Signs You’re Overtraining

How to Know if You’re Doing Too Much Exercise

Exercise is one of the best things we can do for our bodies. However, there is such as thing as “too much” exercise.

Overtraining is the presence of long-term decreases in fitness levels, with subsequent physiological and psychological symptoms that are counterproductive toward your training goals. Overtraining is a chronic disturbance of physical health and performance, meaning it can take weeks/months before it can be accurately diagnosed.

Overtraining is the result of chronic periods of excessive:

• Training Volume
• Training Intensity
• Training Frequency

Combined with insufficient:

• Rest Periods
• Recovery Time
• Nutritional Intake
• Sleep Routines

If you’ve been pushing your body to the limit to reach your goals, and you’ve noticed you’re actually regressing in your training, you may be a victim of overtraining. Below, we discuss the four biggest signs of overtraining, and what you can do about it.

Loss of Motivation

One of the most common signs of overtraining is a loss of motivation to work out. If you find yourself dreading your workouts or losing interest in your exercise routine, it could be a sign that you are overtraining.

Loss of motivation can occur as a result of:

• Fatigue
• Burnout
• Lack of Progress

Exercise is supposed to be fun, and a bright spot in our days. If you were once highly motivated to reach a weight loss goal, hit a new PR, or compete in an event, and that motivation is gone, overtraining is likely to blame.

Injuries

Overtraining is a common cause of injuries. Injuries can be a macrotrauma, such as an ankle sprain or an ACL injury, or a microtrauma/repetitive use injury, such as tendonitis or low back ache.

Injuries are more likely to occur with overtraining since you are not giving your body an adequate amount of time to repair and recover between sessions. If rest and recovery are not prioritized, the muscles, joints, and ligaments are at greater risk for failure and subsequent injury.

Even if you are not injured, overtraining presents with an increased risk of future injury. If your body can’t handle the demands of the training you’re doing, you’re setting yourself up for injury.

Poor Performance

When you train, you expect to get stronger, faster, and better conditioned. If you’re experiencing overtraining, it’s likely you’re actually regressing in your abilities.

If you find that certain weights in the gym are harder or impossible, your running pace slows, or you’re not able to train as frequently because of muscle fatigue or weakness, you may be doing too much.

Once again, not giving your body enough time to recover between workouts, especially high-intensity workouts, affects your body’s ability to perform at its best. The more damage your muscles experience without adequate repair time, the less they’ll be able to perform in subsequent workouts.

Physiological and Psychological Effects of Elevated Stress Hormones

Training is a stress put on our bodies’ connective tissues. Cortisol is the primary hormone released when our bodies are under stress. Its role is to regulate metabolism and repair of tissue damage.

Some cortisol is a good thing; we wouldn’t be able to live and recover without it. Too much, however, can be detrimental to our fitness performance. Chronic overtraining leads to chronic elevated cortisol levels in our bloodstream, which negatively impacts our recovery between workouts.

Some physiological symptoms of elevated cortisol includes:

• Loss of muscle mass
• Greater fat stores
• Increased frequency of illness

Some psychological symptoms of elevated cortisol includes:

• Irritability
• Anxiety/depression
• Anger/impulsivity

How to Prevent Overtraining

Overtraining is the cumulative response of excessive training stimulus with insufficient recovery. While overtraining is detrimental for training, and can take a long time to recover from, it is preventable and treatable.

The best things you can do to prevent overtraining include:

• Prioritize Rest and Recovery Days: This is the most beneficial thing you can do. Give yourself at least 2–3 rest/recovery days per week, where you aren’t doing any formal training. Use this time for an active recovery if you can’t sit still, or for other hobbies/activities.
• Eat and Stay Hydrated: Be sure you’re drinking enough water and eating enough food between workouts. Food and water are the fuel our bodies need to repair damaged muscles and maintain homeostasis.
• Get Enough Sleep: At least 7–8 hours of sleep per night are essential for muscle repair and recovery. Any less than this is detrimental for your body’s ability to recover and heal itself.
• Manage Your Stress: Identify stressful triggers, and do your best to eliminate them. Include yoga and/or meditation as part of your rest/recovery day ritual. Keep stress levels down, and you’ll keep cortisol levels down.
• Listen to Your Body: If your muscles or joints aren’t feeling up to training that day, give yourself the day off, or modify your routine to decrease the intensity. One day off will not set you back, but one injury certainly will.

Training hard and pushing yourself to be your best is incredible and admirable. Just remember, exercise and fitness are a marathon, not a sprint. Give yourself adequate rest and recovery time, and don’t let overtraining keep you from reaching your goals.

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