 Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels GUEST POST by Thomas Nemel* This blog post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon and Rewardstyle affiliate, the author may earn a small commission for any purchases made through these links. Click here for the disclosure statement. Effective training is a combination of three classical processes: workout, rest, and recovery. When you train hard, you need enough time to usual sleep and to the muscle recovery period. Otherwise, working too hard would not give a good outcome. And what is worse, it may lead to overtraining or, according to official classification, Overtraining Syndrome (OTS). Some athletes and trainers may also call it “burnout”, “overwork”, and “staleness.” Long-term effects of overtraining can spoil life for many months and even years, and need detailed attention and training plan correction. Symptoms of overtrainingMost professional physiologists insist that the danger of overtraining effects on health is a rare phenomenon and happens only to competitive athletes. Some muscle soreness and general fatigue after training is not an overtraining effect in most cases. Generally people do not train hard enough or often enough to get that syndrome. Still, you have to be careful if you have the following symptoms after each training:
If you have only a few of the symptoms, there is no need to worry. But if you experience most of them, it is better to pay attention to possible overtraining syndrome. Some of the symptoms overlap with clinical depression and chronic fatigue syndrome. So it is advisable to visit a doctor to have a professional opinion. Please scroll down to find out how to distinguish overtraining adverse effects and to avoid them. 1. Create a planIf you dream of outstanding fitness results without overtraining danger side effects, make a detailed schedule and follow it. The best variant is to consult a professional coach to get an optimal program for your age and health level. Some people think that it is better to do something, even if it is not enough and not regularly, instead of doing nothing. In general, this under-reaching activity is better for the body than no exercise at all. The opposite side is overreaching. It is closer to overtraining syndrome due to its inconsistent and inadequate intensity. So, if you need a stable training system without health problems, make a plan and stay self-motivated. 2. Volume is importantOvertraining may occur when there is no right balance between training volume (the time of activity) and training intensity. In other words, when you train too long and too hard, you can more likely have overtraining effects on your body than when you train just hard. So, lessen the time of intensive exercises. Forget about marathon running and control the number of sets in strength exercise sessions. You are better to make one rep in lifting and not feel tired, than making several reps with low weights and feel exhausted. If you are keen on running, move to shorter distances from marathon habits. Do not run fast; do not run too long. Choose the distance that is suitable to your age and health condition—Balance the training. 3. Dietary regimeThere is a semi-mistaken belief that you have to get fewer calories to lose weight correctly. In general, it works this way, though when you do not receive sufficient fuel for the body, you will not recover the proper way in time. Incorrect consumption may also lead to overtraining physiological effects. That is why many athletes follow special carbohydrate diet plans that help to recover faster after the intense training. Carbohydrate consumption refills intermuscular stores of glycogen. It should be taken within 30 minutes after training. Some athletes drink carbohydrate-rich beverages; others prefer natural food like dried raisins, baby carrots and broccoli, fruit salad, or homemade semolina pasta. 4. Enjoy diversity to avoid overtraining effectsYou can reach the fine line between overtraining effects on muscles and efficient training by changing various sports activities or CrossFit training. Change distances, time, number and type of sets, and speed of the exercises you usually choose. Take one day of the week and devote it to the sports you have never tried before. New muscles involved in the training and new neural pathways would help to avoid the mental effects of overtraining such as insomnia and irritation. Still, the whole training program should be planned around your favourite activities. Inconvenient activities may cause undesirable stress and increase the overtraining effect. 5. Avoid stressPeople have lots of stress in everyday life. You may think about working problems, family and children stress, financial hardships, and many others. Though, our body considers demanding work out in the gym as a kind of stress as well. So, when you think that you get rid of stress while exercising, in reality, you collect more stress that may cause overtraining effects on mental health. When stresses surround you, do not give up training. Better think of changing its intensity. Swap workouts with lifts for Pilates or yoga class. Add relaxing meditation during massage sessions after the cardio marathon. Do not forget that cardio exercises may increase overtraining effects on the heart, even if you get the best workout shirts for men. 6. Find a balanceBody recovery is essential. No matter how hard you work out, even if it was a little afternoon hiking with friends, your muscles need complete recovery. The solution of balanced training lies in helping your body to get enough rest right after the activity, enjoying sufficient nutrition, and having a full muscle recovery. Overtraining effects on immunity may become dangerous if you do not get this balance right. As an effect of overtraining, immune suppression may show itself as an increased amount of respiratory illnesses, slow healing skin, or stomach and neurological problems. If you continue working out through these problems, you will increase the recovery time and stay in OTS for longer. 7. Listen to your bodyBody fatigue and soreness are usual symptoms of any workout session. It is normal for active people. You do not have to worry if you feel them after training. What you have to remember is to change the muscle group and to give 48 hours’ rest. If you still feel sore in the muscle group, give more rest up to 5 days. Some coaches say “no pain, no gain”. However, you are the only person who knows what is going on inside your body. Do not let the training routine kill your progress and lead to overreaching and overtraining next. You have to restore glycogen, update hormone levels and muscle fibres to keep your body strong and healthy. Bottom lineOvertraining is a complex problem. Though it mainly happens to professional and competitive athletes, everyone has to monitor indicating symptoms. If you change your life and training by adding balanced rest and recovery, you can avoid overtraining effects on a workout routine. Still, you have to draw a thick line between just a heavy-working in the gym and the real effects of overtraining. Also, the overtraining symptoms can be the signs of many other diseases. Your therapist can distinguish them, so check your health. We hope this article will help you to create the right training plan. So, have smart workouts and stay healthy. Please share your results with us in the comments. *About the author: Thomas Nemel is passionate about fitness and copywriting. He has been involved in sports since his father taught him to love it in childhood. Now he has got a strong background in athletics and shares his interests through writing. Thomas’ goal is to inspire others to engage in healthy living. > More posts to help you with EXERCISES
> More posts to help you with DIABETES > If you are a @MEDIUM reader my publication Body Age Buster has hundreds of categorised posts which I have written especially for men and women over 50. Dr Mattson's two findings on how to live longer better Photo by Aleksandar Popovski on Unsplash After a lifetime studying the how aging and the brain interact, Dr Mark P Mattson recently retired from the National Institute on Aging. Dr Mattson is a renown expert in understanding neurobiological responses to physical exercise and dietary restriction and their relationship to ageing and age-related disease.
His two seminal findings can help us all live longer better. As we age, our brain inevitably loses its edge. But there is detailed research which shows two specific ways in which we can slow the rate of brain aging. Both are freely available and require no subscriptions, payment plans, nor coaches. Managing fatigue, rest, recovery and technique to avoid injuries Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash On my local running trails, people know me as the old guy that runs daily. Some shake their head in disbelief as this 72-year old makes a good pace along the track, and some shake their head in disbelief that I should be so foolish. (MostlyI get cheery smiles and nods.)
What I notice is how many other runners fall by the wayside, with injuries. Running every day is fine if you can do it without injuring yourself. Here's how I manage fatigue, rest, recovery, awareness, breathing and natural time to avoid injuries. How to avoid becoming frail before your timeRegular running is typically the most popular mode of exercise as people transition away from the gym, their youth, into looking after a family, or during a pandemic. Running is spectacularly better than doing nothing, but even frequent running doesn't maintain muscle strength as we age.
We need to do something extra. There's a fitness benefit, also why you might best skip it Photo by Tomasz Woźniak on Unsplash Running with a mask taught me four things that you need to know before you try, two reasons why you might be best not to try, and one fitness benefit.
I've been trail running 5km almost every day for over 6 months, so I have a good baseline. Yesterday I ran with a mask. It's not fun. If you have to run with a mask here's what to know. Think of your brain, balance and longevity Photo by Mor Shani on Unsplash Around my local suburbs, I have never seen so many people regularly walking for their health. There were always the genteel walkers. But now, with the pandemic and gyms closed, there is a new breed on the paths and tracks.
I'm pleased to observe that they mostly are not "serious" walkers, those with intent looks and machine-driven arms. Although the majority are not so intense, they are satisfyingly consistent and purposeful. I'm one of those - I walk 5km at least once every day, and I've added in walking backwards. With a single tweak, these regular-walking folk can significantly improve the health and longevity benefits from their activity.  Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash Long-term exercise preserves memory functionScientists studied people who had exercised consistently for a long-term and found they had better memory function than those who did not exercise. Starting to exercise at any time of your life is good - it's never too late - but starting earlier can bring benefits.
This finding is important to know because the research found that just being an active participant in a sport for a long period had this beneficial effect. You don't need to become a gym nerd.  HIIT Yoga - How Many Calories? | Image Credit: Screenshot, The Author For when you need to know how many calories HIIT Yoga burnsYou know those times when we're not wearing a fitness band or an Apple Watch and wonder how many calories we're burning? Here's a simple and accurate method that you can easily do in your head.
I often run or walk without any gadgets, and I rarely wear fitness bands at the gym, and never take my phone. From time-to-time, I wonder how much energy I've used in a workout. Now, I use this method, which I worked out after plotting a few charts and averaging a few numbers, and comparing to the estimates from the times when I do wear a fitness band. I will explain the one key variable that you need to know, the calculation you apply to that key variable, and why the answer makes sense metabolically.  Photo by Eric Stone on Unsplash How slow is slow, and is the fat-burning zone even true?We've all heard about the "fat-burning zone" and that we should exercise aerobically at low intensity to burn the most fat. I've always been sceptical about this advice, so I dug into the science.
Does the science support this advice, and what is low intensity anyway?  Photo by Марьян Блан | @marjanblan on Unsplash If you've thought about running, this is a good reason to tryI believe that the most beneficial goal of exercising when we are older is to lower our body age. That's why I named my Medium Publication "Body Age Buster".
I've studied how to do this, and put in into practice over the last 21 years, with great results. Typically, tests of my body age report ages between 15 and 20 years younger than my physical age (72 this year). Despite all my years of reading and practising these ideas, I was completely surprised when I found out recently that exercise can lower the body age of our bone marrow. |
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ChoicesSince I was diagnosed at 50 with Type 2 diabetes I've been learning how to do bone-building fitness training which lowers my age. You can too. It's your choice. Walter 
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