I have been a victim of this before. Perhaps even encouraged it for others in the past, unknowingly. As I gear up for another prep, I wanted to address this issue to the best of my ability. As I was studying today, I was reviewing the importance of hormones and the role they play in exercise. Here is the scenario. You are working out 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day. Your diet is on point; high protein and low carbs. For some reason though, the scale is not moving. You have also noticed that you are cranky, depressed, can't sleep and on edge. So what do you do? You hit the gym harder and train longer and cut your calories more so that you can begin to see the results you have been working so hard for. What is the culprit for your stalled progress and horrible mood?
Overtraining.
Overtraining is defined as an accumulation of training and or non-training stress resulting in long-term decrease in performance capacity. You become counterproductive in all your work. You wreck havoc on your adrenal glands and through your body into a hormonal imbalance.
So what can you do? REST (Take a cue from these puppies and do what they do. Growing is hard work.)
Realize that
it takes time to make lifelong changes to your body. Keep your workouts intense but not too long. Remember that
most gains occur during rest. Incorporate periodization into your schedule. Schedule easier training periods leading up to more intense training times. Make sure you are following an adequate nutrition plan to keep up with your strenuous workouts.
I am writing this because I have already been guilty of overtraining since I started my prep this round. I was so excited to begin improving that I was willing to put 100% everything into it all 24/7 if I had to. Although this is a great attitude to have, it is not what the body needs. This past week I was determined to do two a day workouts 6 days a week. I have made great gains physically. But in the long term is this the best way to treat my body to get long lasting results? This week I am going to be doing only one cardio session a day for 6 days. I plan to increase my cardio to two a days in February, 6 weeks out from my next show. I know that even though I want results now, it will be better for my body and health to take my time getting there the next few months. I want to compete all year long, through August, and need to
be kind to my body to keep my hormones in control and prevent injuries.
I also have decided to train more on the weekends and allow Thursday to be my complete rest day. I have made such amazing gains the past two weeks. I have 8 more weeks to improve my physique and be in tip top shape. I may end up including an additional day of rest as the show approaches. This would allow for an increase in intensity as I get closer to the show date. I also plan to incorporate yoga in my practice starting next week. Stay tuned for why I have chosen to do this.
REST!
- FitWhitt
Other articles on the subject.
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