Sure you know exercise is good for you, but how much should you do?  According to Australia’s National Physical Activity Guidelines, the minimum amount of exercise recommended for good health is 30 minutes of ‘moderate’ activity, five (or preferably, seven) days a week. Moderate intensity is defined as a level that causes a slight increase in breathing and heart rate.

Overtraining occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual’s exercise exceeds recovery time between workouts. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Unfortunately our stubbornness sometimes makes us neglect our body signals and that’s when we fall victim to nasty overuse injuries. Not just bodily injuries, but overtraining can also subject us to extreme stress and stimulate anxiety. If you ever think that the stress is getting the better of you, then an inpatient treatment or a stress management class should be your priority.

The typical signs of overtraining include:

• Insomnia
• Achiness or pain in the muscles/joints
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Inability to complete workouts
• Feeling unmotivated and lacking in energy
• Increased susceptibility to illnesses
• Loss in appetite
• Decrease in performance

Overtraining can also affect the mental health of an individual greaty and stimulate stress and anxiety; something that can be overcome by meditation and hypnosis. Overtraining is a common problem experienced by runners. The 10% rule says that you can increase your distance safely with 10 % increase in distance per week. So if you are doing 20km this week, then next week you can do 22km. But remember always listen to your body and let your body decide on what you can handle. 

If you have any queries about your current training program or need some advice on setting up a training program give one of our physiotherapists a call on 9922-2212.