How To Identify Overtraining
For many of us, returning to the gym after a prolonged period of lockdowns is an exciting and fresh experience. Something I see very often within gym goers is an unbalanced ratio of exercise and rest, which is prevalent currently with a lot of us wanting to catch up from the last 12 months of closures. It’s no secret that regular strength training has undeniable benefits to physical and mental health but if the balance is lost we see regression, rather than progression.
Here are 4 signs that you might be overtraining…
1) Persistent muscle soreness
Muscle soreness is no secret to anyone who has worked out before, it can even be a healthy signal to a progressive strength training plan but persistent or intense muscle soreness shouldn’t be confused with healthy gym progression. The time we spend outside of the gym is when our body repairs damaged muscle tissue and DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) usually goes within 48 hours. If you are experiencing muscle soreness past this time frame it’s a likely cause of overtraining and under recovering.
2) Intense drops and peaks in motivation
Having a balanced training plan means fitting a schedule of exercise within your existing schedule of work, social and domestic lifestyle. The amount of time an individual can dedicate to a goal is solely determined by their schedule and if done correctly, can flow seamlessly within their life. We all have times when we don’t want to workout or the opposite, when we’re excited to get into the gym! But, if you find yourself consistently having to turn the music up to full blast and drink double espressos before entering the gym then that could be a sign of an unbalanced routine within your lifestyle.
3) Mood swings
Our nervous system has two main states. Sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest). We want to spend as much time in our parasympathetic state as possible, as it’s simply easier! There are numerous factors in our life that lead us to go from one state to another, they don’t have to be severe either. As humans in the 21st century we are finding ourselves spending more time in our sympathetic state than ever before with stress coming from all angles! If we take an individual who has a busy work, social and domestic life and then proceed to throw them into an intense exercise routine which further elevates our sympathetic state we are left with someone who is constantly stressed, anxious and fatigued. These factors directly impact our ability to rest and recover thus effecting the balance we work so hard to maintain.
4) You can’t wait for it to be over!
We live in a world where everyone is after the quick fix. 4 or 8 week fitness transformations are more prevalent than ever but this intense hit and go tactic isn’t sustainable, nor healthy in my opinion. “Do you think you can work out the way you are currently for the next 40 years?” Is a question I tend to ask new clients of mine who have a consultation with me. “Haha, no way” is the usual reply. Exercise, whether it be playing tennis, hiking or strength training shouldn’t be a chore, it should be the part of your day that you look forward to and by simply asking yourself the question that I ask my clients, depending on your truthful answer should give you an indication if you’re pushing to hard or fast.
I’d like to finish this blog with a quote that I heard a couple weeks ago that I find fitting:
“The slow way is the fast way, It’s about gaining the wisdom of taking your time of doing things well and honouring your bodies natural rhythm”