Are your muscles always feeling sore, stiff and heavy? Do you feel fatigued and under the weather frequently? Do you find it hard to concentrate and feel restless? Has your sleeping pattern been altered for the worse?
These are all common signs of over-training. A lot of people choose to increase the amount they workout and the intensity of their workouts in hopes of achieving quicker results. However, this may actually be limiting the changes you are able to make because you are missing one key ingredient in your workout regime… REST. Exercise can become addictive as it releases endorphins, dopamine and other exercise generated factors into the brain. With the increase of intense fitness competitions and intense group training sessions individuals can be at risk for over-training. Rest days are crucial for your performance for a variety of physiological and psychological reasons.
- Rest days can make you stronger
When training you are not actually gaining strength during your workout. Lifting weights causes tiny tears in the muscles because it is being exposed to a load it is not used to. Building muscle actually occurs in the recovery phase. The body performs a process called protein synthesis where it begins to build the muscle back up after your workout. This causes muscle hypertrophy which makes the muscle bigger allowing you to lift more in future sessions. If you do not allow substantial time between workouts you do not give your muscles the ability to repair themselves which can result in reduced muscle gains and increased susceptibility to injuries. By not allowing your body to repair muscles fully between workouts you begin a cycle of constant muscle breakdown which will affect your strength and performance.
- Give your nervous system a break
Your nervous system plays a crucial role in training. During your session you are exposing your body to physical stress. This activates your sympathetic nervous system which is responsible for the fight in ‘flight or fight’. Your body cannot tell the difference between being chased by a bear and you hitting a PB on your deadlifts. Being in this fight response for too long without rest can wear out your nervous system and lead to fatigue, burnout, injury or illness. Working out is only one portion of your day and you have other commitments that require your attention such as work, social commitments, finances and family time. It is super important to prioritise your days and figure out if a workout is just adding to the already overworked nervous system and maybe a rest day is more beneficial to you physically and mentally.
When training becomes an integral part of your day it can be scary to think about stopping. But we have compiled a couple of key tips you can use to ensure you are resting adequately and achieving optimal performance in your sessions.
1. Listen to your body – listen to how your body is feeling, your rest day does not have to be a day of no activity at all. Instead think of alternatives if you are feeling up for it, maybe take a nice walk, go for a gentle bike ride, perform mobility/stretching exercises or go to a yoga class. These can all be great ways to break up the intensity of your sessions while still staying active. However, if you are craving a day to do nothing then take a complete rest day and chill out with that book you never had time to finish or carve out some time to visit family or a friend. Listen to what your body needs and give in to it. You will go back to the gym feeling refreshed and ready to give it your all.
2. Follow a 10% rule – when wanting to increase your workouts try and follow a 10% increase. Don’t increase your volume or intensity by more than 10% this will avoid injuries due to overloading the muscles. At the end of the session you should feel like you can do more, you should feel energized not completely wiped out and exhausted. If you do feel like that you may have trained harder than what your body can handle at that point in time. Build yourself up to this by small incremental increases in your training regime.
3. Plan out your workout week – at the start of the week plan out your weekly workouts and what you will train when. Make sure you leave at least 24 hours between training the same body part and incorporate a rest day into your week. Set aside a day or two for rest, these can be active rest days or complete rest days depending on what your body needs. By setting out a plan you are more likely to abide by this and receive adequate rest between sessions.
4. Aim for a quality 8 hours sleep a night – sleep is a really important factor in recovery. Sleep helps to provide energy to the body and the brain. Research shows that lack of sleep can lead to the body producing more cortisol a.k.a the stress hormone. Lack of sleep can also reduce the body producing glycogen and carbohydrates for energy use. This all increases the possibility of fatigue, low energy and poor focus. Set yourself a bed time that allows you to get 8 hours of sleep a night. Also try and avoid eating sugary foods before bed or using your phone, both of these can negatively affect the quality of your sleep.
5. Make sure you are eating well and drinking enough water – your nutrition is vital to your health and wellbeing and has a direct impact on your athletic performance. Throughout the day make sure you are eating enough carbohydrates, protein and fats for your body and your goals. By eating a well-balanced healthy diet you are giving your body the resources it needs to help you recover quicker and you will generally feel more energized and happier. Ensure you are drinking enough water, if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. Your body is 80% fluid and you are constantly losing this throughout the day so you need to make sure you are replenishing this by sipping on water throughout the day. A general rule of thumb for drinking water throughout the day is to aim for 8 glasses.
If you are interested in finding out some more info you can check out these resources below:
Roy, Brad A. Ph.D., FACSM, FACHE Overreaching/Overtraining, ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal: March/April 2015 – Volume 19 – Issue 2 – p 4-5 doi: 10.1249/FIT.0000000000000100
SleepFoundation.org. [2020] ‘Sleep & Athletic Performance, and Recovery’ Retrieved from: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/sleep-athletic-performance-and-recovery#:~:text=The%20quality%20and%20amount%20of,consolidate%20memory%2C%20and%20release%20hormones.
- Brooke Sullivan (B.Ex.Sport.M; M.Physio)
