Have I overtrained?

Every one knows that fitness tends to improve with increasing exercise. What many don't know is that it's possible to overtrain. When you do, your athletic performance deteriorates. What's worse is you feel bad, you get cranky and people don't want to hang out with you! Even worse, you become susceptible to injury. If you are an athelete, you will also lose competitions!

If you are training heavily, or even if you just suddenly increase your exercise level, you are susceptible to overtraining. What's the cure? Take a day off from exercise immediately; this will let your body's glycogen stores replenish. It will also give your muscle time to repair themselves. Depending on the degree of overtraining, you may need to take more than a day off. After resting a day or two, or three, resume training but reduce your training schedule. You'll probably find your performance and fitness level increases.

Overtraining Quiz

Are you experiencing constipation of diarrhea? yes no

Do you feel fatigued during the day? yes no

Are you experiencing any flu like symptoms, such as a fever, chill or aches? yes no

Have unintentionally you lost more than 4 lbs since this day last month? yes no

Have intentionally you lost more than 8 lbs since this day last month? yes no

Do your legs feel heavy? yes no

Are you having trouble finishing your work outs? yes no

Is your morning heart rate more than 10% above it's normal level? yes no

Have you lacked appetite during the last week? yes no

Are your muscles sore? yes no

Are your lymph nodes swollen? yes no

Do you feel anxious? yes no

Do you feel depressed? yes no

Do you feel like quitting your work outs? yes no

Do you have trouble concentrating? yes no

Are you irritable? (You may want to ask someone else! ) yes no

Are you getting at least 8 hours sleep each night? yes no

Are you having trouble sleeping through the night? yes no

Are you working out at a vigorous pace more than 4 hours a week? (Typical vigorous exercises are: running, non-stop swimming, jumping rope, heavy weight lifting and similar high intensity exercise. These probably get your heart rate up to at least 60% of it's maximum value. Walking at less than 5 mph would be a moderate work out.) yes no

Have you increased your total weekly workout time more than 15% this week compared to last week? yes no

Do you rest at least 48 hours between each strength training session? yes no

Do you rest at least 23 hours between any hour long vigorous aerobic exercise sessions? yes no

Results

You exhibit minor symptoms, and major symptoms of over training. You also exhibit at least habits that often result in over training.

Habits:

The "best" score for habits is one! You can't over train unless you exercise. Hopefully, you do exercise at vigorously sometimes. Please continue exercising! If you don't exercise vigorously at least 4 hours a week, any symptoms of overtraining are probably due to something other than overtraining. You may be have the flu! If so, it's best to cut out exercise for the day; but start up again when you are well.

If your habit score is greater than one, your habits make you prone to over training. Lack of sleep, calorie restriction, and sudden increases in training level can all trigger over training in people who exercise vigorously. If your habits include these, you should learn the symptoms of over training. You should also measure your morning heart rate to detect an elevated morning heart rate.

Still, many people do train, and diet moderately, or even heavily, without over training. If you don't exhibit any minor or major symptoms, then your body is recovering from your training.

Major Symptoms:

The major symptoms or over training are: 1) increased morning heart rate, 2) unintentional weight loss and 3) inability to sleep. Here's what you should do if you exhibit major symptoms of over training:

1 major symptom: you would benefit by reducing your training schedule.
2 major symptoms: you should immediately take a day off from training. After resting, reduce your training schedule.
3 major symptoms: immediately take off two days from training. Reduce your training afterwards.

If these major symptoms do not go away after taking two days off, consult your physician. An elevated heart rate, inability to sleep and unintentional weight loss are signs of ill health. Don't you want to know what's causing these things?

You may also wish to consult a physician immediately if your morning heart rate is elevated, or you have a significant number of minor symptoms.

Bear in mind, you may not need to reduce your training schedule forever. Depending on your level of training, your fitness and other factors, you will be able to resume, and increase your training rate after you recover. But avoid ramping up your activity level too quickly.

Minor

Minor symptoms of overtraining can be mental or physical. You may feel fatigued, anxious, depressed or unmotivated. You may have minor flu like symptoms.

Displaying numerous minor symptoms can mean several things. More than 3 minor symptoms may confirm the diagnosis of overtraining. If I had 1 major symptom and 3 minor symptoms, I would reduce training today! More than 3 minor symptoms may mean you are on the verge of over training. It may mean you are coming down with the flu. In all cases, you should consider reducing your training schedule for the day.

If you exercise vigorously and experience minor symptoms of overtraining regularly, think about reading Optimal Muscle Recovery. This book describes diet and exercise methods to improve your body's ability to recover from intense exercise. Heck, even if you're just irritable you should read the book. Take my word for it, the people you live with will be very thankful if you stop being so cranky!

If you have more than 3 symptoms, review the your answers. Some of the minor symptoms are also symptoms of physical illness. If your lymph nodes are swollen, and you have aches and chills and diarrhea, go visit the doctor! Do you think coming down with the flu is going to help you improve your fitness? Some of the symptoms are more vague. Heavy legs and general fatigue are less likely to be the flu. Still, if you are experiencing 6 or more minor symptoms, you would benefit by discussing these symptoms with your physician.

Recovery

Remember, over training now doesn't necessarily mean you'll never be able to train vigorously. You may be able increase your training duration and intensity as your fitness level increases; just do gradually. You also may wish to read Optimal Muscle Recovery and learn methods to help your body recover from vigorous training. The book describes methods to restore glycogen, speed muscle repair rates, and vary your work out to help your body recover from over training. Why not read it during your one or two days off?

References

"Essentials of Exercise Physiology"