As a personal trainer, you’d think I know exactly what I should be doing on a daily basis to keep my body in top shape. And for the most part, I do! When it comes to my clients I always tell them to make sure they take some rest days and don’t overdo it. But I cannot seem to take the advice myself. I’ve spent the last 6 months dreading my workouts, battling recurring injuries, being sore and tired all the time, and actually gaining fat! I hit a really hard plateau a couple of months ago and I’m determined to bust out of it. For you readers, be sure and look for these symptoms if you feel you may be overtraining:
- Severe lack of energy
- General aching and pains in joints and muscles
- Workout performance is suffering (intensity or ability is decreasing)
- Cannot Sleep
- Frequent Headaches
- Becoming sick more often (colds, flu, etc.)
- Moody or Irritable
- Depressed
- Dreading your workouts
- Not hungry or ravenously hungry
- Frequent injuries
- Extreme feeling of need to exercise
- Plateau in your results
Nutrition: The basics
Our nutrition provides at least 80% of our results, so exercise is not the only important component when trying to lose fat. It can be a very touchy thing, but if you follow a consistent plan and know how many calories you should eat on a daily basis (your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR), you’ll be lean in no time. To calculate your personal BMR, visit http://www.goalfitnessandnutrition.com/bmr_calculator.php
To lose a pound of fat, you need to have a net loss of 3,500 calories from a combination of your food and exercise. Wanna lose 2 lbs a week? Then double it! It seems crazy, but it’s really not. Please keep in mind that no one (unless directed by a physician) should try to lose more than 2 lbs of fat per week. Trying to do so can cause overtraining symptoms, as well as muscle loss.
However, be sure you are eating at least 15-20% of your calories from fat. It sounds counter-intuitive, but our bodies need some fat. They need fat to cover organs, as well as for energy. So we need to incorporate healthy fats in our daily nutrition (e.g., extra virgin olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc.). Cutting out too much fat can cause our bodies to hold on to the fat we currently carry as they enter “starvation mode.” They cling to the fat we currently have on our bodies, no matter how overweight we are. Our bodily functions can also be hindered because of lack of fat. And when we’re trying to lose it, we usually up the cardio, so we need to make sure we have some fat to burn during our training sessions.
Exercise: The basics
Regarding exercise, as a general rule no one should never exercise for more than an hour at a time. Of course, if you’re training for an endurance event this will be adjusted, but you’ll still need to fuel your body with food or supplementation during your training to avoid muscle damage. Exercising longer than this can be detrimental to your fat loss efforts as it, again, forces our bodies into starvation mode and they start to cling on to our fat stores. They turn to our muscles for energy, which means breaking them down and causing them to atrophy. Why is this a bad thing? Because it is estimated that for every pound of muscle our bodies “own”, we burn an additional 35-50 calories per day. So if you gain 10 lbs of muscle you’ll end up burning an extra 300-500 calories a week by doing nothing but maintaining! I don’t know about you, but I’m all about reaping the benefits of my hard work while I’m sleeping.
My overtraining epiphany
So how did I determine I was overtraining? Well, besides being extremely tired, sore, and crabby all the time (and I wasn’t pregnant), I purchased a heart rate monitor that I wear during my workouts and boy did it school me! The watch that comes with this particular monitor shows me which “zone” I am training in based on my current heart rate. Zone 1 (heart rate at 60-70% of max) is used for burning fat stores, increasing endurance, and is easy on the joints. To lose the most fat during a workout we all need to shoot for this zone a few times a week. Zone 2 (heart rate at 70-80% of max) is used for fat burning, improving aerobic fitness, and is better for people with a bit more exercise experience. This zone is still okay to lose fat, but Zone 1 should be done more frequently. Zone 3 (heart rate 80-90% of max) increases the body’s ability to burn fat over the next 24 hours by increasing metabolism, increased performance capacity, and is only recommended for those with a lot of exercise experience. This zone should be used when you hit a plateau. Turns out I was spending WAY too much time in zones 2 and 3, and almost none in zone 1!!! Once I switched up my workouts I’ve felt and seen a difference. I’m not so tired anymore, my joint pains are going away, and I really enjoy working out again. I love it! I highly recommend purchasing a heart rate monitor to use during your workouts. It is seriously life-changing!
Overtraining: How to determine if this means you
The most important thing is to pay attention to how you’re feeling. If you dread heading to the gym, feel tired and achy, and feel like you’re working as hard as you can but aren’t getting the results you want, you’ve most likely done it! If this is the case, take a couple of days to relax. It won’t undo what you’ve worked so hard for, and will actually help you with your future progress. Keeping a journal or log of your workouts will also help you to see if you are working harder and harder over time. It will also allow you to see if you’ve been taking adequate rest time to let your body repair itself. In general, taking 1-2 days completely off from exercise each week will help you. And every couple of months, take an entire week off from strenuous exercise and just go for a walk!
Take care of your body so it will take care of you.
All the best!
Katie Kottmann, CFT, SPN
www.GoalFitnessandNutrition.com/Online
What have YOU got to lose?
I’m looking forward to progress next time….
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