Are you Overtraining?

We train hard because we want to look, feel and perform at our very best! Many of the Momentum Training (MT) members have increased their total volume of training. As a coach and owner of MT it’s awesome to see the gym full of people and to hear/see the great results they are achieving. MT is very addictive and when members start seeing great results it’s easy to see why they start thinking, “more is better.”  Our members are determined, driven, ambitious, competitive and even perfectionists in what they do both inside and outside of the Momentum cave.

However, in amongst all the positive motivation and quality training sessions there is a potential downside…  At times we may start to push too far with the idea that a rapid increase in training is going to speed up the results.  From an athletic perspective this can result in a state commonly known as “overtraining”, which can result in a plateau, a decrease in performance, elevated stress (cortisol) levels, increased chance of injury, low energy levels and generally walking around feeling like a zombie.

Physical stress (i.e. exercise) causes our body to make either a positive or negative adaptation depending on the training intensity, frequency, and volume. Rest, nutrition and your overall health contribute to your body’s ability to handle an increased volume of training.  You need to gradually increase you training sessions each week and find out what your body can handle.  You also need to make sure your diet supports your goals and your commitment to training.

Warning signs of overtraining, aside from performance issues, include:

• Depressed mood
• Adrenal fatigue and low energy levels
• Reduced self-esteem
• Irritable
• Poor sleep
• Loss of appetite
• Low libido
• Increased resting heart rate
• Increased chance of injury

No matter who you are, overtraining has a negative effect on your hormones, your immune system and your ability to recover. As a coach and personal trainer I often have members asking me:

• How many times a week should I train?
• I’m having trouble sleeping after training, what can I do?
• I’m stiff and sore for days after training, is this normal?
• I’m very low on energy on the day after I train, what can I do?
• Can I train 6 days a week?  
• Can I train twice a day?

There is no single right answer to any of these questions.  You are an individual and you need to learn to “eat well, train smart and get plenty of rest.” “Fatigue masks fitness” they say, but is something that many athletes learned the hard way.  This is a mistake many newbies make: they train more and more as they start to see the results, and then they hit the wall, become injured, or cause a chemical shutdown with their hormones that leaves them feeling tired and restless.

“I’m a little sore after yesterday’s CrossFit session, but I can still walk so I’ll go to the box.”

Overtraining occurs when you work a muscle too often, not allowing it enough time to recuperate. “I don’t have DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) so I should be good to train.”  Just because you are not sore, does not mean you are not overtraining. Soreness is a side effect and not the primary reason the muscle needs time to recuperate. A number of complex biochemical processes take place during exercise. The process of fuelling muscular contraction results in the build up of waste products such as lactic acid. The energy stored in the muscle as glycogen is also used up during exercise.  Your body needs time to restore the chemical balance of the muscle cells, clear out the waste products and reload the energy stored in the muscles.  All of this takes time and certain nutrients can be used to speed up this process.

The harder you work your body, the more time it takes to recover and recuperate.  Stop and ask yourself “what am I training for?”  Honestly, if you’re not training to be an elite athlete why the hell are you training 5-7 days a week?

This is stupid and NOBODY can possibly maintain such a high volume of training without doing damage to his or her health. Even the most elite athletes have rest days and an off-season. Most elite athletes don’t have another job that they need to do 5 days a week and they have loads of time to eat, sleep and train.  It’s time to start focusing on HEALTH, train to be healthy.  Do marathon runners and endurance athletes look healthy?  HELL NO!!  They train themselves into the ground and more often than not they have poor digestive systems, struggle to sleep, burn out their adrenals, have weak immune systems, high levels of stress and poor heart health (Don’t believe me, Google: “endurance training left ventricle”).  If you can improve the health of your body and get your hormones balanced the strength, fitness and body composition goals will naturally occur.

If/when your training volume increases you MUST start paying closer attention to your health and your nutrition. If you need the fire to burn brighter you need to be giving it the right fuel, and not just any old wet wood. The nutrients you put into your body have a MAJOR effect on your ability to recover from training.  There’s a fine line between working hard with a commitment to be the best you can be and too much training with not enough quality resources and rest. Stay focused on health and be aware that overtraining will cause muscle atrophy, adrenal fatigue, hypertension, a low immune system (illness), and ZERO gains in the gym.

Don’t take this the wrong way and start thinking that you can train once a week and see results.  Ideally you need to be training 3-5 times per week.  You need to gradually increase your training volume and pay close attention to your body.  You also need to understand the importance of nutrition and rest days.  Personally, I aim to have 2 rest days every week, sometimes even 3.  I’ve been there, I’ve trained for many endurance events (marathons and ironman) and I know what it feels like to over train.  It’s taken me years to figure out what works for me.  So let me save you the trouble and let you in on the best training advice ever…. REST!  My current coach (who was an elite athlete) once said to me, “If I could wind back the clock and relive my athletic career, I would have trained less and rested more.”

Training is the easy part now that you have MT to kick your ass. We may have total control over what you do in the gym, but it’s up to you to make lifestyle changes outside of the gym to support your goals. The coaches at MT are here to help all of our members with nutrition and supplement advice no matter your goals.  If you would like to talk about you health please feel free to make a one-to-one booking with any of us.

We are also doing out best to seek other experts in the industry to share their knowledge and to help all of us make healthy lifestyle choices.

This month we have invited Glen Matten to talk about the importance of phytonutrients in the diet.  If you serious about reaching your goals this is something you should not miss.

Further Reading:

Elevated stress levels have been linked to many different diseases. Charles Poliquin has an excellent article Five things you must know about stress that details the effects of stress on the body.  Increasing your training WILL increase your stress levels, no argument.  If you want to continue seeing results and improving how you look, feel and perform its time to start investing in your quality recuperation (rest and nutrition).