You have taken your New Year’s resolution seriously, and now working harder than ever in the gym to keep those pounds off. But now it’s April and you might be losing motivation to make time for the gym, not seeing the same gains in your workout regimens, or feeling more fatigued during and between workouts.  These are a couple of common signs of overtraining, which is a decrease or plateau in performance due to increased training volume and ineffective recovery periods. If this sounds like you, it might be a good time to consult with a professional or reassess your goals to help you get back on track. Some signs and symptoms of overtraining are:

• Lack of motivation
• Elevated Resting Heart Rate: Increased heart rate more than 7 bpm for long periods of time is a good indicator of overtraining. This is a sign that your body is not recovering from a previous workout and needs a rest.
• Increased thirst
• Increased muscle soreness: Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is normal after workouts but if your soreness never goes away and your joints constantly hurt, these are signs that you are overdoing it in your workouts.
• Increase susceptibility to injury and illness: Added stress, lack of recovery and sleep can cause your immune system to diminish causing that sore throat, sniffles and cough to come and go.
• Decreased Appetite
• Weight Loss and weight gain: Overtraining can affect a hormonal imbalance in testosterone and cortisol causing an increase in insulin resistance and fat deposition and decrease in lean muscle mass, making you gain weight despite all the hard work and calorie burning you are doing in the gym.
• Irritability: Post workout your endorphins are pumping and you feel great and accomplished, if you aren’t this way but instead crabby and irritable you could be overtraining. Exercise should elevate your mood.
• Insomnia
• Decreased libido

Overtraining can cause significant issues if not recognized early and resolved. Some things you can do to help reboot your body include taking a break from the gym to recuperate. Reduce your work volume and intensity of your training program. Take care of your body by utilizing ice baths and heating pads to help you recover from workouts and improve circulation and new blood flow. Treat yourself to a massage to help relieve muscle tension, joint stress, and increase muscle flexibility. Split training workouts- balance the workload on muscle groups to different days so you are getting adequate amount of rest between workouts. Most importantly, make sure you are eating an appropriate diet that focuses on matching your caloric intake with your caloric expenditure. This will allow your body to recover more efficiently.

Do you need help with your workout program? Call us at Elite Nutrition and Performance and set up a FREE no obligation consultation.  803-200-2506 or click to schedule!

Jesa Culy 
Ace Certified Personal Trainer