Advertisements
A little exercise is good. More exercise is great. An hour on the treadmill is even better. But pushing yourself beyond the limit for extended periods of time without sufficient breaks can do a lot more harm than good.
Overtraining going beyond your physical limitations and without enough rest periods. It can be counterproductive to your end goal of increasing muscle mass, and it can cause your athletic abilities to either plateau or drop significantly.
If you spend every day at the gym, you should know of the following warning signs of overtraining.
1. Excessive fatigue
Fatigue is normal after spending a long day at the gym, but if your episodes of fatigue seem to become longer and longer, you may be overtraining. What’s worse is that the condition can persist for several weeks or even months if not dealt with immediately. This is because your body is draining its carb, protein, and fat sources quicker than normal
2. Loss of appetite
This point is related to the first. If you overtrain, your body suppresses the desire to eat. So although you’ve become fatigued, your body doesn’t want to replenish nutrients. This leads to a significant drop in physical activity will take away the physique you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
3. Moodiness
Overtraining causes a spike in stress hormone production. This eventually leads to a hormonal imbalance that affects your mood. You may also find yourself become easily triggered by the smallest of things and a drop in concentration.
4. Depression
And that’s not the only way your mind is affected by overtraining. Professional athletes may fall into a pit of mental despair when training for an upcoming competition. This is due to a sinister mixture of hormonal disturbance and a lack of quality sleep.
5. Frequent sickness
Falling ill isn’t a regular part of a healthy lifestyle. For those who like to constantly test their physical boundaries, sickness can your body’s way of telling you that it’s time to dial it down. Overtraining tests your immune system, and your immune system almost always loses. If you find yourself frequently falling ill (flu, colds, fevers), take a couple of days off to rest.
Advertisements