LISTEN TO THE WARNING SIGNS OF OVERTRAINING!
Understand the early warning signs of overtraining and overreaching—too much anaerobic exercise, too much total stress, or both—and slow down before you are forced down from an injury or illness.
- Morning resting HR is greater than 10% above normal: You may be getting sick, or you’re overreaching in your training. Heart rate info is here.
- Dizzy or lightheaded when standing up: Your blood pressure is dropping because your endocrine system is fatigued.
- Cravings for sugar and/or salt: Your body is running off of sugar more than fat, and you’re losing too much salt from all the stress.
- Persistent sore throat: The antioxidant level is low from too much free radical damage from training too hard.
- General aches and pain relieved by exercising: You’re getting a cortisol rush—that’s not good over time.
- Eyes sensitive to light: Those pupils are constricting rather than dilating because your nervous system is all jacked up.
- Irritability: You’re a pain in the ass because your blood sugar is a mess.
- Lack of desire to exercise: You’re burning out from all of the training.
- Insomnia or waking up in the middle of the night: You’re getting a cortisol surge in the middle of the night when those levels should be very low.
- Frequent nighttime urination (more than once): Your hormones are under so much stress, they’re not able to rest when they should.
- Limb twitching or jumping while falling asleep: Like the sensitive eyes, your nervous system is all jacked up.
- PMS—cramping, back pain, overly emotional, breast tenderness, fatigue: I’m not going there (haha)! More on PMS at my other site—click here.
- Eye lid spasms, or “functional blepharospasm”: There are mineral imbalances in your body, depleted from excess training.
- Burning and/or bloodshot eyes: You have vitamin deficiencies, primarily B2 (riboflavin), from overtraining.
- Ankles easily turn: Those muscles and ligaments of your ankle are very susceptible to stress; next is foot, heel, or knee pain.
