Do you know that overtraining can be harmful?

Overtraining is the designation for a situation of extreme fatigue, caused by excessive training and without rest. Get to understand better.

We usually associate physical exercise with something positive and recommendable to the vast majority of people. However, like everything that is exaggerated, it is harmful, sport is no exception and must be put into practice with “account, weight and measure”.

When the limits are exceeded, we may be facing a case of overtrainingie, overtraining. The most frequent causes for this problem are: overload, effort or lack of rest during training. Be aware of the symptoms of overtraining and use common sense when practicing and planning your workouts.

Overtraining: when training too much is a problem

Which is?

The term overtraining is still little known to many. Deep down, it is defined by an excess of training volume, a lack of rest periods, which will result in phases of extreme fatigue. This problem is especially common among athletes.

It is considered that this state has been reached when the effort exceeds the body’s ability to respond, harming, either physically or psychologically, the same. The logic behind this circumstance is quite simple. If there is no recovery time, the energy reserves used up during training will not be replenished, causing an energy deficit in the body.

Causes

We have already said that one of the main causes of overtraining is the excessive number of hours of training, especially when compared with hours of rest. However, not doing the exercises correctly, for example, can also motivate extra muscle fatigue. Keep an eye out for some of the reasons behind this problem:

• exercising too much too fast;
• doing too long workouts;
• having training that is inappropriate or too intensive for physical abilities;
• making technical mistakes, for example, adopting a bad posture when lifting weights, overloading the muscles.

Symptoms

As we have already explained, overtraining can have serious consequences on the individual’s body. Sometimes, the diagnosis of this situation may not be easy, nor even consensual. However, there are symptoms associated with this condition. Warning signs can be physical and psychological, but also physiological and metabolic.

physical and psychological

• fatigue,
• depressionTheO,
• insomnia,
• difficulty concentrating,
• dizziness,
• heart rate variations,
• appetite changes,
• anxiety,
• muscle spasms,
• irritability,
• feeling full,
• sweating (even at rest),
• poor sleep quality,
• joint and muscle pain,
• constant tiredness or apathy,
• low physical performance,
• sudden weight loss.

Physiological and metabolic

• elevation of cortisol level;
• protein deficit;
• catabolism (chemical reaction that prevents the ability to produce energy) overcomes anabolism (substance synthesis reaction);
• stress on the nervous system that causes hormonal disturbances.

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More frequent injuries caused by overtraining

There are quite common injuries that usually arise as a result of excessive training or the wrong practice of certain sports. Keep track of some of them.

• Sprains and strains: these injuries are frequent in exercises such as running, jumping, using the shoulders or running and stopping quickly. To avoid them, you should strengthen your muscles by doing flexibility training, with stretches and stretches.
• Achilles tendon rupture and tendonitis: frequent in sports involving running and jumping. To prevent it, do strength and flexibility training, in addition to wearing shoes suitable for the activity.
• Back injuries: common in sports such as running, golf or tennis. To avoid this problem, do strengthening and flexibility of the back and lumbar vertebrae muscles.
• hip injuries: more associated with yoga or ballet exercises, due to the movements of successive rotations. To prevent this, you should always stretch your hip flexor muscle well and strengthen your buttocks, in addition to wearing shoes suitable for the activity.
• Rotator cuff tear and tendinitis: these tears and tendonitis and tears are more likely in sports such as tennis or handball. To protect yourself, always strengthen your back and core muscles, as well as your rotator cuff. It should also stretch the pectoral muscles.

How to avoid overtraining?

Treatment

Anyone experiencing an overtraining situation should immediately reduce the volume of training or even interrupt it for as long as necessary. In these cases, the ideal is to have a good joint work, carried out by the trainer/personal trainer, doctor, physiotherapist, psychologist and nutritionist.

For a healthy and balanced sport practice, guidance from a personal trainer is essential; the promotion of a rich and varied diet; and, do not forget, rest and rest in the necessary proportion. This is the only way to increase performance in training, improve performance and achieve satisfactory results more quickly.

final advice

Regardless of the sport and the athlete (whether professional or amateur), it is important to take into account some essential measures to prevent injuries and other problems. Pay attention to the following 3 steps.

• Heating: Always warm up before training, even for 5 minutes. Stretch your muscles well, in slow movements, and gradually increase the intensity. In cold weather, you should extend the duration of heating.
• Hydration: Always drink plenty of water before, during and after training.
• Cooling: Training should end gradually and physical exercise should slowly decrease in intensity.