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Four Signs That You Might Be Overdoing It
Blog | February 03, 2014
Rest is a vital aspect of fitness. In order steadily increase strength and stamina when working out, your body needs sufficient time to recover. An important and often overlooked fact about exercise is that muscles are built while resting not while training. Diet is also crucial in this regard. Food is fuel. The healthier, less processed foods you eat, the faster and better your body recovers.
Contrary to popular belief, overdoing it is not about working out too much or for too long, it’s almost always about not giving your body an adequate amount of time for recovery. For example, if you workout five days in row and only slept three to four hours each day, fatigue and exhaustion would surely set in, not only affecting your subsequent workouts but your performance in day-to-day tasks such as work.
According to a study published in the academic journal, Nature, the popular and overused term ‘overtraining’ is only applicable to high performance athletes who consistently compete and train beyond their capacities over a period of 3-8 months. The study also indicates that ‘overreaching’ is the more applicable term to use for those of us who suddenly find ourselves becoming sluggish or moody while consistently exercising.
If you’ve been consistently working out, but have not been progressing or if you’ve been feeling tired or even mentally drained your body may be sending you a clear signal to rest. Here are four key factors to recognize if you’re overdoing it:
Fatigue – A consistent lack of energy over a period of a couple of days or a week is strong indication that your body needs rest. Sometimes we confuse ourselves into thinking that another intense workout will snap us out of our exhaustion. Take a few days off and get an adequate amount of sleep.
Irritability – Exercise is clinically proven to boost our moods and combat depression. However, moodiness often goes hand in hand with fatigue caused by inadequate rest and overexertion.
Illness – As with our moods, consistent exercise boosts our immune systems. However, when we don’t give our bodies sufficient rest and continue to exert ourselves, we actually lower our immune systems. If you find yourself catching a cold/flu more often than usual, it may be a sign of overdoing it.
Decline in Performance – If you find your strength and/or endurance decreasing or even plateauing for a significant amount of time, take a break. Even a week off won’t hurt. Try just walking at a leisurely pace for a couple of days. It may sound counterproductive, but it isn’t. Your body needs time to catch up and your muscles are basically telling you that they need rest to not only recover, but to grow.
While it’s important that we push ourselves when working out, we should also be aware that rest is an essential component of fitness as well. It’s often difficult with our busy schedules to get enough sleep, but we should keep in mind just how valuable it is for our wellbeing and for our progress in the gym. We work hard when we exercise and we should work just as hard to find time to rest and recuperate.
If you are looking for a workout schedule that would allow you for efficient amount of training and recovery, then join my Zgym and follow my weekly workout schedule.
Best,
Zuzka
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Private Member |
Maybe that’s why I caught a cold I went too many days in a row thanx Z/luv yaI
Private Member |
Me parece excelente el comentario arriba descrito muy contrario a lo que pensamos para disminuir el peso y aumentar la masa muscular. Sería de gran utilidad unos consejos acerca de las dietas. saludos
Private Member |
This is great advice, thanks!
Private Member |
Hi Zuzana,
I suffered a spinal contusion and compressed nerves in my back due to a fall a couple of days ago. Seeing this post was especially inspiring as I am NOT good at staying away from workouts and am incredibly frustrated with this injury.
I currently can’t even sit up or walk without assistance and a lot of pain and I getting married in less than 4 weeks on the beach (including a week long beach side resort get away with all of our guests). Any advice for helping my body recover and slowly getting back into working out???
Private Member |
On Friday morning I felt so tired and for the first time in ages, didn’t feel like doing my morning workout. Same on Saturday and Sunday. Obviously needed the rest but by Monday (yesterday here in NZ) I was desperate to workout again!! I had begun feeling irritated and moody and I think my body was craving a workout. I take one full rest day a week and just do zyoga on Sundays. Just started the 5:2 eating plan and learning my body’s signals more & more.
Private Member |
Zuzka. My lower quads are screaming today after those pistol squats.
(Reverse motion/downward adaptation I guess!?)
What do you recommend to do today on rest day ?
Private Member |
These are some great tips, Zuzka! I’ve definitely overexerted myself in the past when working out. I would push through soreness and fatigue, which made my workouts less enjoyable and less productive since I would be so sore and tired. Thankfully, I have come to learn that rest is super important, and I can tell that I actually feel stronger when I do!
Private Member |
Hey zuzka,
what do you suggest to do if you have a cold? i have mine for 3 days now but worked out every day (do 5-6 workouts per week)
Hugs & kisses
Private Member |
Zuzka – Thank you so much for this post. I personally have been sidelined with a stress fracture of the foot caused by overtraining. I was doing high-intensity, high-impact workouts most days of the week, and that was too much for my body to take. It’s important to listen to your body and to train smart with quality over quantity. Because I love your workouts so much, it was very easy for me to push it too hard and too frequently, and now I’m out of the game for a while as a result!
Private Member |
Thank you for this post, it has helped me realise I need a bit of a rest for a couple of days. I’ve been working through the ZWOWs for nearly a year now, putting in 5 workouts per week, usually with the weekends off. I was going great and constantly beating my times and/or increasing the weights, but just lately my times are getting worse and I am struggling to complete some ZWOWs without pausing the timer between rounds to recover :/ I eat healthily and it was really starting to worry me that I was getting weaker, not stronger. I think I will take a few days off and just get walking instead and start afresh next week. Thanks again Zuzka for the good advice.