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!

Why You're Not Getting the Results from Your Workout

If you've been following my posts since the very beginning (and I hope you do), and yet still don't get the results, this is the post that will answer your question. Don't even think about supplements to get faster results  before you read this post first.

Before asking which supplements to use, we have to realize that there are many factors that involves in body-building efforts. Even stress can thin out your body. Here I will share few factors that you may have to reevaluate when you don't get the results from your workout or your training.

image credit to thelegalcommune.com

1. Rest
Have you have enough rest? How long do you sleep in a day? Of course, every person is different in terms of sleeping needs, but the standard sleeping time is 7 to 9 hours a day. When we sleep, our body produces growth hormones that can repair the broken cells. Besides the sleeps at night, you also have to pay attention to the resting time between each training. You won't build your chest muscles when you train it everyday. Give at least two or three days gap before you train it again in the next workout.

2. Train Hard for the Designated Muscles
Let's say you want to build your biceps, and you don't get the results. Reevaluate your training: was it "hard" enough? Some say that it was hard enough, but they do the same pattern with the same weight every time (and didn't do the overload principal). Add more weight over time because your muscles will get used to the same weight you're using every time, making your training pointless. It's like when we were in school in 1st to 6th grade, the lessons get harder everytime, right?

3. Variations
Use some variations in your training so that your muscles don't get bored. When you do the same training pattern every time, your body will adapt, and won't respond much to your training. Use different order when you train, different weights, different resting time between each set, and different sets to "surprise" your muscles and triggers them to adapt and develop.

4. Did you do cardio before your weight training?
What usually happens is people do cardio before their weight training. They thought that it was just a warm up. You do have to do a little cardio before you train for a warm up, but what people usually did is that they did it too hard, and sometimes, too long. You don't have to run in the treadmill for 30 minutes as a warm up. This will tire you in your weight training, and will significantly hamper your effort to build your body. Do your cardio after your weight training.

And that's the four basic things that you have to reevaluate when you reach a plateau (no progress) in your training. If you do them all right, then reevaluate your nutrition. Did you consume enough nutrition your body needs to build your body? It doesn't matter if you want to lose weight or want to gain some, your daily nutrition needs is important.