Overtraining - The Importance of Rest

Daily exercise is important for health and happiness, but it is also important to let your body rest and recover. Activity and Rest are kind of like the yin and yang of healthy exercise. When resistance training, you alternate working a muscle (or muscle group) to fatigue and then resting it between sets. Similarly, a smart exerciser will alternate working that muscle group one day and then resting it the next. In more general terms we all are active during the day and sleep at night. Activity stimulates adaptation and growth and Rest is the time when your body can actually do the adaptation and growth.

Overtraining is when you don’t let your body recover from exercise which can lead to some serious physical, mental and emotional problems. Physically, overtraining leads to acute overuse injuries which can prevent you from doing whatever you are training for (and think for a moment which is better: resting more and maybe not feeling as prepared for the event OR not being able to participate at all?). You could also be setting yourself up for a chronic, long term injury.

If you are overtraining, maybe you haven’t been able to find a balance in your life which may lead to mental and emotional issues (or be the result of some). To be all consumed in training isn’t healthy in much the same way as not exercising at all is. Find a happy balance. Sometimes the pressure to exercise is internal and usually a sign that you are trying to replace other issues in your life with exercise because it;s controllable. Sometimes the pressure is external where others (parents, coaches, friends, coworkers) are pushing you beyond your abilities.

Symptoms of Overtraining syndrome:

-          Feeling tired, drained, unmotivated

-          Sudden drop in performance

-          Insomnia

-          General aches and pains

-          Moodiness, irritability

-          Depression

-          Decreased immunity

-          Decreased appetite

-          Increased incidence of injury

Ways to combat over training:

-          Acknowledge that you are overtraining and figure out why (is it an internal or external pressure?)

-          Take an emergency rest day (I know it’s like telling a smoker to quit cold turkey, but it’s a must).

-          While resting figure out your course of action (modify your training routine, or talk to a trusted friend or counsellor)

-         Take that free time to make and eat healthy food, stretch sore muscles, ice inflamed joints, get a massage, breath, write in you journal, go for a walk with a friend, make an appointment to see a physiotherapist, doctor, or whatever other health professional you decide you need, take care of yourself physically and mentally.

-          When ready to start exercising again, decrease intensity and duration, and preferably change type of exercise (cross-train).

Cross-training tips: The repetition of your training is what is causing injury to your body, so in your want to continue to exercise you must change the type and location of the stresses on your body. If you are a runner - go for a swim. If you weight train - take a martial arts class. The best types of cross-training during your overtraining rehab period are swimming, aquafit classes, yoga, pilates, and other low impact activities that will give your poor body a break.