SuperFitness

Overtraining: Training Too Hard to Make Progress?

Some describe it as 'like hitting a brick wall'. Others feel the effects more as a type of frustration. Most athletes who work hard at their sport will experience it at least once in their career. If you train with weights, the ultimate symptom is the failure to have either muscle strength or muscle mass gains. The problem is overtraining.

Overtraining occurs when you work your body beyond its ability to recover before the next training session for the muscle group in question. Overtraining is also called failure of your body's 'recovery-ability' system. If your body cannot recover from the last workout, then it will be unable to adapt and unable to grow or gain strength.

Overtraining symptoms include shaky hands, the loss of sleep, a loss of appetite, a higher-than-normal resting pulse, or colds, flu episodes and other illnesses that become more frequent and/or last longer than usual. Other indicators of overtraining include muscle spasms while resting (e.g. eyelid twitch), unexpected and unexplained fatigue, or unintended weight loss.

In the gym you will find that your efforts to increase weight and reps will slow over your past progress rates. Those worst affected by the body's loss of 'recovery-ability' will have non-existent static poundage gains in exercise gym routines. In extreme cases, overtraining can lead to a loss of strength and require the use of reduced weight.

There may be some easy solutions to individual overtraining problems. The solution, however, may be different for different athletes. If you are overtraining on your current routine, try cutting back on number of workout-days per week first. The next adjustment should be to the specific exercises and number of sets used on the exercises. The best of solution may require a total redesign of your routines to make them overtraining adjusted.

To set up an adjusted routine, you will first need to change all or most of the exercises you have used for each part of your muscle structure. Prepare to change the number of reps, weight, or hyper reps such as cheat reps or assisted reps weekly. Keep the program for only 6 to 8 weeks before you change the program again.

In most cases, this type of program will result in a quick return to gains in strength, energy and muscle mass. Many programs that lead to overtraining put too great an emphasis on "balance," "proportion," and "symmetry" in the individual body part components. When the program is changed more frequently over time and some consideration is given to total muscle involvement from segment-to-segment, the correct balance should be more natural.

Each 6 to 8 week segment should include basic exercises that work the small muscles in the major groups and prevent injury of these muscles while larger muscles are worked. Most trainers agree that squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, bar dips, rows and pull-ups can often be modified with a grip change or angle of attack to make even these basic exercises different from segment-to-segment.

When you change your routines often you may need to pay special attention to the bio mechanics of each exercise. If you need to learn a new exercise or grip, try lower weights first to feel the way the exercise works your muscles. Never work on an injured or otherwise structurally limited body part. Muscle strength and mass gains are only possible if the muscle can recover from the stress the exercise creates. Stress that increases the damage of the injury cannot produce gains. Contributed by C. W. Mann, who also writes the syndicated column, SuperFitness.

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