Cardio Junkies seem to be admired by all. Those of us who hate cardio look on with utter dismay at the ease these people run, bike, skip and hop for hours! Is there such a thing as too much cardio? Deciding what your fitness goals are can really determine how much you need ,but every form of exercise can result in over-training.
Here are six signs that you are doing more harm then good.
1. Your very irritable about your workouts. Now for those of you who don’t like working out this may be the norm. If this is unusual for you, then it may be your body sending a message to your brain saying " I’m too tired and worn down for this".
2. Your body feels constantly achy and never seems to recover.
3. You feel like you need more sleep after getting what should be enough.
4. You have nighttime sleeplessness. Perhaps you can never relax enough to fall asleep or your bodies aches and pains are disruptive. Whatever the case this can be sign of your body telling you to wake-up and pay attention to what it needs.
5. Your resting heart rate is higher than normal. This is your body not being able to recover. It is getting burnt out. This is a time to remind yourself that rest is a part of your training regime.
6. Your performance wont improve ex.distance or time in running. This makes sense when you consider any of the above mentioned factors. An energized fully healed body will perform better. We do sometime ignore physical signs. Noticing something other than physical signs is often the cue needed competitive personality. It is something beyond our persevering personality that says "hey self something isn’t right".
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms then you may be over training. A part of training is recovery. Without recovery your body just cant hack it and will certainly let you know.
Active Recovery: Active recovery means you skip this type of training. The thing, system or body part you want to rest is given time off. You can engage in activities that involve different body parts or systems .
Complete Recovery: This is as it says. Rest and do not engage in activity with the exception of gentle stretching. You may choose to do this for a few days to a couple of weeks depending on what your body needs to kick and avoid over-training symptoms. Both active recovery and complete recovery should be worked into any training regime.
Off to rest,
Andrea
Andrea Page , founder of FITMOM has worked with over 10, 000 women in the last 9 years whom are staying fit during the childbearing years and beyond. www.fitmomfitness.com, www.newmom101.com