Are You Working Out Too Hard?

Next time you're in the gym, pause for a moment and look around. How many people do you see wearing braces of some kind? Elbow braces, knee braces, back braces, wrist braces. All of them clearly trying to continue at some previous level of workout intensity despite the fact that their joints are starting to give out on them. How many people do you know that work out six days a week, sometimes doubling up their cardio and their resistance training, trying to get the most bang for their weekly buck? Perhaps you're one of those people, hammering away day after day, sure that if you stop, if you take a break, all your muscles will sluice from your frame leaving you fat, bloated and ugly. Wake up! Over training is a very real problem, and everybody needs to know when to take a break.

At the very, very minimum, everybody should be resting one day out of the week. Even if you're training as hard as you can, you should be taking Sundays off to passively rest, which means sitting on your butt doing no exercise. Your body needs time to relax, to rebuild itself, to heal the damage you've done to it all week. If you insist on training every day, you will quickly burn out, injure yourself, or begin to accrue diminishing returns.

Even if you are working out only six days a week, you should consider adding another day or so of active rest. Active rest is when you work out for a moderate period of time (say 30 to 40 minutes) and simply exercise at a very light level, keeping your heart rate at about 130bpm. This ensures that you are causing your blood to circulate, that you are stretching out your muscles, and if you take the time to drink a recovery drink while doing so you can help deliver key nutrients to your body.

At this point somebody inevitably points out that a number of elite athletes train six days a week, and that clearly that's the formula for success. If Lance Armstrong cycles six days a week, or Arnold lifted weights for the same amount of time, then clearly you should too. Nonsense. Those are genetic freaks without day jobs who are often taking steroids and dedicating themselves full time to the maximization of their abilities. Often, even these elite athletes are over trained. So ask yourself. Are you an elite athlete? If not, then don't try to train like one.

If you cut down the amount of training you are doing, you will soon begin to reap enormous benefits. Old aches and pains will fade away, and you will return to the gym each time with energy and enthusiasm. Working out 3-4 times a week is an ideal number for excellent gains, optimal health and preventing over training. So don't become one of those guys strapped up with braces, trying to get into ridiculous shape despite the fact that their body is falling apart on them. Instead, moderate your workouts, give your body plenty of time to rest, and realize your potential without courting pain, frustration and injury!

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