Overtraining

I've mentioned about overtraining a lot, but a lot of people still don't know what is the cause and symptoms. Through this post I'm going to share some info about overtraining, especially for those "noobs" (newcomers) in workouts and training.

I already posted about the importance of recovering after a training. You can read it here. If you don't have enough rest and just workout everyday, what you're doing is overtraining.

image credit to fitnessgurusam.com

Overtraining can be caused by:
- Too much training or workout in a week
- Too many equipment in one workout session. Use 4 to 5 equipment only, and don't use all the equipment for training variations. You will tire yourself.
- Too much set, or training for too long. Some even do it for 3 hours. You only need to do 3 to 4 sets per equipment, no need to do 10 sets.
- Lifting weights that are too heavy in a long time.

Symptoms or indications of overtraining that you have to be aware of:
- The loss of power in your body. You may wonder why you train often but your strength is not as strong as it was before. It might be the cause of overtraining.
- Prolonged exhaustion.
- Sleep-deprived, or got no sleep at all.
- Decreasing appetite.
- Prolonged muscle-pains.
- Mood swings.
- No passion to train or have some workout.
- Decreasing immunity, for example, prone to flu, catch a cold, and body recovery is slowed down.

Few things you can do to prevent overtraining:
- Manage your training so that you have enough rest. It doesn't mean that you can't train everyday. Read my previous post about this.
- Add some variations into your training.
- Don't achieve Failure Set in EACH SET every time you train and in EVERY TRAINING SESSION.
- Add some more other activity like treadmill or some other cardio into your weight-lifting training.

Sure enough, workouts can make you healthy and stronger. But you also have to remember to manage your training. Train smarter, not harder!