What happens to your body when you overdo your workouts?

VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Małgorzata Kośla, qualified fitness instructor and certified personal trainer.

Are you experiencing frequent contractions, you suffer injuries, do not gain muscle mass, and the only things you see after training are fatigue, apathy, sleep problems and lack of concentration? You may think you need to exercise more, quite the opposite - these are signs of overtraining! You don't have to wait long for the side effects of too much physical exertion. They can be very dangerous, and unhe althy sports addiction is one of the most common mental ailments today. They say sport is good for he alth, but is it always?

Contents:

1. When do we exaggerate with training?
2. What is the optimal dose of exercise?
3. Too intense workouts - symptoms
4. Too intense workouts - effects
5. Exercise addiction - symptoms
6. Exercise addiction - how to help yourself?

The fitness market in our country is the fastest growing branch of business. Almost everyone exercises. Of course, this is a very he althy approach, especially in the present, mostly sedentary, lifestyle. But exactly, when we talk about sports addiction, do we mean a positive habit or a negative one? The very word addiction brings to mind rather something that is not entirely he althy.

And unfortunately, but more and more often we fall into training madness: we exercise too much, too intensively, we lose our heads for training, and our social and private life is pushed to the background, because everything revolves around exercise.

It turns out that even with something relatively he althy and useful you can overdo it. Balance is the most important thing in life. What happens when you don't have one? Check how your mental and physical he alth is doing when you overdo your training!

When do we exaggerate with training?

1. We want to lose weight

This is the most common cause of too intense workouts. We wrongly combine slimming with exercise, because in this case a balanced and he althy diet is much more beneficial.

We forget that the processes of fat loss begin when we are on a negative caloric balance, i.e. we burn more thanwe accept. Of course, training helps us achieve this goal, but it is not the only right tool.

By pouring out the seventh sweat in the gym day after day, we can achieve the opposite of the desired effects. Too frequent and intense training can slow down the metabolism and activate the body's defensive processes when we put it to a serious test, i.e. fat storage! As you can see, you can also "overdo it" with training and, on the contrary, gain weight without losing weight.

2. We compensate for life problems with training

The pattern of frequent training when we have any mental or life problems is very common. Training is a great way to get over, let out negative emotions, improve your well-being and humor, and reduce stress.

However, when we take advantage of the gym too often, we can become unhe althily addicted to the regimen: I have a problem - I'm going to training. If problems pile up in our lives and we have a stressful job or a troublesome personal life, we very easily fall into a vicious training cycle.

Maybe instead of sweating again at the gym, do some breathing sessions or sit down and reflect on your problems. You will surely come up with a solution eventually. The way out of this situation is certainly not an hour-long treadmill jogging. The problem as it was, still so, and this is just an escape from it.

Positive effect of training (physical activity) on the psyche and well-being

Review of exercises and training for the best stress reliever

3. We want to get quick results

When do we train too hard? When we want to get quick results! Usually we think that the more we do something, the faster, better, more efficiently. Nothing could be more wrong. If that were the case, the pursuit of training effects would be much easier.

In fact, our physical progress is a sine wave, not a graph with an arrow pointing up. Depending on many factors, some times it is better, the paradise is worse, and other times it does not change. We are not robots, but living organisms that need time to regenerate and adapt.

There should be balance in our life, because our body is created in such a way that, even against our will and will, it will strive for it. If we exercise too much, it will start giving us signals that she is overtraining, and if we exercise too little, it will also inform us about it, for example with high cholesterol, heart arrhythmia, high body fat and joint pain.

4. We're leaving my partner

Who has not experienced it at least once in their lifemountains! It often happens that when our relationship ends, we want to change our lives and start with our figure. Maybe our partner told us that we have too much here and there, we didn't have time for training by the possessive partner or we want to live on the punching bag after a painful breakup?

The reasons may be different, but the reaction is similar - too intense workouts. However, we should remember about common sense, because training is not a universal life-changing tool that we can use with impunity without any control over the situation.

5. We want to prove something to someone

We often train too intensively and then regret the side effects because someone once told us that we are fat, that we will not succeed, that we will never achieve our dream figure, that we will not be able to do it, etc.

Of course, it's fantastic that we want to show him his place and achieve our goal! However, let's not get crazy - frequent training will not make us achieve our goal faster and more efficiently. On the contrary - think how he alth problems or injuries can slow you down.

On the other hand, also remember to practice for yourself, not for someone else. Stay true to yourself - it's a much he althier idea for you than doing something by force. Maybe with time you will come to the conclusion that it would be appropriate to change something in your body or approach to your body.

What is the optimal dose of exercise?

Wondering what the optimal dose of exercise is? This is a common question for both beginners and trained athletes. On average, it is said that the best dose of exercise for any person is 3-4 training units a week. Of course, we can generally agree with this statement, but remember that the amount of training should be adapted to our lifestyle.

• Number of exercises for a sedentary lifestyle

For example, if we have a sedentary lifestyle, it would be best for our body to engage in some physical activity every day, BUT it cannot be intense strength training.

Why? Our found body, after 8 hours of sedentary work, may not be ready for intense movement because the nervous system has been quiet all day long. On the other hand, not giving it any movement will only lead to total ruin of our body.

What's the golden mean? Daily walk, playing with the baby, swimming or yoga session. Of course, we must remember not to do the same exercises every day, because our body must have time to adapt and regenerate. However, two strength workouts a week,a swimming pool and daily walks may turn out to be an optimal training plan.

• Number of exercises with active lifestyle

What, in turn, to do when we have manual work? In this case, we should definitely reduce the amount of training and limit it to 2-3 training units (and even one training per week!).

Such a person needs much more relaxation, meditation, learning to breathe and relaxation exercises. Swimming, yoga, Pilates and conscious strength training will work well here, but it is aimed at weak points in the body and aching muscles.

Often, when a muscle is tense does not necessarily mean it is unstretched or too strong. Our muscles also tense in defense purposes, because they are, for example, too weak or too stretched, and thus protect the joint or other important places in the body from complete breakdown.

To diagnose the cause of sore muscles, it is best to visit a movement therapist or a good physical therapist.

• Number of exercises for beginners

When it comes to beginners, of course after taking into account the above prompts, we should learn to observe our body and see how quickly we do the results. If we are a beginner and we wonder how many trainings we should have a week, there is no universal number here.

On average, you should start with 2 trainings and systematically increase their duration and frequency, but also here the most accurate answer will be: it depends.

Depends on adaptability, he alth, age, metabolism speed, lifestyle, etc. The most important thing is to listen to your body's voice and have a he althy approach to life, especially to sport.

Too intense workouts - symptoms

There are many symptoms of too intense training, as each organism reacts differently to fatigue. However, there is some repetition, and many of the symptoms of over-training can be considered typical. We include:

• heart rate higher than usual
• muscle weakness that lasts for at least two consecutive days (not to be confused with doms!)
• getting sick often, catching viruses, infections
• feeling dehydrated, high fluid demand and lack of saturation at the same time; dry conjunctiva, dry mouth and dry skin
• depressed mood, bad mood, lack of willingness to live, decreased energy and decreased libido
• trouble falling asleep and frequent waking up at night; no feeling of sleep
• injuries, susceptibility to injuries
• muscle and joint pain,tendons, ligaments
• no training effects
• rapid decrease in muscle mass and increase in fat mass

Too intense workouts - effects

Frequent and intense workouts can seriously affect your mental and physical he alth. Fortunately, they are noticeable almost immediately and if we notice any of them at home, we should immediately change our lifestyle. What are the side effects of physical training?

• feeling of chronic fatigue, lack of energy, arrhythmia
• deterioration of well-being: apathy, frequent changes of mood, tearfulness, irritability, fast and frequent irritation, nervousness
• deteriorating concentration, slowing down of thought processes, memory problems, stuttering, frequent "freezes".
• decreased libido, no desire for sex, trouble sleeping, lack of appetite or too much appetite.
• no training effects: loss of muscle mass, deterioration of endurance, muscle spasms and muscle tremors, weak muscle strength, problems with motor coordination, fatigue and shortness of breath.
• in women: late periods
• hormonal problems
• injuries and physical injuries

Exercise addiction - symptoms

Sport is he alth - we all know it, but can you say so without hesitation? How to distinguish a he althy habit from an unhe althy habit? A list of symptoms that may suggest unhe althy and debilitating exercise habits, both mentally and physically, may help.

Treat the following list briefly, no one has the same symptoms and the most important thing is to listen to your body's voice. Remember that the example symptoms must be repeated and frequent in order for you to suspect an unhe althy sports addiction.

• When you do not do the training, you feel so bad to yourself that during the next one you strain yourself and do twice as much training than you intended.
• You get nervous when you have to postpone your training for someone else.
• You get irritated when someone disturbs you with your exercises.
• You sometimes postpone meetings and plans because of training.
• You are in a bad mood when you don't do your training on a given day.
• Your self-esteem drops when you exercise too little and increases when you train a lot.
• The average training hour is not enough for you, exercise until you feel dizzy and nauseous.
• You do a workout whenever you eat something caloric and fatty to burn it straight away.
• You set your day plan so that everything turnsaround training.
• You do not exercise to reduce pain in your body, improve mobility or oxygenate your body, you exercise only for the sake of appearance.

Exercise addiction - how to help yourself?

You found out that you are obviously exaggerating with your training and now what? The first thought is probably to stop exercising. However, this is also not the best idea, as no extreme is good. So what to do?

• Limit workouts and reduce their number to a maximum of 2 workouts per week; reduce their duration to a maximum of 1h.
• Change the type of training you have done to a lighter version. For example, replace running with walking, and gym with Pilates / yoga.
• Exercise at fixed times and on designated days - stop exercising emotionally.
• Don't use force. Exercise so that it is pleasant for you. Give up exercise that tires you out too much.
• Rest. Take hot baths in the tub, read more, listen to soothing music and relax outdoors - especially after training.
• Do not exercise when you are distracted, irritated, have a headache and have no energy - your body is calling for help! Sleep will be the most effective - this is the best way to regenerate.
• Take a break from exercise! Sometimes a step back will take two steps forward!

About the authorMałgorzata Kośla She is a qualified fitness instructor and certified personal trainer. Since childhood, her greatest passion was sport - she played football and basketball. Then a new love came - dance, especially dancehall. He likes to sweat at the gym and relaxes in yoga and meditation sessions. He is constantly expanding his knowledge about training and a he althy lifestyle. What besides sports? He runs a store with natural cosmetics and he althy food, writes his own blog (stylzyciadowolny.pl) and deals with copywriting.

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