How much is too much? 🤷🏻♀️
Some symptoms of overtraining are obvious, others not so much. Many women (myself included) mistake overtraining symptoms as a result of other things, such as work or family stress or even a really tough workout.
The most common symptoms of overtraining syndrome include:
▪️insomnia
▪️fatigue
▪️headaches
▪️weight gain, especially around midsection
▪️moodiness or irritability
▪️change in the menstrual cycle
▪️hair loss
▪️numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
▪️increase in perceived difficulty of workouts
▪️reduced motivation
▪️repeated injuries, body aches, and pains
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms and exercise regularly without many rest days, it’s possible that you’re experiencing overtraining syndrome.
How to reverse and move on from overtraining:
To reverse overtraining, I recommend first assessing your current workout and nutrition routine and making modifications if either one is too intense.
Next, ensure you’re living a balanced lifestyle – sleeping well, managing stress (this is HUGE), and eating well (getting the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats in your diet). Lastly, you can even include hormonal testing and supplementation under the advice of a health care professional. Once you’re well on the way toward recovery I recommend taking steps to move forward efficiently, without falling back into the same patterns.
On the exercise front… cross-training, eating the proper foods, getting sufficient sleep, and reducing cortisol are all essential for ensuring you avoid falling into the overtraining syndrome trap again. Include breaks, such as only exercising 2-3 days a week, and limiting their length and intensity to keep from overtraining. Strength training and leisure walking are your friends!
Have you ever fallen into the overtraining trap?
Some symptoms of overtraining are obvious, others not so much. Many women (myself included) mistake overtraining symptoms as a result of other things, such as work or family stress or even a really tough workout.
The most common symptoms of overtraining syndrome include:
▪️insomnia
▪️fatigue
▪️headaches
▪️weight gain, especially around midsection
▪️moodiness or irritability
▪️change in the menstrual cycle
▪️hair loss
▪️numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
▪️increase in perceived difficulty of workouts
▪️reduced motivation
▪️repeated injuries, body aches, and pains
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms and exercise regularly without many rest days, it’s possible that you’re experiencing overtraining syndrome.
How to reverse and move on from overtraining:
To reverse overtraining, I recommend first assessing your current workout and nutrition routine and making modifications if either one is too intense.
Next, ensure you’re living a balanced lifestyle – sleeping well, managing stress (this is HUGE), and eating well (getting the right amount of protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats in your diet). Lastly, you can even include hormonal testing and supplementation under the advice of a health care professional. Once you’re well on the way toward recovery I recommend taking steps to move forward efficiently, without falling back into the same patterns.
On the exercise front… cross-training, eating the proper foods, getting sufficient sleep, and reducing cortisol are all essential for ensuring you avoid falling into the overtraining syndrome trap again. Include breaks, such as only exercising 2-3 days a week, and limiting their length and intensity to keep from overtraining. Strength training and leisure walking are your friends!
Have you ever fallen into the overtraining trap?
