Most people know that in order to be in top physical shape you need to exercise often and consistently. If you are looking to lose weight or just gain more muscle either way it takes hard work and a serious commitment. But what a lot of people aren’t aware of is that you can take it too far. It is possible to over work yourself and end up doing your body more harm then good. Over training can occur from lack of sleep, poor nutrition, not enough recovery time, and training at too high of a level for too long. So how do you make sure you don’t over train?

Well, first off muscle stimulation does occur in the gym but, the actual growth of the muscles occurs once you have left the gym and the muscles are resting and rebuilding. So the first step to fighting over training is getting enough sleep and allowing the muscles enough rest before you stimulate them again. Try to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep a night and I would recommend not working out the same muscle numerous times in a week or on back to back days, because it won’t be fully recovered from the last work out and you will just be causing your body harm. A good rule of thumb is to give a muscle group at least 48 hours of recovery time before stimulating it again. Second, make sure to give your body the nutrients it needs to properly heal and function. This includes eating things that have protein, carbohydrates, and various micro-nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals. Keeping from over training is not to difficult of a task, if you give your muscles the proper time to recover and have a good diet you should be fine.

However if you do over train a few bad things can happen. Amino acids get used up faster then they are supplied in the diet and this can cause a protein deficiency. On top of that your cortisol levels are elevated for prolonged periods of time (this is the stress hormone). Other problems are: insomnia, persistent fatigue, irritability, loss of motivation, decreased libido, persistent muscle soreness, increased possibility of infections, and depression. All sorts of problems occur when you over train your body that is why it is so important to understand the consequences if you do choose to over train.

So remember, proper rest 7-8 hours of sleep and at least 48 hours before you work the same muscle group again and a balanced diet is all it takes to not take it to far in the gym. Stick to those guide lines and you should be fine.