A commonly asked questions is am I over training?
With fat loss and building muscle tone it can be easy to think that more is better. Lift more, train more, eat more...
...I remember times when I trained for 2/3 hours in one session in the gym in the belief i was going to get the most amazing results due to the time i spent training! Oh how little I knew.
At times its easy to push too far in the search for a quick fix, and increasing the amount that you train is usually the first thing that people do to try and speed up the results.
The Modified Lactic Training Sessions (The DVCC's unique style of training) lasts 45 minutes for a specific reason.
After exercising, for around 45 minutes your stress hormone (cortisol) increases. This causes your results to drop of and there has been significant research that people who have constantly high cortisol levels are at higher risk for gaining and storing fat around the belly button.
Imagine that.. Train more and add fat around your stomach! If I could use emojis that would be an angry face!
This is the specific reason that at the DVCC our clients will not train for longer than 45 minutes.
A better way of increasing your traniing would be to do a session in the morning and then a session in the evening. The rest in-between lets your cortisol levels reduce and also allows your body to recover. Once again each session should be no more than 45 minutes.
Athletes may train 3-4 times a day. Their bodies are adapted to this and they have built themselves up to the amount of training they do. They recover quickly and that is what allows them to train so intensely and frequently.
Rest is important for progression.
It is when you rest that your body makes the important repair work of the damage (good damage) which is done to your body when you train. During the time you rest after training your body will burn a higher amount of calories - EPOC.
Overtraining occurs when you work a muscle too often and don't allow yourself time to recover efficently.
Training 3 times a week combined with the right combination of nutritional choices can produce great results.
There has been significant research stating that training 4 times per week may improve your results by 50%. This is due to the fact that you would be training more days than you are resting.
Signs of over training are: Depressed mood, reduced self-esteem, irritable, poor sleep (increased cortisol), loss of appetite and low libido.
If you experience these signs of over training it can be best to take some time off resistance based exercise.
I would always advise clients who feel they are overtraining to partake in some stretching and foam rolling at a their DVCC centre.
This helps to stay focused on training after you have recovered as you will still be in a training environment although you may not be training the way that you are used to.
