Learn about overtraining

Days ago I was talking to a friend who is very passionate for full-contact sports and he told me that he had been feeling extremely tired, weak, achy and without appetite. Turns out that after a couple of questions I realized that he was doing up to 3 training sessions a day about 6 times a week without the guidance of someone with knowledge on training loads, basically he wasn’t having a correct training. When I asked him why he was training that way, his answer literally was: "because I want to be the best in this sport (between laughs) and dedicate myself to this for the rest of my life." At that moment I had mixed feelings because, first of all, I admired his conviction and his desire to improve in his sport, and second, I realized that there was a serious problem of overtraining that in the long run was affecting his performance.

A common mistake in which many people fall is to think that the more they train, the better they will become in their sport, but that is COMPLETELY FALSE. When an athlete is overtrained becomes slower, weaker, and less resistant and they usually have difficulties maintaining body weight because the correct synthesis of proteins and regeneration of muscle tissues fail. An also the energy reserves in the body (Glycogen) fall as a result of the over-training and poor diet.

Some basic consequences of overtraining are:

-The physical qualities decay (strength, speed, power, endurance).

-Increase exposure to injuries (more often muscle).

-The immune system decays and increases exposure to diseases.

-There is less willingness to learn, which affects technical aspects of the sport.

It is super important that you learn to identify when you are going through an overtraining process, so I share you the most important symptoms:

1. Feeling of general fatigue during the day.

2. Loss of appetite.

3. Difficulty sleeping.

4. Presence of body pain, especially in joints.

5. Loss of enthusiasm for training (psychological factor).

6. There is an increase in resting heart rate. For this reason it is important to know the frequency at rest under normal situations in order to have a comparison parameter.

It is important not to confuse the fatigue of an exercise session with overtraining. Symptoms of overtraining tend to prevail over extended periods of time, while tiredness of a session may disappear with a few hours of rest.

Here are some super useful tips that can help you avoid overtraining:

1. If you want to increase training loads and are currently training consistently during the week, you better analyze it with a physical trainer who knows about the subject, do not do it on your own.

2. Increase the loads gradually so that the body gradually gets used to.

3. Get enough sleep. Each person has different needs, some can find enough to sleep 6 hours a day, while others need up to 9 hours.

4. Maintain a balanced diet that fits your training loads.

5. Hydrate properly before, during and after your workouts (see hydration post).

6. THE MOST IMPORTANT: LEARN TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

Remember these tips and apply them to improve day by day. Remember that not always doing "an extra" in your routine is beneficial. Overtraining only causes negative effects on athletic performance.

#english