Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
What if you train while severely overtrained?
14.44 Your body’s immune system works to prevent invading organisms—bacteria
and viruses—causing illness. A healthy person can deal relatively easily
with everyday bacteria and viruses. When you repeatedly push your body
to the limit there is heavy disruption of your immune system. ough an
individual weight-training workout is very unlikely to devastate you like
a marathon run would, for example, if you persist in consistently training
beyond your ability to recover, the effect will be similar.
14.45 e harder you train, the more careful you have to be to look after yourself
well, because now is the time when your defenses are lowered. e effect of
a short-term overtraining is one thing, but if you overtrain over the medium
and long term you will get so worn down that almost any bacterium or
virus could strike you down. You may consider yourself big and strong, and
everyone else in your family is weak in comparison. But when it comes to
being able to resist infection, you may find you are the weak one if you are
overtrained.
14.46 Some former elite track athletes have had their sporting careers wrecked
because they persisted in training hard despite already being severely
overtrained. After being supremely fit these athletes suffered from severe
immune system suppression, and long-term illness/injury.
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If you are undereating you will seriously impair your recovery ability,
which will lead to overtraining. But overeating cannot compensate
for overtraining. Eat very well every day and never cut corners
with your nutrition; but get your workouts in really good order
and train within your recovery means.
Sleep
14.47 Sleeping well on a regular basis is of critical importance. You need to take
concrete action to correct any sleeping inadequacies you may have. Otherwise
your inability to sleep adequately will continue, your recovery will be compromised,
and your rate of gain in muscle and might impaired.
14.48 e advice to get enough sleep is good, but not enough. Developing the
discipline to go to sleep earlier is the only action most people need to take
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