Training too hard??

[ChrstnHrpr]

I have been weight training extremely hard the last two weeks and I noticed that I feel like I am getting sick! I have been doing 60minutes of cardio 6x a week and weights 3x a week. I do all my body parts 3x a week. This program usually takes me a little over an hour to complete not including my cardio. My hubby thinks I am overdoing it! I remember that I heard about lactic acid building up in your system but will this cause flu like symptoms?

[Natrushka]

It sounds like your hubby is right, Christine.

"Athletes engaged in heavy training programmes, particularly those involved in endurance events, appear to be more susceptible to infection. For example, sore throats and flu-like symptoms are more common in athletes than in the general population, and once infected, colds may last for longer in athletes. There is some evidence that this increased susceptibility to infection arises due to a depression of immune system function. Upper respiratory tract infections often seem to be cited as reasons for athletes having to pull out of competitive events; certainly an athlete suffering from a sore throat, runny nose or stuffy, tickly chest is unlikely to perform to the best of his/her ability and attempting to compete while suffering from a viral illness could be dangerous.

The reason why immune function can be deleteriously affected by exercise is probably related to the increased levels of stress hormones - particularly adrenaline and cortisol - in the blood during exercise. Some very recent research suggests that falls in the blood concentration of glutamine, an amino acid that is essential for the optimal functioning of leucocytes, may also be implicated in causing the immunosuppression associated with heavy training.


Overtraining is defined as excessive training, characterized by long-lasting fatigue and worsening of competitive performance with further attempts to improve physical condition. Overtraining may also be described as staleness, overwork, overreaching, burnout and chronic fatigue. Although improvements in athletic performance hinge on increasing the training load or "overreaching", overtraining - a vicious circle of more training producing lower performance and chronic fatigue - seems to be a stress response to training too hard too often, with insufficient recovery time between exercise bouts.

The pathophysiology of overtraining can include muscle soreness and weakness, cytokine actions, hormonal and haematological changes, sleep disturbance, mood swings and psychological depression and nutritional problems such as loss of appetite and diarrhoea. Athletes suffering from this condition are also often reported to be immuno-suppressed"

That's just a blurb from one study, the entire article can be found Here (http://www.ncf.org.uk/hpc/hpresearch.htm)

How 'bout taking a few days off?

Nat

[Trainerdan]

Excellent post Natrushka ... you nailed it.

It sounds as if you are overtrained Chrstn. If you intend on keeping up that volume, start taking L-glutamine. Buy like a kilo of it and take 1 teaspoon every 3 hours (in whatever you are drinking ... I like Crystal Light), and one right before you go to bed.

Also, in my experience, each bodypart only needs to get hit 3 times per week ... once directly and once indirectly. But every person is different.

[Natrushka]

I just did a search and read everything on this site about "overtraining" and I have 90% of the symptoms :( Decisions, Decisions.

Nat

[Marti66]

I bought Body For Life, I've gone through it and it sounds great. But here's the problem. I work, I have 3 kids who need to be carted to various practices and games after school, tons of homework that they need help with after that, my husband does the best he can to help, but there is still laundry to be done, dinners to be cooked and a house to run. I can't get out to a gym and do the exercise thing. I'm thinking that I could work out at home. I have 3, 5, & 10# weights, but I haven't a clue what the heck to do with them. Any suggestions...please !

[Marti66]

I've gone on various sites to find out my lbm #'s. One made me happy! 26! The other one said 32. Can't even remember which one's they were! Any suggestions?