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Why Overtraining Hurts You When You Are Bodybuilding

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

If you are someone who is trying to get in shape and do it fast, you are probably spending a lot of time at the gym. The issue is that you might not know how much time is too much and what is too little!

Remember that if you want to see the results that are so important to you, you need to avoid overtraining. Overtraining is something that occurs if you work to hard. You are not going to give your body the rest that it needs and you’ll find that weightlifting sessions that go too far are going to hold you back rather than push you forward.

To understand overtraining, you first have to understand that when you are “building” muscle, you’re actually breaking muscle down. You’re not building the muscle in the gym, really. Instead, what you’re doing is breaking down muscle in the gym and producing tiny injuries in the muscle that then must heal and repair.

When the rips in your muscles heal, remember that they are going to get more tissue coming and filling in the tears, and this tissue will be tougher and stronger than the tissue used to be. This is the process that actually lets you build muscle.

When you overtrain, you’re not giving your body the rest it needs in between workouts to properly build and repair. What this means is that you’re actually preventing muscle from building.

What are the symptoms of overtraining and what can you do to make sure that you are going to be on the right track?

When you are overtraining, you will find that you are no seeing many results. Remember that overtraining is something that is going to have several symptoms as well, so make sure that you take the time to stop and be aware.

Your testosterone levels will go down. If you don’t let yourself recover between your workout sessions, your testosterone level is going to drop.

You might get fatter. As counterintuitive as that sounds. You might gain weight you don’t want to, in the form of fat. That’s because if you keep overtraining, not only will you be breaking down muscle without building it back up, but you also increase your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that makes your body want to retain fat.

You might find yourself getting sick more often and much more easily than usual. When you overtrain, your immune system reacts by becoming weaker. So if you find yourself getting colds and flu more easily, slow down. A good bodybuilding regimen should make you less susceptible to colds and flu, not more so.

Have you started losing muscle mass? This sign should give you some real concern because when you overtrain, you are going to lose muscle rather than gaining it. If this is something that is happening even when you notice that you are training correctly, it is time to reassess what is going on.

How are you going to avoid overtraining? The truth is that that is easy. Nutrition is a key factor and when you want to build your body, you’ll find that you should intersperse days of intense weightlifting with days of good rest.

Work out one day and then do some light cardio when you work out on your rest days. Remember that you should rest your body between the heavy duty lifting that comes along with it.

Finally, good nutrition is important, too. Your body can’t rebuild itself unless it’s got the tools do so. That means that nutrition is just as important as rest is. Opt for good, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. If you do this, you should see results in no time, and you should feel much better, too.