Some athletes and fitness enthusiasts not only try to give their all in every workout, but also devote as much time and energy as possible to physical exercises. Objectively hard physical activities such as CrossFit and HIIT (high intensity interval training with alternating aerobic and strength exercises) are becoming more popular every day, and many people start exercising five, six and even seven days a week. Sooner or later, such enthusiasts are overtaken by the not-so-pleasant consequence of excessive zeal - overtraining.
The symptoms of this condition are mild at first, and therefore not everyone can notice how the body signals: that's enough, it's time to rest. As a result, the body is overloaded, and the person is unable to go through the next workout: all the forces seem to leave the body, depression or apathy sets in, the appetite disappears or, conversely, the appetite increases abnormally, and thoughts about sports equipment and exercise equipment cause onlyirritation and anger. To prevent this from happening to you, be sure to listen to your own body: it will certainly tell you when the load becomes excessive.
What is overtraining?
The symptoms of this condition are similar to those of a less severe overexertion. However, overexertion, especially when working with new free weights or increasing the load (for example, when switching from two-kilogram dumbbells to four-kilogram dumbbells in home fitness), passes very quickly and usually does not cause much trouble. Overtraining, on the other hand, means that you are exercising too intensely and that your body is simply unable to recover from overly exhausting exercise. It can take weeks or even months to bounce back and eliminate the annoying symptoms of an overtrained athlete.
Imagine your body as an electrical outlet that powers all your daily activities. All activities - no matter how intense - are devices that you plug into an outlet. If you plug a widescreen plasma TV, an audio system, a blender, a lamp, a microwave oven, an electric guitar, and a treadmill into the same outlet, what happens? Of course, there will be a short circuit, and the whole system will fail. The human body functions according to the same principle.
Electric socket is a metaphor for the central nervous system. It consists of the head and spinalbrain that controls muscles through the supply of nerve impulses. Under chronic stress (and any training is stressful for the body), nerve impulses weaken and lose their effectiveness, resulting in a wide variety of symptoms of overtraining.
Factors that accelerate the onset of overtraining syndrome can be the following circumstances: either you have dramatically increased the frequency of training, or increased the intensity and / or duration of training, or you are ignoring the need for rest and not allowing the body to recover normally. The ability to resist overtraining syndrome is determined by genetics and the total duration of sports throughout life.
Since all people exercise in different ways, you should carefully monitor your own body. Of course, the symptoms of overtraining in bodybuilding will be different from the signs of overload in those who prefer athletics.
What to look out for
Some signs of overload due to excessive exercise are more common than others. It is not uncommon to find high blood pressure, low energy levels, increased injury rates, decreased stamina, anxiety, fatigue, decreased athletic performance, decreased maximum heart rate, and even allergic reactions. Symptoms of overtraining in women often include changes in the menstrual cycle. Some alarms attract attention faster - they are listedbelow.
Symptom 1: Lack of Motivation
If all of a sudden all your drive and enthusiasm have disappeared, the desire to play sports and generally participate in any active activity has completely disappeared, then the body is signaling the need for rest and recovery, since you have already entered the phase of overstrain.
Of course, everyone has those days when you just don't want to go to the gym. Even famous athletes sometimes have no desire to perform routine exercises. However, if it's been a few days or even weeks, and you still feel sick at the thought of being active in the gym, you should listen to your body and allow yourself to take a break from the load.
Symptom 2: Severe muscle pain after a long workout
Similar symptoms of overtraining in bodybuilding and strength sports do not always indicate an overload - sometimes it is a sign of an insufficiently nutritious diet. If you're eating enough proteins, fats, and complex carbohydrates, and you're suffering a lot from your workouts, it might be time to take a break. How to distinguish such muscle pain from normal, following any physical activity? Like any symptom of extreme overexertion, this pain syndrome lasts much longer than usual and is characterized by greater intensity.
Because many newcomers to the sport want to achieve noticeable results as soon as possible, they are more likely to show symptoms of overtraining. Someone is pushing too hardarm trainers and then a week can not properly wash his hair in the shower, and someone is too focused on the legs and eventually is not able to climb the stairs.
Symptom 3: Ineffective workouts
As hard as it may be to believe, excessive exercise can lead to muscle loss and excess fat gain. Most people believe that a simple rule of energy balance works in sports: you need to burn more calories than you consume, which means you need to exercise more. The problem is that no one takes into account the essential role of hormones in this ratio.
Some of the symptoms of overtraining in men are the result of increased testosterone production (which is also bad for women, by the way) along with an increase in cortisol levels. In response to overload, the body increases its own insulin resistance and begins to actively store fat. Of course, such undesirable effects should not be allowed, because everyone goes in for sports in order to be strong and slim.
Symptom 4: Anxiety and loss of concentration
Symptoms of overtraining in skiers and other high-intensity athletes, including strength training and HIIT, often manifest as a sympathetic nervous system disorder that causes irritability, restlessness, and inability to concentrate.
When this happens, the recovery of the body is even harder and takes longertime than usual. Don't underestimate restful rest and he althy sleep - they provide improved training results.
Symptom 5: feeling weak
Feeling weak all day often haunts endurance athletes. It is also a sign of a sympathetic nervous system disorder, along with a decrease in testosterone levels and an increase in cortisol. The overwhelming feeling of weakness can even suggest SARS, although the culprit here is only overtraining of the muscles, the symptoms of which can take on such forms.
To avoid these side effects of sports, experts recommend reducing the duration and at the same time increasing the intensity of training, that is, prefer short but powerful loads to exhaustingly long endurance exercises. Even if you are physically capable of running 15-20 kilometers every week, this does not mean that you need to put so much stress on your body.
Symptom 6: Chronic pain in ligaments, bones and limbs
Uncomfortable post-workout sensations that take the form of delayed muscle soreness syndrome (Krepatura) are completely normal. However, it also happens that the pain does not go away for a long time. These are the most common symptoms of overtraining, so consider reducing the intensity or duration of your workouts.
Symptom 7: Disease susceptibility
Most often a person gets sick whena simultaneous combination of several factors: this is a lack of sleep, a monotonous or poor diet, reduced physical activity, psychological stress. If you don't seem to have any of these problems, but you often get sick, you may be overtraining. The causes, symptoms and treatment of this condition is the topic of more than one dissertation work and more than one scientific work.
You can, of course, simply ignore a slight morning runny nose or episodic coughing spells, but it's better to listen to your body in time. These little signals may indicate an immune system disorder caused by over-exertion.
How to avoid overloads
Experts always recommend not to fight the condition, but to prevent overtraining in time: the symptoms and treatment of this disease are unpleasant, and recovery can take a very long time, during which the muscles will lose their former tone. To avoid a "short circuit", follow these simple tips:
- get enough sleep;
- make sure your daily menu includes all the necessary nutrients and trace elements;
- recover from psychological stress (for example, replace strength exercises with yoga and meditation practices);
- adjust your training schedule;
- give your body time to return to normal (you don't have to quit physical activity completely - try Pilates orcomplex stretching).
