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Are you overtraining?

Exercise can be fun, but don't overdo it

Overtraining symptoms are often ignored

It is pretty easy for enthusiasm in the gym to edge into overtraining territory. The symptoms are often ignored. After all, if you've been busting your chops in the gym, the more you train the better you are supposed to feel. And if you feel weak or tired, you attribute it to an inadequate diet or wrong technique.

But overtraining is a common problem. Some athletes know they are overtraining when they've `hit the wall' during a workout. If your regular workout feels more difficult than usual, if fatigue sets in early during workouts, if you achieve your target heart rate with less effort than usual, if you feel less coordinated in your actions, and if you've demonstrated decreased strength, endurance or speed during a physical test -- you just might be overtraining.

Overtraining occurs when the body does not recuperate in between workouts. The commonest cause is inadequate rest, followed by being stressed out in between sessions. Insomnia, irritation or anger, depression, and an easily-stressed temperament are enemies of muscles and ligaments and not just of the mind.

Overtrained muscles feel sore after every workout and long after, they ache for no apparent reason; they also get injured easily. Such injuries are frequently serious requiring long periods of recuperation (a ruptured biceps tendon or Achilles tendon), or they may manifest as persistent niggles that refuse to heal. Loss of appetite is common and an inadequate diet exacerbates the syndrome. The body is prey to frequent colds and illnesses.

The treatment for overtraining is rest. The longer you've been overtraining, the longer the period of recuperation. Preventing overtraining requires incorporating enough rest and time for recuperation in your schedule. This is why most bodybuilders train only 4-5 days a week. And this is why sprinters have an off-season. If you are serious about your time in your gym or your athletic career, have a trained sports physiologist analyse your workout schedule. Otherwise, follow the rule of moderation and you will do fine.

RAJIV. M

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