Excessive Exercise and Weight Training - How to Avoid It
At some point or another, serious fitness buffs have experience overtraining themselves to achieve the body that they want. This ‘more is better’ thinking however has serious effects in our body. When you over train your body and you do not give it enough time to recover it can lead to serious effects in your body. Below you will find a few of the effects from over training.
Our Autonomic Nervous System
The way our body functions will greatly alter if we are over trained especially our body’s autonomic nervous system. There are two types of autonomic nervous system that controls the endocrine and neural systems of our body. These are parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system
The effects of over training in the parasympathetic nervous system are; resting blood pressure that has decreased, a lowered resting heart rate, premature onset of fatigue and quick heart rate recovery soon after exercising.
On the other hand, the effects of over training in our sympathetic nervous system are; heightened basal metabolic rate, appetite loss, reduced body mass, raised resting heart rate, sleep disturbances, increased blood pressure and emotional instability.
Experiencing one of these symptoms does not mean that you are over training. When you feel at least 3 or 4 of these symptoms then you are most probably over training yourself and should consult a health expert or your medical doctor.
Hormonal Responses from Overtraining
Hard proof on the effect of overtraining in our hormonal response are a bit vague when measuring the hormones because it is a complicated procedure and quite expensive. However, there are studies that show that there exists a dramatic change in our endocrine functions whenever a body is being over trained like decreasing amounts of thyroxine and testosterone in the blood, and increased cortisol amounts in the blood.
These endocrine system disturbances can result in rapid weight loss that can drastically lower one’s fitness level.
Immune Responses from Overtraining
Overtraining can decrease the body’s ability to protect itself from infection from parasites, bacteria, tumor cells and viruses. Excessive over training can decrease the body’s anti-bodies that is our main defense against all types of illness.
Metabolic Responses from Overtraining
Metabolic fatigue has been one of the common effects of over training that can be easily observed. Its effects are delayed muscle soreness, lowered levels of oxygen delivered to the muscles, damaged tendons, small micro muscle tears, accumulated lactic acid build up, decreased or depleted levels of glycogen stores, slower muscle contraction and the depletion of our bodies creatine phosphate.
The big question now is how to avoid over training yourself? Here are some of the simple solutions.
Take Control during Training Sessions
Avoiding over training is as easy as taking control of the training decisions. Decide and insist on how much weight you should lift and how far you should go during exercise. If you feel that you are over stressing yourself during an exercise, stop and inform your fitness instructor immediately. Do not force yourself to achieve that 10km goal on the tread mill when you feel that your body is already at its reserve energy level.
Between workout sessions make sure to allow yourself ample time to recover. Achieving the body you want does not have to mean you have to almost kill yourself to achieve your aim. Remember, whether you are trying to lose or gain weight or building up your muscle mass, patience is the key. There are some things that cannot be changed overnight especially when it comes to our body.
Proper Nutrition for Preventing Overtraining Effects
It is a common fact that nutrition play a vital role in our body’s over all fitness level. To combat the effects of training too much, here are some things that you should do.
Don’t train hungry, don’t miss breakfast, avoid hunger pain, and eat a light meal at least an hour before doing a work out. The kind of food you shove into your mouth will also affect the way your body fends off the bad overtraining effects. Eat a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins and fat.
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