Is it possible to over train.
Is it possible to over train? This is the question at hand. Today I’m going to be talking about over training, what over training means. How to avoid it, which in some cases can be difficult. Depending on your sport and your training regime. We all know how good exercise is for us and the benefits it brings. But unfortunately when it comes to achieving a particular goal, we tend to neglect ourselves. This is totally unproductive and today I’m going to focus on how to avoid over training.
Is it possible to over train.
Without delay, the answer is yes. It’s possible to over train and it’s easily done. We are likely to start an exercise program with an end target in sight. That could be to lose weight or just to look and feel better about ourselves. Once this target is set, we set sail for success. Ignoring all warnings that might present themselves, this is when it can all wrong!
Having a target is good and pushing yourself to the limit is excellent, because without this there’s no improvement. But regardless of how you’re progressing, you need to keep focused. Is it possible to over train your body? YES! Look at it this way, there’s a lot of things in life that’s bad for us. But good if we have them in moderation. Exercise is exactly the same, everything in moderation.
Keep your exercise routine varied and fresh!
Know your exercise limits.
So do you know your limits? Let’s take a deeper look, do you run and how often? I’m going to assume the answer is yes, you run approximately 3 – 4 times a week. Is there anything wrong with that? Err – yes! I would find this unsustainable and after 6 months, it would become a chore. Top runners recommend that to benefit from running you should run 3 – 4 times a week and for a minimum of 30 minutes. This should be at an average pace.
There’s different types of reasons for running, we might be running for:
- Speed.
- Endurance.
Besides that, running is a great exercise that’s totally free. Unfortunately it can have its downsides too. Over my many years of training I’ve spoken to many athletes. Who, have used running to improve their cardiovascular fitness. Now I can’t prove that they over trained! But they complained of a lot of joint issues. My advice is try to vary where you run, one of the best areas to run is on soft ground. And make sure you’re wearing adequate running shoes.
This will help to minimize the risk of joint injuries, such as knees, hips and ankles.
Introducing exercise method testing.
We all need to take care of our health and committing to regular exercise is a great start. But before we get carried away we should investigate our health. There’s professional equipment that would make this easier for us to do. But there’s no way we can get our hands on that and if we did, we wouldn’t know how to use it. So the next best thing is to visit our doctor.
Now this is something a lot of men are very reluctant to do. I can confess to being among this group. I will only go, if I believe it’s detrimental to my health. Your health is important and so I would advise you to go!
Is it possible to over train.
Your doctor will have valuable information that you’re going to need to avoid any health problems. The human body goes through changes as we age. One important thing is the amount of oxygen our body needs and can process during exercise. Our vo2 is at its maximum between the age of 15 and 30 years of age. This then drops by 8 – 10% every 10 years!
The main benefit of this information, is that whilst our body is aging, our mind is standing still. So for example, if you could run 5k in 45 minutes, when you were 25 years old. Your mind would still believe it could do it at the age of 50, without any regards for your bodies true health or condition.
Hence, the problem. Is it possible to over train or is this just an oversight of our ability? I saw many of my students do just that. They took a break from training, lost their fitness levels and general ability, they used to have. But still tried to resume their training at the level they stopped at.
How to avoid burnout.
The only way forward is to change your mindset. Take yourself back to the beginning and imagine you’re just about to take part in your first training session. Take tiny steps, with regular breaks and monitor every step. Pay particular attention to your diet, how much you eat and drink. Your mind can trick you into thinking you can do the impossible. But if you’re in reasonable condition, no permanent damage may be done.
Staying hydrated is something we should do regardless of training. But as we get older, we tend to neglect the sensible things we should do. These little things, keeps our bodies working at an optimum level.
Is it possible to over train – the conclusion.
I know overtraining is possible. I know this because I’ve almost done it myself, many times. Just like you, I was driven by the desire to improve. There’s certain pitfalls I’d like everyone to avoid. The biggest one being not speaking or visiting the doctor enough. If you agree or don’t agree with anything I’ve said, please take this piece of advice on board. Try to focus on the finish line but take note of all the stops along the way and enjoy the journey.
I hope you’ve learned something new today. Is it possible to over train, YES – but hopefully you’ve learned how to make it a bump on the road to success!
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I will answer them as soon as possible.
To your progress and health.
