 904-858-7045.

If you need to see an orthopedic specialist, please call 904-JOI-2000 or click the red button below.