The Truth About Overtraining and the Stress Response (Breather Episode with Brad)

(Breather) We all know about the importance of working out. But what is equally important is how you exercise - otherwise, you could fall into the “overtraining” category, where you can seriously hurt yourself, and/or compromise your health.

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I have dealt with this in the past enough to the point where I have finally learned my lesson! I even got totally fried for a period of 3-4 weeks just this past summer, due to a pattern of excessive exercise. Ouch! I’ve definitely had to adjust my routine from what it used to be. These days, the longest I’ll run is between 20 and 30 minutes - if I really want to go for it, I’ll go until I hit the 45 minute mark. I’ve also shortened the duration of my sprints, and I’ve made it a point to take longer rests in between (at least one minute long), as this helps prevent the cellular breakdown and destruction that occurs when you push it too far by trying to sustain maximum speed for longer than 10-20 seconds. It also allows me to improve my sprinting skills as I can do sprint workouts more frequently, although it is important to keep in mind that they should occur every 7-10 days - otherwise you’ll likely feel like crap!

I used to wake up with really tight calves the day after a hardcore sprinting session - this went on for years! Then, I’d crash 24-36 hours later, and have no idea why….Well, it all makes sense now, as we know that performing high intensity exercise without taking adequate rest periods leads to cellular destruction. A by-product of this process is ammonia toxicity in the bloodstream, which is especially sensitive in the brain cells - definitely not something you want happening in your body!

You want to walk away from a workout feeling energized, not fatigued and utterly depleted. Elated to no longer be waking up to tight calves, and feeling great after my sprint workouts, I started sprinting more frequently. Instead of every 7-10 days, it was when I felt like going again - and often, this was every few days. But over time, I started to feel the effects, most noticeably in my digestive system - which is often the first thing to be weakened by the effects of overtraining, as it increases your gut permeability. I certainly felt this stress on my digestion, and thankfully, I’ve kept track of my workouts in journals since the 70s! This practice has allowed me to easily identify what is going on in my body based off my (recorded) behavior, and man, did it come in handy here! Turns out, I had done 7 high intensity workouts in a period of 11 days. No wonder I was feeling so lousy!

I share this story in the hope of illuminating the real consequences that come with overtraining and the importance of taking appropriate rest periods. Think of it as “borrowing from the bank.” When you’re overstimulating the flight or fight response, you will inevitably crash and burn at some point - it’s undeniable. So, listen to your body, and be careful not to overdo it. Try my practice of keeping a journal that details your workouts - this will make it easier for you to balance training and recovery. Learn from my mistakes: no matter how good you’re feeling that day, if you’ve already recently performed a high intensity workout, then it’s simply not worth compromising your health to do another one just because you think your body can take it. Rest and recovery is an integral part of the working out process, and needs to be taken as seriously as the workout itself if you want to be functioning at peak performance.

TIMESTAMPS:

Brad over-trained and suffered and learned from it. [05:52]

When you perform high intensity exercise with minimal rest periods in between efforts, you are engaging processes of cellular destruction.  [08:09]

After years of “great” workouts, Brad realized he was damaging his body. The first symptom was digestive tract discomfort. [10:09]

Keeping a journal of workouts helped Brad analyze what was happening during his workouts. [14:10]

Fight or flight response kicks in. so the stress hormones flood your bloodstream and enhance your function.  [16:31]

During the overreaching phase is when you often experience performance breakthroughs, however it is an artificial high because your body is filled with painkillers (stress hormones)  [20:17]

Using intuition is tricky because we have to distinguish between intuition and animal instincts. [23:31]

An important part of planning your workouts is scheduling the rest and recovery. [25:22]

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