I’ve mentioned comfort and rest a few times lately. I’ve still been pushing myself pretty hard some days, but I’m trying to focus on quality rest on others. I don’t think I quite reached overtraining, but I could tell I was getting close.
Overtraining’s no joke, so I have a quick post to spell out the basics. According to Active.com:
Overtraining happens when an athlete performs more training than his or her body can recover from, to the point where performance declines.
I just a had a PR last week, so my performance clearly isn’t declining too much. I’ve noticed a couple other symptoms though. If you think you might be pushing it a bit too much, here are some of the classics signs.
- Decreased Performance (as mentioned above)
- Irritability, Inability to Concentrate, or Even Depression
- Excessive Fatigue (I’ve been suffering from legs so heavy they feel like lead.)
- Decrease or Total Loss of Motivation (More often than not, this is me.)
- Regular Workouts Harder to Complete
- Persistent Soreness (Yup… been having this too.)
- Poor Sleep (This is the 4th and final on my list.)
- More Illness – more susceptible to infections
- Loss of Appettite (Nope, definitely not feeling this one! haha)
- Menstrual Cycle Changes in Women
I’m sure you can probably figure out how to fix your overtraining, but here are a few tips just to make sure you’re on the right track.
- Rest, not just on the couch, but try and get adequate sleep.
- Heal yourself first. If you’re coming of illness or injury, give yourself plenty of time.
- Focus on nutrition. Have you been getting enough protein? Enough carbs? Too much junk?
- Don’t go hard every time. Not every workout has to be all-out all the time.
- Get a massage. If you can’t afford a professional massage, just add in a bit of foam rolling and rubbing.
And now I leave you with a pic from last night’s stuffed peppers. She doesn’t realize how much she doesn’t want a taste!
- Have you ever felt the effects of overtraining?
