by: Breion Young & Kayla Rogers
Overtraining is something that everybody has questions about. Is it good for the body? Will my performance increase or decrease? What is considered overtraining? “Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes. It occurs when the volume and intensity of the exercise exceeds an individual’s recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness”, says the dictionary. Some of the signs of over training are weight loss, loss of motivation, increase of injuries, persistent muscle soreness, and more. One reason this happens in a lot of athletes is because, when they fall short or don’t meet their goal for the day they push harder. Personally I’ve experienced this first hand myself. I used to work out in the gym like crazy for my sport, even though I grew and became stronger and faster, as time went on my performance and gains started to decrease. I used to work out five or six days a week and now I only work out maybe four days a week.
How to get over overtraining? It’s simple and its crazy to say, but take a break from the gym! With three to five days of rest your body should have a positive response. You can do some light cardio to just maintain a little, but no muscle taxing lifts. Also, you can take that to get in more rest or the proper seven to eight hours of sleep.