Over Trained?

The question of overtraining and how to know if you are in an over trained state came up the other day.

Overtraining is simply training beyond your body’s ability to fully recuperate before your next workout. It is not complicated. Your body requires a certain amount of rest and nutrition to recuperate between workouts. The harder and more frequent you train the more rest and good quality nutrition you require for complete recuperation. It is not rocket science. However there are other factors to consider. Lifestyle and day-to-day stress load also have an effect on recuperation time. So how to determine when to back off or step up your training?

An effective measure is resting heart rate. For one solid week take your pulse for one minute every morning the second or even before you open your eyes. Average it out to get your base line. This is the number you will use to determine whether or not you are over training. If your heart rate on any given day is within one or two beats plus or minus that is ok. If it is consistently above then you either need to back off your training or look at your rest and nutrition to make adjustments accordingly. It is all about balance.

You may be in an over trained state if you feel fatigued most of the time or experience headaches when before you rarely got headaches.

Perhaps you have hit a plateau or your enthusiasm for training has dropped significantly.
Sleep has become restless taking longer to fall asleep and waking frequently even though you feel tired.

A suppressed immune system leading to more frequent colds and sore throats which seem to linger.

If you find yourself unusually irritable or sensitive to issues, which would not normally bother you, you may be overtraining.

Once again, it is all about balance. When your body and mind are challenged on a regular basis with enough time allowed for full recuperation you have a feeling of euphoria, a high level of confidence. You are eagerly anticipating your next training session sometimes even before you have completed your present one. Your mind is sharper and thinks faster. Your mood is stable. Things you may have found stressful in the past no longer bother you and you see solutions rather than problems. This is leading into another topic so I will stop here and save it for another post.

Take time to listen to what your body is telling you and make the proper adjustments.

For a chart on resting heart rates go to netfit.co.uk/fitness/test/resting-heart-rate.htm

To discover a program that will help you to reach your goals while avoiding overtraining email me, premierblueprints@gmail.com.