MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Subscribe
  • Motoring
  • Video
Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

Should You Work Out Twice a Day?

Should You Work Out Twice a Day?

The 6 Biggest Training Mistakes This PT Has Made

The 6 Biggest Training Mistakes This PT Has Made

5 Reasons You Should Try Eccentric Training

5 Reasons You Should Try Eccentric Training

Celebrity PT Adi Gillespie On How Training Has Been a Constant Support

Celebrity PT Adi Gillespie On How Training Has Been a Constant Support

{headline}

{headline}

How To Train For The Mother Of All Endurance Events

How To Train For The Mother Of All Endurance Events

How Chris Evans Trained For That 'Winter Soldier' Elevator Fight Scene

How Chris Evans Trained For That 'Winter Soldier' Elevator Fight Scene

What Happens When You Overtrain

What Happens When You Overtrain

{headline}

{headline}

How David Boreanaz Stays Seal Team Fit At Age 50

How David Boreanaz Stays Seal Team Fit At Age 50

Overtraining Linked To Poor Food And Financial Choices, Study Says

Overtraining Linked To Poor Food And Financial Choices, Study Says

Get Lean, Get Strong, Get Endurance: How To Train According To Your Goals

Get Lean, Get Strong, Get Endurance: How To Train According To Your Goals

Why You’re Not as Strong or Jacked as Your Training Partner

Why You’re Not as Strong or Jacked as Your Training Partner

This Is What A Day’s Worth Of Training Looks Like For Australia’s Fittest Man

This Is What A Day’s Worth Of Training Looks Like For Australia’s Fittest Man

The Workout That Got Keanu Reeves In Fighting Shape For John Wick 3

The Workout That Got Keanu Reeves In Fighting Shape For John Wick 3

How to Train to Get as Beastly As James McAvoy in Glass

How to Train to Get as Beastly As James McAvoy in Glass

  1. Home
  2. Fitness

How You Can Avoid Overtraining

Yes, you can work out too hard, too often. Here's what you need to know to keep your training on point. - by TREVOR THIEME C.S.C.S.
  • 18 Mar 2021
How You Can Avoid Overtraining
Shutterstock

Certain things fall squarely in the “can never have enough of” category—vacations, time with loved ones, annual bonuses, sleep, sex. But when it comes to exercise, much like dessert, more isn’t necessarily better. Indeed, working out too hard, too often can result in something even worse than getting stuck at a performance plateau: overtraining.

You’ve likely heard the term batted around the weight room, but many guys laugh it off as something that happens to someone else. After all, if a tough workout produces results, an even tougher one should help you double down on them, right? Not always.

If you train more than about four times per week, pushing your limits during every workout may overwhelm your body’s ability to recover. When that happens, you might start to feel like your workouts are harder than they should be. This doesn't mean you can't train five, six, or even seven days a week. But to do so, you'll need to build plenty of nuance into your program. That's why many advanced lifters use training splits, working different body parts (chest on one day, legs on another) or different functions (pulling muscles one day, push muscles another) on different days.

If you don't break your training up and you just train hard every day, your performance may nosedive. You’ll struggle to lift as much as you normally do. You’ll fatigue faster. Your motivation will tank. You might even notice an uptick in agitation, moodiness, sleeplessness, and loss of appetite.

Regardless of the symptoms you experience, the result will be the same: A grinding halt to your forward progress, or worse, injury. Trainers and other performance experts call it overtraining, and it’s something to be avoided at all costs.

Your move: Prioritise your recovery as much as you do your training, remembering that adaptation (muscle growth, fat loss, endurance gains, etc.) happens between workouts, not during them. In practice, that typically means giving yourself at least 48 hours between high intensity efforts.

If you train hard on Monday, consider waiting until Wednesday before you push your limits again, for example. Or make a point to train very differently on Tuesday. (You may run sprints on Monday, for example, then lift weights for your upper body on Tuesday.) This doesn't mean you can't train daily (your body is meant to move), but you can't crush your body every single day.

In the meantime, engage in active recovery. Doing so will not only give your body the time it needs to repair itself after your previous workout, but also to grow stronger and more powerful, so you can crush your next one.

Via Men's Health

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

Should You Work Out Twice a Day?

Should You Work Out Twice a Day?

The 6 Biggest Training Mistakes This PT Has Made

The 6 Biggest Training Mistakes This PT Has Made

5 Reasons You Should Try Eccentric Training

5 Reasons You Should Try Eccentric Training

Celebrity PT Adi Gillespie On How Training Has Been a Constant Support

Celebrity PT Adi Gillespie On How Training Has Been a Constant Support

{headline}

{headline}

How To Train For The Mother Of All Endurance Events

How To Train For The Mother Of All Endurance Events

How Chris Evans Trained For That 'Winter Soldier' Elevator Fight Scene

How Chris Evans Trained For That 'Winter Soldier' Elevator Fight Scene

What Happens When You Overtrain

What Happens When You Overtrain

{headline}

{headline}

How David Boreanaz Stays Seal Team Fit At Age 50

How David Boreanaz Stays Seal Team Fit At Age 50

Overtraining Linked To Poor Food And Financial Choices, Study Says

Overtraining Linked To Poor Food And Financial Choices, Study Says

Get Lean, Get Strong, Get Endurance: How To Train According To Your Goals

Get Lean, Get Strong, Get Endurance: How To Train According To Your Goals

Why You’re Not as Strong or Jacked as Your Training Partner

Why You’re Not as Strong or Jacked as Your Training Partner

This Is What A Day’s Worth Of Training Looks Like For Australia’s Fittest Man

This Is What A Day’s Worth Of Training Looks Like For Australia’s Fittest Man

The Workout That Got Keanu Reeves In Fighting Shape For John Wick 3

The Workout That Got Keanu Reeves In Fighting Shape For John Wick 3

How to Train to Get as Beastly As James McAvoy in Glass

How to Train to Get as Beastly As James McAvoy in Glass

MensHealth
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Chris Hemsworth Hugo Boss
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Chris Hemsworth Hugo Boss
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Women's Health

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Men's Health

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now