Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
14.11 Be totally honest with yourself. Discover if you have any of the symptoms
of overtraining. You probably suffer from at least several of the symptoms. If
so, face the fact that you are overtrained and need to adjust your training so
the symptoms of overtraining do not persist. Do not be guilty of denial. You
will not increase your muscle and might through overtraining!
14.12 Local soreness and systemic fatigue are part and parcel of training. ere is,
however, a huge difference between post-workout systemic fatigue that is a
high from training, and the fatigue that is almost debilitating. To train hard,
and have a shower followed by a good meal, leaves a sense of achievement
and worked feeling that is a joy. To beat yourself into the ground once you
are already tired and dragging yourself around, as in the overtrained state,
produces no post-workout high.
Causes of the overtrained condition
14.13 Too many sets, exercises and workouts are the factors usually thought of as
being the villains behind overtraining. In addition, a few people train too
hard especially through the excessive use of forced reps, drop sets and other
intensifiers. But there is much more to overtraining than this.
a. Factors outside the gym
14.14 While a major if not the major source of physical stress in your life is your
training, stress from all aspects of life can wear you down. Depending on
your circumstances, the non-training contribution to stress may exceed that
from your training. If your recovery machinery goes out of order due to
employment, personal or domestic factors, do not expect to continue with
your usual training program and still make progress.
14.15 Here are real-life situations that can destroy your body’s ability to cope with
what was previously a productive training schedule: going through a major
relationship problem or serious financial difficulty, working at two jobs, caring
for a sick child, travelling a lot, not sleeping well, skipping meals, moving
home, changing jobs, preparing for examinations.
14.16 When you are feeling well and your life is running smoothly, and thus your
recovery machinery is in good order, your body has a much greater capacity
for coping with and responding to training than it has when you are run
ragged from your life out of the gym. is is why you should always modify
your training to reflect how your life is going outside of the gym. It also
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