image courtesy of Ryan McGuire from Pixabay
Can you exercise too much? How do you know? In the training world this is called overtraining. When we exercise with more volume, intensity, or duration than our body can integrate, assimilate, and digest we are overtraining.
It can happen by accident (ask me how I know!)…
- You just love the community, connection and play you get to access in your classes and workouts.
- Maybe you have an event you are preparing for and, even if you have an intelligently mapped out plan, your body isn’t having it.
- You might really love all the wonderful benefits of exercise like increasing strength, endurance, mood, and overall health and want more of that!
However, too much of a “good” thing can easily become not so good for you. But how do you know? Here is a list of several possible signs that you are overtraining:
Physical Symptoms
- Increased muscle/tissue soreness and stiffness that is unusual and persistent
- Reduced performance and endurance
- Frequent injuries, such as shin splints or stress fractures
- Increased resting heart rate or erratic heart rate
- Decreased appetite or weight loss
- Slower recovery from workouts
- Insomnia or disturbed sleep or excessive sleep
- “Heavy” leg muscles
- Decreased immune function, which can lead to more infections
- Hormonal imbalances
- Loss of menses in women
- GI issues like nausea, diarrhea
Mental Symptoms
- Fatigue and lethargy
- Irritability and mood swings
- Loss of motivation and interest in exercise or other previously enjoyable activities
- Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
- Increased anxiety or depression
I invite you to remember a few things:
More is not necessarily better.
Pain is not required for making gains (in fact pain begets more pain).
You make your training gains during REST!
And, that rest can be active or passive, and a combination of both is best.
What are some types of Active Recovery?
- A gentle walk, cycle, or swim (low intensity cardio)
- Gentle yoga, tai chi or other mindful movement practices
- Breathwork
- Mobility work and joint range of motion exercises
- Stretching
- Light banded resistance work
What about passive recovery?
This is important to integrate more when you are injured, overwhelmed, overtraining, in pain or hurting in some way. Passive recovery could look like:
- A daily yoga nidra practice (or NSDR, non sleep deep rest)
- Restorative yoga
- Receiving a massage or other body work (where you get to relax)
- Good quality sleep
- Take more days off from intense training and play
- Eat some warm cooked nutritious food
- Connect with friends and loved ones
- Breath awareness meditations
- TRE®
What helps you feel nourished?
Finding the right balance of effort and ease, work and rest, challenge and recovery can be tricky. Mindfulness is your best tool and if you could use some extra support reach out, I’m happy to help!
If you would like to receive these notes in your inbox with exercises and practices sign up for my newsletter here!
Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
