5 signs that you’re overtraining
Have you found it hard to sleep lately? Are you tired more often than usual? Do you feel more irritable? These symptoms are telling you that you’re overtraining. Working hard to be fit is a good thing, but if you overdo it, you’ll end up hurting yourself. Then you won’t be able to exercise for a while, which means getting out of shape, defeating the purpose of working out in the first place.
Here are the main symptoms you should be looking out for:
You get sick very often
If you fall ill more than usual, that may be due to an excess of exercise that’s weakened your immune system, causing illnesses like the flu or even herpes to appear more frequently.
It’s difficult to fall asleep
Do you often feel exhausted, but for some reason, you still can’t seem to fall asleep? Well, that’s due to your sympathetic nervous system getting overstimulated into fight or flight mode, putting you on constant alert, and stressing you out. That’s what overtraining does to you. It makes you tired but keeps you awake, which in turn, makes you more tired. It’s a vicious cycle.
A lack of energy
If you feel too tired to do anything for the better part of the week, then forget any temporary solutions like special energy drinks and diets—your body needs a rest. Constant tiredness is a telltale sign of overtraining.
Mood changes
If you find yourself getting more easily annoyed than usual, that has to do with what we mentioned before: your nervous system is overstimulated with hormones associated with stress, from working out too hard. Maybe you’re also finding it difficult to concentrate, or you feel a sense of apathy—these mood swings are a direct consequence of overtraining.
Pain
You’re getting contractures and cramps, you pull muscles, which ache all the time; these are signs letting you know you’re not exercising right. You’re putting too much stress on your body.
All these signs are telling you one thing: you need to tone the workout down or you’ll end up really hurting yourself. The best way to avoid overtraining is to just listen to your body. The motto, “no pain, no game,” doesn’t include injuring yourself. If you push yourself too hard you’ll achieve the exact opposite of what you’re working out for. So go and get some rest; staying healthy and fit depends on it.
