Working out is one of the most important ways in order to maintain a fit and healthy body. However, everything that’s too much is not good even when it comes to training. Here are the signs that training is becoming a borderline addiction for you and it’s probably time to reassess your goals and seek a knowledgeable and experienced personal trainer who can quickly help you get your training back on track.
1. Halted Progress
Do you know why fitness models and trainers always tell people to have rest days in between workouts or not to train the same muscle group if you’re gonna hit the gym every day? That’s because it will over exhaust your muscles which often leads to plateau. Your muscles need time to repair it for it to grow.
2. Lowered Self-Esteem
An intense workout often gives a person a sense of fulfillment and confidence. However, when it becomes too intense and you always train extra hard all the time, it can make you think that if you do any less than you’re doing now then you’re not doing well. So instead of being confident about yourself and your body, you feel the opposite and become self-conscious all the time because you have this ideology that “more is better”.
3. Decreased Motivation
We all get those days when you’d rather lie in bed all day than go to the gym. That’s normal; you can’t expect to be excited about working out every single day because you have a life to live too. But when it comes to the point where gym becomes your whole life, that’s where you’ll notice that you’re losing interest in training altogether little by little. Don’t force yourself to train if every tissue in your body is screaming “No!” that’s probably your body telling you that you need rest.
4. Increased Injury
Getting injured more often? In particular, are you re-aggravating old injuries? If so, you may be overtraining. Why? That’s because when you overtrain, your body doesn’t get enough time to recuperate between workouts meaning that at some point you begin “training in a weakened state.” Chiropractic care may be a great way to treat and prevent injuries but that doesn’t give you the immunity altogether if you keep pushing your body.
5. Frequent Sickness
Exercising is a great way to keep the body healthy and fit, right? Well, that’s correct if you don’t over train. If you do, you get the opposite effect which makes you sick more frequently. The process of overtraining means your body is in a continual catabolic state, which lowers immunity and increases chances of becoming ill. Having days off from the gym won’t kill you; sometimes you get colds often because your body is just too tired.
6. Insomnia
Some people find themselves falling asleep faster and easier when they're beaten. But being too worn out every day and you’ll cause your nervous system and hormonal system to go overload which can lead to sleepless nights. Remember, your muscles to grow after you train them while resting not while you train.
7. Depression
Exercise is typically good for your mental health—but not if you’re overtraining. This is because when you workout too much, you no longer look at it for its real purpose which is to get fit and healthy. Instead, you start seeing it as a struggle you have to overcome or something to do when you don’t know what to do. There are some causes too where people develop body issues by exercising too much and begin thinking that the more they train, the better they’ll look.
8. Extended Muscle Soreness
If your body still feel sore after the 72 hour mark, that mean your muscles are not recovering. This negatively impacts your muscle-building efforts. When this happens, be sure to take some time off and when you come back, make it a point that your gym sessions only last for 45 minutes to 75 minutes max. Training for longer than the maximum 75 minutes-per-gym-session increases your chances of suffering from extended muscle soreness.
9. Insatiable Thirst
When your body is in constant catabolic state which means it’s starting to consume its own muscle for protein, you start to become dehydrated. This is why you always feel thirsty no matter how much you drink, especially when you’ve increased your gym time lately. This can mean you’ve been over training. So you really shouldn’t ignore that sign. Don’t just drink more water, take ample of rest too!