Do you feel your workouts are lacking, or just not as intense as you want them to be?
Could it be that you are fatigued, and overtrained? Recovery is a very important aspect of one's training and is necessary in order to continue pushing your body to its limits. Studies show that depending on the type of training an individual is doing, it could take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours of rest before that muscle is fully recovered, and ready to be trained again.
There are 4 main attributes that I live by to help prevent overtraining in my daily routine.
Nutrition & Hydration
Sleep & Rest
Relaxation & Emotional Support
Stretching & Active Rest
The first attribute is nutrition and hydration. Nutrition and hydration play a massive role in one's health, especially in one's athletic abilities. The second attribute is sleep, and rest. Some would argue this is the most important aspect of a person’s training. This is the stage where the muscle is rebuilt bigger, and stronger after being broken down in the workout. The third attribute is relaxation and emotional support. Stress has a very negative effect on the human body and can stunt the performance of an individual. The fourth attribute is stretching, and active rest. By stretching you are allowing your body full range of motion which is so important to live a functional lifestyle.
Without proper recovery periods, overtraining can occur. This is typically when injuries and plateaus happen. It is important to find a balance between work and rest ratio. In order to gain, and continue to move forward with your training progress, we have to consistently create a stronger stimulus on the body. This is following the law of super-compensation. This is a great way to continue progressing in your training, but make sure you are giving your body adequate rest it needs to grow. The heavier and stronger the stimulus you are exerting on your body will require longer recovery periods. After reading this you may be thinking about past times when you were overtraining and didn’t know it, or possibly even overtraining right now! Don’t worry, there are ways to prevent overtraining, and plateaus.
Listen to your body, and how it feels. Train hard, train smart, crush goals!
Stay healthy, stay strong,
Coach Cauy