The Signs of Overtraining and How to Avoid It
Many bodybuilders and online fitness personalities recommend lifting as
hard as you can and work out at least five times per week. If your goal is
to become a famous athlete, then wanting to follow such recommendations
are understandable.
However, if your goal isn’t to crush your body to the point where you can
hardly move it but instead to have a good-looking physique, steadily
increase your strength, and avoid unnecessary injuries, then there is no
reason to do more than your body is capable of doing.
Even if you avoid injuries, you might be overtraining. While there aren’t
many folks who overtrain because many people aren’t following their
training schedule properly, know their limits, or just aren’t interested
in making shockingly fast results, there is always a chance of being one
of those guys who does more than is needed.
The Signs of Overtraining
1. Elevated Heart Rate
While it’s important to keep your heart rate elevated while you train,
your heart rate shouldn’t be higher than 100 beats per minute while you
aren’t working out. If it’s higher than 100 beats per minute, there can be
other problems that can cause an increased heart rate, not just
overtraining.
Signs and symptoms of overtraining
1. Not eating enough
Weightlifters who maintain an intense training schedule may also cut back
on calories. This can negatively affect health and performance. If your
body consistently draws on its energy reserves, you may develop
nutritional deficiencies such as anemia.
More serious conditions can arise that affect your cardiovascular,
gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems. It’s also possible to develop
nervous system and reproductive system complications, including period
loss or irregular cycles.
2. Soreness, strain, and pain
Pushing yourself past your limits during a high-intensity interval
training (HIIT) workout can lead to muscle strain and pain. Overstressing
your body can cause soreness and injuries. You may experience microtears
in your muscles as well.
3. Overuse injuries
Running too often can lead to overuse injuries such as shin splints,
stress fractures, and plantar fasciitis. Other overuse injuries include
joint strains, broken bones, and soft tissue injuries.
High impact exercise such as running puts stress and wear and tear on
your body. If you have an injury, take a break from all types of training
to allow it to heal.
4. Fatigue
It’s somewhat normal to feel tired after exercise, but fatigue happens
when your body repeatedly doesn’t fully recover after you work out. You
may feel excessively drained, especially during or right after
workouts.
Fatigue can also set in when you regularly don’t get enough fuel before
you train. Your body then has to use its carbohydrate, protein, and fat
reserves for energy.
5. Reduced appetite and weight loss
Working out usually leads to a healthy appetite. However, working out too
much can cause hormonal imbalances that can influence how hungry or full
you feel. OTS can cause exhaustion, decreased appetite, and weight
loss.
6. Irritability and agitation
Overtraining can affect your stress hormone levels, which can cause
depression, mental fog, and mood changes. You may also experience
restlessness and a lack of concentration or enthusiasm.
7. Persistent injuries or muscle pain
Extended muscle soreness and injuries that don’t heal are also signs of
overtraining. You may have chronic injuries or nagging injuries that
linger for a long time.
Rest between workouts is vital to recovery. It’s harder for your body to
heal when too much stress is placed on it.
8. Decline in performance
Overtraining can cause your performance to plateau or decrease rather
than improve. You may find you have less strength, agility, and endurance,
which makes it more difficult to reach your training goals. Overtraining
can also slow your reaction time and running speed.
9. Workouts feel more challenging
If you have OTS, you may feel like your workouts aremore difficult, like
they take more effort to complete. This increase in your perceived effort
can make you feel like you’re working harder even though your body is
working at its usual rate.
You may have a higher heart rate while you’re working out and a higher
resting heart rate during the day. Additionally, your heart rate may take
longer to return to its resting rate once you finish exercising.
10. Disturbed sleep
When your stress hormones are out of balance, you may find it hard to
relax and let go of tension at bedtime. This cuts into the crucial time
your body needs to rest, repair, and restore itself during sleep. Lack of
quality sleep can also lead to chronic fatigue and mood changes.
11. Decreased immunity or illness
Along with feeling run-down, you may find you get sick more often. You
may also be prone to infections, mild illnesses, and upper respiratory
tract infections (URTIs).
12. Weight gain
Exercising too much without resting enough in between can lead to low
testosterone levels and high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. These
hormonal changes are often associated with loss of muscle tissue, weight
gain, and excess belly fat.
13. Loss of motivation
You may find it difficult to stay motivated to work out. This can be due
to mental or physical exhaustion, the feeling that you’re not achieving
your fitness goals, or lack of enjoyment. Either way, try to make positive
changes so you can feel inspired again.
When to take a break
Take an extended break from training if you have any injuries that need
time to heal completely or if you’re experiencing burnout. During this
time, stay away from any high impact or intense forms of exercise. Give
yourself time to make a full recovery.
