Overtraining

Joint injury is another one to watch out for.

Not fully recovering between workouts, losing your menstrual period, insomnia, mood swings, loss of libido...

All of the above plus a higher than normal resting heart rate.

How do you know if you're overtraining? What are some symptoms, and how would you correct it without losing your hard-earned progress?

Some symptoms are:

Always being tired
Joints and tendons hurt all the time
Boredom with your workout

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

It depends on your goals and fitness levels. If you are doing lots of cardio / all body workouts maybe rest every second or third day.

If you have a high fitness level and do like weight training, you might be able to rest once every 7 - 10 days and not over train if you really isolate each body part over that period. So if you train legs one day, then abs the next, then arms / chest on the third, you can be in the gym every day but each body part will have rested two days before you hit it again. But this isn't really for beginers.

Symptoms wise, if you feel you are tired and under performing (not being able to go as long / hard as your last work out) it is time to take a rest day. You really want to be maintaining or progressing all the time, so if you ever feel like you are doing less performance wise then you will need to reassess something.

I think more importantly than rest "days" is to make sure you are getting lots of sleep (more than 9 hours if possible) and the correct nutrition as sleep, proteins, and carbs are essential to recovery.

If you are a beginer, I personally would advise finding a good week long work out plan as they usually include rest days / alter the intensity of workouts for you.

Depending on your fitness goal you should not spend more than 45 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour per session at the gym. If you over train your body switches to fatigue mode and that has a bad effect on your progress.

In addition, drink lots of water whilst working out to stay hydrated.

Thanks

Thank you for replying.

What about 2/day workouts 2x or 3x per week? Is that likely to result in overtraining and sabotage progress?

Depending on your fitness goal you should not spend more than 45 minutes to a maximum of 1 hour per session at the gym. If you over train your body switches to fatigue mode and that has a bad effect on your progress.

So when I ride my bike it is usually for not less than 90 minutes, sometimes up to 2 hours a day. Are you saying that is considered overtraining? FYI - I am new (2 weeks) to MFP so any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks!

Intensity of training will vary. If you're training HARD for 90 minutes (85% of maximum effort) then yes one could be over training. However at 45%-65% of effort (low/moderate intensity) then no.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I am definitely NOT at 85% of maximum effort! Thanks for the clarification and guidance! Much appreciated!

in my experience its awfully close to feeling sick

overtraining is going to come at a different point for everyone.

you don't have to stop altogether, if you're feeling it then you should just cut back singificantly for 2-4 weeks, possibly less, till you start feeling better.

currious to know what you are affraid of losing. Chances are your performance will improve after your more recovered.

if your not feeling run down at all then your probably not overtraining

in my experience its awfully close to feeling sick

overtraining is going to come at a different point for everyone.

you don't have to stop altogether, if you're feeling it then you should just cut back singificantly for 2-4 weeks, possibly less, till you start feeling better.

currious to know what you are affraid of losing. Chances are your performance will improve after your more recovered.

if your not feeling run down at all then your probably not overtraining

That's all I wanted to know.

I would be afraid of losing any gains I had made, ie weights or running (time/distance), or throwing my CICO off track while I was on a break.

It never occurred to me that I might be overdoing it; all I've been focusing on is that I am enjoying fitness. No fatigue or tiredness as of yet...

sounds like your doing fine then. should you see lose in progress an not feel any other symptoms, AND your putting in a lot of work, this could also be a sign of over training.