How many hours is overtraining

By getting eight to nine hours a night in a completely dark and restful environment, your body will produce more human growth hormone and more testosterone. This will lead to numerous positive effects, including a higher training intensity and, therefore, better gains in the gym. Probably in life, as well. Teaching my little one the importance of good sleep. Managing stress is essential to maintaining a good level of recovery.

Stress kills us. It is almost impossible to train hard and recover while under a high amount of stress. Nothing seems to work right. Think back to a time when you were under an incredible amount of stress. Maybe it was from work or from a bad relationship.

How was your training? Did you progress or did you plateau? These are just some of the things you can do to alleviate stress. Take a look at your life, take inventory of your current state of affairs, and then start making some changes. Just trust that these practice work because they do.

Insert as many of these into your daily routine as you can:. Some workouts are test drives, but others need to be tune-ups. You can do two-a-days by making one of them a recovery workout.

Count beats for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get beats per minute. It is ideal to take measurements just before getting out of bed in the morning. Overtraining can also cause a rise in resting blood pressure , which you can track at home.

A healthcare provider can suggest a reliable brand of monitor and explain ideal targets, as these differ from person to person Sutton, Recovery heart rate —heart rate immediately after exercise—may also be impacted by overtraining.

This is used to observe how long it takes for an exercise-elevated heart rate to return to normal resting levels. Fit people generally experience a quicker return to normal heart rate than those who are not conditioned. If this recovery rate begins to take longer than usual, it may be a sign of deconditioning Sutton, As previously indicated, overtraining does not happen only due to overdoing it during workouts or underprioritizing recovery.

Seemingly unrelated factors can also make a person more likely to become overtrained. This can include following a monotonous program, participating in only one activity or sport, having a recent illness or injury even if it has resolved , having recently participated in a competitive event or extreme workout session such as a black belt test , experiencing a significant life event such as a move, death, divorce, job loss or job change, or even something positive like the birth or adoption of a child.

Here are some key pillars of recovery that they will likely address:. It may be best to stop training entirely for at least a week and cancel upcoming competitions or events in severe cases. Many athletes may see improvements by merely reducing their training by 50 to 80 percent. This does not mean that light activity such as walking or household chores is necessarily off-limits unless a physical illness or injury requires even greater rest Cleveland Clinic, ; Stryker, Active recovery workouts are a great way to incorporate rest - and at the same time - facilitate recovery.

See this blog on active recovery workouts. Most American adults fall short of the 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. These needs may increase when a person is recovering from overtraining or simply after a challenging workout or series of workouts. Good sleep hygiene begins with choosing a time to go to sleep and a time to wake up, then sticking to them consistently, even on weekends. See also: The Importance of Sleep and Recovery. Often, people who are seeking to reduce bodyweight will reduce caloric intake to the point at which there is not enough nutrition available for recovery.

For example, the body needs adequate protein intake for muscle protein synthesis rebuilding muscles at the molecular level to occur Sutton, Also of interest is the recent increase in the daily recommendation for fluid intake.

Today, After exercising for more than an hour, another 12 to 16 ounces per 15 minutes is recommended Sutton, This blog on nutrition and recovery explains things like how to take in enough macronutrients protein, carbohydrate, fats and when to time meals and snacks to maximize recovery. If an illness or injury is present, these should be assessed and addressed before return to sport. Depending upon the type of injury, the athlete may need to modify workouts, make adaptations to exercises, or cross-train in other areas until they have healed.

Again, a healthcare professional can best guide these areas of recovery. Downtime provides an opportunity for exercisers to take a closer look at their training program. Even though OTS is not caused by workouts alone, it can be reduced with evidence-based programming.

For example, NASM recommends adopting an integrated training program , which includes "all forms" of exercise balance, cardio, core, flexibility, plyometrics, resistance, and speed-agility-and-quickness training. Together, integrated, systematic, and progressive approaches can help prevent injury and overtraining while maximizing results Sutton, Even though overtraining syndrome is a prevalent force in the fitness world, why has OTS sometimes been treated with the same skepticism as UFOs?

However, it is now believed OTS results from an accumulation of factors, many outside of exercise sessions. For an athlete to achieve their exercise goals—whether they are related to appearance, health, strength, performance, or a combination of these—a stimulus or stressor has to be introduced to the body repeatedly over time.

While not officially recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , if you worry your workout habits or approach to working out—whether accompanied by symptoms of overtraining syndrome or not—have veered towards the obsessive, it's important to seek help from a mental health professional.

Some of the symptoms sound familiar. Now what? It starts by chatting up a healthcare provider. That's because many of the aforementioned symptoms are also symptoms of other serious health conditions like heart disease, hypertension, depression, PCOS, and more.

Once these conditions have been ruled out, and it's been confirmed that you really do have overtraining syndrome, your next step is to scale your workouts back like, way back! If your usual M. Usually, experts will suggest going at least one week without any exercise to help your body reset.

After that, Luciani recommends "working with a trainer who can intentionally write a program for you based on your fitness goals and current lifestyle. And, because inadequate nutritional intake often contributes to overtraining, "athletes should also work with a nutritionist to figure out exactly much and what they should be eating to support their training goals," says Luciani.

Luciani also recommends folks keep a fitness feelings journal. This isn't a place where you'll write what your workouts are—it's a place to think through how your body is feeling, what's sore, and how your training program is making you feel. Getting the recommended amount of exercise is important.

Getting more than that is okay But if you start to experience any of the symptoms associated with overtraining syndrome, it's time to ring your doc, scale back, and partner with a fitness professional who will have you saying, just as our favorite blonde-haired intruder did, "Ahh this [exercise routine] is just right. By Gabrielle Kassel February 18, Save FB Tweet More. By Gabrielle Kassel. Be the first to comment! No comments yet. Close this dialog window Add a comment.

Add your comment Weightlifters who maintain an intense training schedule may also cut back on calories. This can negatively affect health and performance. If your body consistently draws on its energy reserves, you may develop nutritional deficiencies such as anemia. More serious conditions can arise that affect your cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems.

Pushing yourself past your limits during a high-intensity interval training HIIT workout can lead to muscle strain and pain. Overstressing your body can cause soreness and injuries. You may experience microtears in your muscles as well. Running too often can lead to overuse injuries such as shin splints, stress fractures, and plantar fasciitis. Other overuse injuries include joint strains, broken bones, and soft tissue injuries.

High impact exercise such as running puts stress and wear and tear on your body. If you have an injury, take a break from all types of training to allow it to heal. You may feel excessively drained, especially during or right after workouts. Your body then has to use its carbohydrate, protein, and fat reserves for energy. Working out usually leads to a healthy appetite.

However, working out too much can cause hormonal imbalances that can influence how hungry or full you feel. OTS can cause exhaustion, decreased appetite , and weight loss. Overtraining can affect your stress hormone levels, which can cause depression, mental fog, and mood changes. You may also experience restlessness and a lack of concentration or enthusiasm.

You may have chronic injuries or nagging injuries that linger for a long time. Rest between workouts is vital to recovery. Overtraining can cause your performance to plateau or decrease rather than improve. You may find you have less strength, agility, and endurance, which makes it more difficult to reach your training goals. Overtraining can also slow your reaction time and running speed.

If you have OTS, you may feel like your workouts aremore difficult, like they take more effort to complete.