What is Over Training?
“Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes. It occurs when the volume and intensity of the exercise exceeds an individual’s recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness.

Why is it harmful?

• Persistent muscle soreness
• Elevated resting heart rate
• Increased susceptibility to infections
• Increased incidence of injuries
• Irritability
• Depression
• Loss of motivation
• Insomnia
• Decreased appetite
• Weight Loss
• Chronic Fatigue
• Muscle and eyelid twitches

Symptoms of Over Training

• Totally run down after a workout
• Experience chronic joint stiffness
• No longer making any progress
• Have a bad attitude towards your workouts
• Your resting morning heart rate is 5 to 10 beats per minute too high
• Experience an increase in body temperature
• Insomnia
• The development of a chronic overuse injury, usually in the joints
• Have a positive Keto-Stix reading

If you experience any of these symptoms, you may be

Causes of Overtraining

• Not resting long enough between heavy workouts
• Not eating enough food
• Training beyond failure in every workout
• Performing too many sets per body part
• Taking in too little protein

States of Metabolism

There are three distinct stages of metabolism undergone in the cell; equilibrium,
catabolism and anabolism.

Equilibrium

Equilibrium can be easily defined as a fully recovered state, where energy is neither being depleted nor replenished, and structural tissue is not being damaged or repaired. As a resistance athlete, it is desirable to achieve a momentary state of equilibrium if over training is to be avoided. However, if this stage of metabolism is maintained for long periods (10-15 days or more), atrophy of the contractile proteins will result in gradual tissue loss. It is worth mentioning that the over trained athlete’s metabolism, seldom, if ever, enters into the stage of equilibrium. This is because the muscle tissue never reaches a fully recovered state. Reducing the duration of intense training sessions, allowing for longer rest between workouts, and eating plenty of total calories from healthy protein and carbohydrate foods can all help to avoid over training.

Catabolism

Catabolism is the stage when energy is being depleted and tissue damage is taking place. Catabolism obviously occurs during exercise. There are two distinctly different processes taking place; energy is depleted and structural tissue is damaged. Your ultimate goal is to “keep catabolism in the gym.” If you are over training, catabolism will continue long after the workout is over. The body will continually feed off of hard earned muscle tissue for its recovery needs (gluconeogenesis).

Anabolism

Anabolism is the stage of metabolism when energy is being repleted and tissue damage is being repaired. This is the most valuable stage of metabolism to the resistance trainee. The purpose of expending less total energy during catabolism is to allow for the post-workout presence of sufficient pyruvate (converted form of stored glycogen) to initiate anabolism. Anabolism can only be initiated in the presence of cellular recovery energy. Most successful resistance athletes know the value in ingesting a high carbohydrate post workout meal, but even these carbohydrates can be a day late, and a dollar short if the training session was too exhaustive. It takes time for digested nutrients to reach the exhausted tissues, and during this time, continued catabolism is occurring in the over trained muscle.

All things considered, you are better off slightly under training and reaching the
stage of equilibrium, than over training and remaining longer in the stage of catabolism.