Bodybuilding Tips, Avoid Overtraining if You Want to See Results
It seems that you are trying to get yourself in shape. It’s likely that you’re spending hours in the gym doing intense weight lifting. If you’re not, then it’s probably true that you’re not going to get the results you want and you’ll need to step up.
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 how can you recognize if you are doing it? Catching yourself before it gets out of hand is essential.
First of all, when you are overtraining, you will be working really hard, but you won’t be building much if any muscle. That’s the first thing you’ll probably notice. If you keep going with overtraining, though, you’re probably going to notice other symptoms, too.
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 also notice that you are going to put on more fat. This might seem somehow unfair, but it is true. As you work out, you will be breaking down muscle, not letting it heal and increasing the levels of cortisol in your body. Cortisol is a stress hormone that makes your body hang on to its 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.
Are you losing muscle mass? When you overtrain, your muscles are going to suffer for it as much as any other part of you. Remember that you are training to get results. Essentially, a good bodybuilding regimen is going to be ideal when you want to avoid the symptoms that go with muscle loss while still getting the body that you want.
Now that we have identified the problem, let’s look at the solution. First, remember that you are going to need rest and nutrition. When you do one day of weigh training, follow it up with a day of rest.
It’s a good idea to do some light cardio on your “rest” days, but the big point here is that you should be resting your muscles from heavy-duty lifting. They need time to recover and to repair.
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.