Athletes and avid exercisers know to give their body the opportunity to recover from training once a week. This recovery period allows our bodies to repair, rebuild and strengthen after putting them through the stress of demanding workouts. When we overlook "rest day" and train through this crucial recovery period, we can actually weaken ourselves and develop over-training syndrome.
She has done it again, folks. In my last post, I wrote about how I was getting sick but I was going to workout anyway. Poor choices only make matters worse, so here I am, battling the flu, drinking tea and taking antibiotics against my will.
This wouldn't be my first over-training rodeo. Last time I had over-trained, I was putting my body through pre-competition hell: an hour of fasted cardio before breakfast, an hour of cardio after lunch, half an hour of weight training followed by an hour of cardio before dinner, and I was only eating tilapia, sweet potatoes and asparagus. All I could think about was frozen Oreos, how much longer I had until my next meal, and why everyone on the road hadn't had their drivers licenses revoked. All in all, I was bitchy and neurotic. But, I looked awesome, so the stress was irrelevant.
After about four weeks of this intense training, I noticed that I wasn't enjoying my workouts or my lifestyle anymore and I felt depressed and weak. I was having a hard time sleeping and I was getting sick for the first time in years. But how?! I was eating healthy, I was exercising, I was taking hundreds of dollars worth of vitamins and supplements every single day. When I went to see my coach, I told him about everything that was going on. He asked me if I had been taking rest days. Well, no.
It had happened to me, I had developed over-training syndrome.
Listen to your body and treat it right.
For more information on over training and taking care of your body
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