Warning Signs of Overtraining

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest

The problem with overtraining is that often you don’t even know it’s happening. You’re enjoying your training so much you don’t realise you’re overdoing it. So you just carry on, and the problem gets worse and worse. Or, let’s be honest, you just don’t know enough about training and you’re doing it all wrong … could be that.

Let’s backtrack a minute … why are you even training? Maybe it’s to improve your general fitness. Maybe you want to lose weight. Or gain weight … maybe you want to pack on some muscle. Or, of course, it may be that your training is sport-specific – you want to excel at your tennis, or squash or whatever. But overtraining can happen in any of these situations. You can get so wound up in trying to lose weight, gain muscle, get fit, become a better sports person, etc, that you don’t realise you’re overdoing it, so you end up creating problems for yourself.

How do you know you’re overtraining?

If you don’t even know whether you’re overtraining, here’s a few pointers.

Unusually fatigued. If your training leaves you feeling washed out and really tired, that’s not a good sign. Sure, your training can leave you tired, that’s to be expected, but what I’m talking about here is when you feel exhausted, drained and listless. That’s really not a good sign. And it usually means you need to ease off on your workload.

Changes in appetite. If your appetite is affected, that’s also a sign that things aren’t exactly going well. And the idea of training, generally, is to feel good, right? You don’t do it to feel lousy, or to become unhealthy. So again, be aware, this is probably a sign that you’re doing something wrong. If you notice you’re much thirstier than normal that can be an overtraining sign as well; your body is telling you it needs lots more water to cope with the strain it’s undergoing and to help with all the increased repair work it’s been saddled with.

Losing perspective. If your training is spilling over into the rest of your life and making it difficult for you take care of normal everyday things, that should be a red light, right there. And if you finally realise that you’re spending far too long in the gym, or visiting it far too often, take note. Listen out for those alarm bells!

Muscle ache or soreness. It’s natural for your muscles to ache after a hard workout, and it’s usual to feel it the next day, or even the day after that. But if it goes into the third day, that’s a sign you’re pushing it too hard. You need to allow time for your body to recuperate, and if you’re overdoing it one of the ways it will make itself known is in prolonged muscle soreness.

Sleep disturbances. If you’re finding it difficult to get a proper night’s sleep, that may be due to overtraining. Remember, your body recovers and rebuilds damaged tissue during healthy sleep, so if you’re not getting enough of it you’re not actually benefiting very much from your training.