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Member Comments for the Article:
7 Hidden Signs of Overtraining
How to Know When to Lay Off the Exercise
16 Comments
GIANT-STEPS
4/23/2013 1:53:22 PM
I use my waking pulse rate to detect over-traiining. When my waking pulse rate is higher than normal for a few days I cut back. One thing I always say is that you don't get stronger from working out, you get stronger recovering from your workout. When you don't give yourself time to recover than you are shortchanging yourself.
I'm new to SparkPeople and relatively new to regular strenuous exercise, Yesterday, I went to my Tai Chi class,. When I came home I felt seriously energized. My inner Tazmanian Devil surfaced. I went into a cleaning frenzy. In contrast, I went to a fun Mud Run/Obstacle course a couple of weekends ago. While I did great and finished the race, afterwards, I slept 16 hours. When I awakened I felt rejuvenated and refreshed. I guess I really needed the sleep.
Thanks.
MIASTAUBIN
4/2/2013 9:37:08 PM
Great article and not something a lot of people are aware of! I remember training a few years back and constantly being sick, and injured every other month, on again off again training, as soon as my head hit the pillow I would fall asleep within seconds, it was not good! We need to remember to listen to our bodies! If you feel tired, try a warm up and see how you feel after that, maybe that day is better of spent going for a walk or taking a break. Training 6-7 days a week will actually take you further away from you goal in some cases, remember less is more! ~Mia St-Aubin
I've felt the exhaustion after a good run and have definitely had the sore muscles for days but I just thought that was a part of the whole "no pain, no gain" philosophy. Having said all that though, I do not exercise everyday - five to six days a week - yes but not everyday. So I really don't think I'm over-exercising.
This is an interesting article! I could see it easily turning into excuses. :)
For me, I have a tendency to get really sick right when I get to what I think is a great fitness level. Right now I have bronchitis and it's a rather nasty case. The only cure is complete rest because it's self-perpetuating and the slightest strain inhibits recovery.
I wonder if it became this bad because I continued exercising when I had a cold, if the cold was due to exhausting myself or due to the guy behind me who coughed through the whole workout session, or just bad luck.
Someone else said there's a fine line between overtraining and not enough and it's really easy to find excuses not to exercise.
Fantastic article! I do high intensity training workouts and long runs six days per week and leave the extra day for yard work, gardening, mowing, washing the truck etc., burning anywhere from 5000-7000 calories per week. But lately, it has become a chore to remain motivated. The part of the article that refers to how you should feel AFTER you workout (energized, not completely spent), and the "Dead Legs" syndrome really spoke to me. Thanks so much.
I relax if I'm sick, but I still have to work out every morning. For me, there's no such thing as "too much exercise." I shoot for three times a day and if people tell me they think that's excessive I ask whether they think eating three times a day is too much. It shuts them up.
it's a good article but kind of hard for me to read. a lot of these signs could also mean you aren't exercising enough (trouble sleeping, low energy). it's such a delicate balance! i live by the mantra "more is more" when i comes to exercising and harldy give myself a reason or excuse to miss out on exercise, maybe this article is trying to tell me something:) i have had really sore hamstrings since i last did strength training and i think that was 4 days ago. it's hard to understand though because when i used to work out with a trainer, he told me cardio was the best thing for sore muscles and to not skip a day after weight lifting. i def don't want to get injured though as if i couldn't work out, i'm pretty sure i'd get very depressed. good things to think about and pay attention to, i guess.
Awesome advice! Lately I haven't felt as motivated to follow a strict training plan and feared it was burnout. Even though I pushed through that, I have noticed that I don't sleep as well at night which has never been a problem for me. Now I think I'll switch my aerobics DVD for some stationary bike time and extra dog walks... I feel motivated to keep some momentum rather than give up completely! Thanks, Sparkpeople for the encouragement!
