Overtraining is spectral in that there are mild and severe forms. Walk into one of these WOD-based facilities, and you’ll likely see a bunch of weathered individuals jumping around wondering why they haven’t made the muscular gains as billed. They’re overtrained! Nearly all of them. Why? Because they subscribe to the “more is better” philosophy. Train more; train six days a week in fact, and you’ll be stronger and more muscular than if you were to train three days per week. Wrong. Training six days per week fails to allow for recovery time. When and how do you expect to grow stronger if you are stressing your body every day? You won’t. Is this you? Do you want to know how to finally make gains and reap the benefits of your intense workouts? Reduce the frequency of your training! Do you think it a coincidence that utilizing the Get Serious protocol, one trains heavy twice weekly? Twice. To allow for recovery and growth. So that you can be stronger the next time around.
So how do you recognize the overtraining syndrome? Easy. Develop a high index of suspicion!
THE FOLLOWING ARE SYMPTOMS OF OVERTRAINING.
- Chronic fatigue.
- Poor sleep.
- Irritability.
- Waning (or florid lack of) desire to strength train.
- Failed physical progress (an inability to lose body fat and gain muscle despite proper nutrition).
- Faltered performance.
- Repeated injury.
- AM (waking) heart rate/pulse 10% greater than your historical average.
- Reduced heart rate variability (HRV monitors are available).
Think you can outrun this one or “tough it out?” Or “get back in the game,” as your high school football coach advised? Another falsehood promulgated in some of these exercise facilities. You see, chronically elevated levels of cortisol will take their toll, as they are extremely detrimental to your health. So more is not better. In fact, your goal should be to train as little as possible while still generating the desired response. There’s a lot of truth to the saying, “Less Is More.”