I admit Kemme Fitness can be on the edge of the cliff for over-intensity. I own that. I take responsibility for that. There is clearly a moral obligation for any trainer/blogger/instructor to be responsible to his/her audience and this program has the potential to overtrain.
How do I combat this? Well essentially I combat it in two ways. First, I provide many levels of workouts and programs to help those new to fitness or who need to start slowly. Secondly, I write many posts such as this one to help guide folks.
With that all said, it is easy for any of us who are pushing ourselves week after week to go a little too hard and overtrain. Just in case you wondered….overtraining is BAD! Yep, BAD!
To avoid overtraining, the biggest rules are to start slow and listen to your body. Your body has a way to help steer you in the right direction. Here are a few tips to help you be in tune with your body and avoid the nasty overtraining problems.
WARNING SIGNS: #1: extreme sore and stiffness after training #2: irritableness (not just at me during the workout, but actual mood changes) #3: decrease in body weight (not healthy shedding of fat, but more coupled with #4. #4: loss of appetite #5: lack of motivation and being unable to complete a training session. Essentially, you should feel better over all – not worse. It’s called common sense, but we all tend to put blinders on to this at times. PREVENTION: #1: increase training gradually (duh) #2: alternate more aggressive training days with less aggressive training days. (I’ll add to avoid more than 3 days in a row) #3: get plenty of sleep (can’t underestimate the importance of this one folks) #4: eat a healthy diet (keeps you able to work out, helps to avoid injury, and is obviously great for weight loss). #5: make adjustments to training program when needed (keep your ego in check and try less intense workouts when needed). Essentially, watch out for a plateau or drop in performance over a period of time, which is due to not letting your body sufficiently recover. I hope these tips help you to avoid the very common pitfalls of any intense fitness program. Stay safe!