Overtraining Syndrome

Exercise is good for your health but if you over exercise, you can suffer from Overtraining Syndrome, which can be detrimental to both your body and mind.  Therefore, you should know how to exercise properly for your good health.

What is Overtraining Syndrome

Overtraining Syndrome is a set of conditions or a characterization of how your body responds to over exercising, which affects your physical and mental health.  It can cause mood swings or disturbances because your body cannot tolerate the excessive exercise.    

Causes of Overtraining Syndrome

The causes of Overtraining Syndrome include:

• Excessive training due to an unsuitable fitness program – such as amount and intensity of training – for the exerciser.  
• Not enough rest – for example, lack of sleep, or inadequate rest during exercise, etc.
• Undernutrition – for example, lack of protein which prevents your body and muscles from recovering efficiently, carbohydrate deficiency which leads to a lack of energy, inadequate liquid or water intake which may cause dehydration during exercising.  

Risk Group

• Excessive exercisers
• Athletes
• People who are training for competitions

Symptoms of Overtraining Syndrome

There are many signs for Overtraining Syndrome, such as:

• Decreased training capacity
• Unable to meet the set training target
• Tiring too easily
• Shortness of breath
• Increased perspiration 
• Inexplicable weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling stressed for no reason

How to Prevent Overtraining Syndrome

People who exercise heavily must beware of Overtraining Syndrome.  They should plan their exercise routines properly.  A simple method is for the athlete or the person who is in training to aim for an improvement of no more than 10% each week.  For a runner, you should not increase your running distance by more than 10% a week.  Most importantly, you need to have enough rest and sufficient quality sleep.

Severity of Overtraining Syndrome

If your exercises are too strenuous that you suffer from Overtraining Syndrome, they can be harmful to your body: for example, worn knee cartilage, or injury to your knee ligament which will cause knee joint degeneration in the long run. 

However, if you feel tired easily and are out of shape when you exercise, it is recommended that you consult a specialist to determine your capacity for a fitness program.  So, you can plan a proper exercise routine for your good health long into the future.