Overtrained or Just STRESSED

amg5157

Ok...so yessssss I have been hitting the gym super hard and sticking to my diet. Now, I have a friend that keeps telling me that I'm pushing the line to "overtraining" myself. Of course I know that overtraining is pretty bad for you BUT as I look for signs that I might be, I just think its the stress from work and the other ppl in my life that has me feeling this way.

1. The only time I feel good lately is when I am at the gym. (Work is full of drama and when I get home I just have MORE drama with family)

2. My BP is finally starting to get a bit normal. I'm typically always in PreHyp but for the past few days I have actually been normal AND my heartrate has not gone in the "above zone" even while i have been having killer cardio sessions on the elliptical.

3. I have been a bit snippy with ppl lately but again...if you act like a moron day in and day out it gets hard sometimes to pretend and be nice about explaining the same thing over and over and over and over and over.

4. The person that keeps telling me I'm overtraining is also a 'stress' in my life. I have been a bit moody with him just bc he is being a jackazz and acting like a puppy dog that wont stop humping my leg.

5. My body doesnt ache for more than a day depending on the muscle group i train so I'm not all crabby from aches and pains.

6. I dread getting out of the bed in the morning but thats just bc I know I have to come to my office building AKA Event Horizon(those of you who have seen the movie...I am not playing...lol)

7. I think 8 hours of sleep is perfectly normal to WANT every night. I havent been getting it bc I have been having these stupid dreams about work and my family and all sorts of other crazy metaphorical things. lol I dont think this sleep problem has anything to do with my training.

Ok I think I will stop here...what do you think...overtraining or just stress?????

lilchino4af

Stress. And of all your options to cope, way to go for picking exercise and not food!

miqisha

Well based on what you listed I cant tell if you are overtraining, because you didnt give us your workout routine to determine

However you sound stressed....hating where you work and having to be their 8 hrs each day and then having to go home and feeling stressed, is enough to make anyone crabby

I understand excercise is where you feel relaxed and stress free, so if thats what works for it, go for it......Just ensure you arent over doing it

Hope you have a goodday today

KristyO

hmmmm, I think that sometimes people who say things like "you are overtraining" are secret sabotagers...if this particular fella is humping at your leg it could be that he wants you to spend less time at the gym and more time with him, so he came up with this "overtraining" nonsense. And I'm sure you are seeing awesome results from your discipline which could be causing a bit of insecurity on the part of others.

I say keep on keeping on! :drinker:

lotusfromthemud

Hard to tell....without knowing what your workouts are like.

It is actually difficult to overtrain, "overtraining" is something that gets thrown around a lot, like "1200 calories" or "starvation mode".

It's possible, but we can't give you a real answer until you outline your workouts.

Definitely at times when I'm stressed, I only feel vaguely normal at the gym. The alone time of it, the endorphins of it, the sweating of it are my xanax, my prozac, my key to not punching someone in the head in my day-to-day.

hiddensecant

As long as you're taking one day off per week, you should be fine. You can still go to the gym but go for a yoga class instead of cardio. It would also help with that "stress" you keep talking about.

P.S. It's not harmful to go above your "zone". It's the stuff interval training is made of.

Lisa0711

I'd say you answered your question in #1. If working out is making you feel good, and your body isn't telling you it's working too hard, then you should be fine.

However, if you do start to feel like you're working out too much just listen to your body and take a break.. they usually tell us when something is wrong! And it's never a bad idea to make sure and take one rest day or active rest (light workout) day each week.

I'm the same as you. Here lately I've had a lot going on that's stressing me out and working out is my one go-to thing to make me feel better. (Thank goodness it's not food this time! lol)

I hope things get better for you soon! :flowerforyou:

SHBoss1673

so, some symptoms of overtraining you have, some you don't, so I'd say that you're more in the stress category than overtraining.

A big one you didn't mention (dunno if you just didn't realize, don't have an issue with it, or just didn't want to mention it) is fatigue during workouts. Whether that be the inability to finish your normal workout, or inability to use weight's or resistance at the same level you normally do, or the inability to sustain the pace/quality of workout that you would normally have, these are very prominent markers of overtraining.

So if you are in that category, then I'd say it's possible (but not certain) that you are overtrained right now, if it's not an issue, I'd say that you most likely are just experiencing mild anxiety brought on by stress. There are ways to treat this (without drugs), relaxation techniques, yoga, meditation...etc. all can be a big help, therapy will help in some cases.

but the easiest way to treat it is to remove the cause of the stress, I.E. your job. I know the economy's not great right now and finding a new job isn't easy for many, but it's something to think about, stress can do terrible things to you physically, best to remove it where ever/ when ever you can.

amg5157

Thanks everyone!

I do currently train 7 days a week but i dont do cardio one day...and on days where I know I have a killer weight training session I will cut my cardio in half.

From last week to this week not only have I lost inches but I have also gained strenght. I could do almost 5-10lbs more on every excersise. Honestly...last night I think I could have uped the weight a bit more bc it was super easy to do 4 sets of 15 with only mild difficulty towards the very end. My arms dont even feel sore today. I do plan on kicking my butt on legs tonight! I bet I wont be saying "Im not sore" tomorrow hahahaha

Maybe to some ppl this seems like a lot of training... esp my "friends" that dont get to talk or see me often any more. I really wish I could get to the gym in the AM more offten. Tomorrow is a new week...guess I will work on that issue again then. lol

Winter0916

7 days a week that is a lot. Trainers have told me you have to let your body rest, But it also depends what are you doing everyday. When you become fixated on losing weight I think it doesn't happen as fast as you hope, when you don't think about it as much and just do it and have fun it' comes off quickier. At leats this is what has happened to me and many of my friends.