am I overdoing it

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by furinkazan, May 11, 2015.

  1. furinkazan

    furinkazan Valued Member

    Ok for a while Ive been feeling a little worse for wear. To summarize

    1. Suffering panic attacks and depression, which both have had significant effect on my appetite, sleep quality and aches and pains are more common

    2. Im still in physio for a back problem regarding some joints around my hips. The muscles are too tense (possibly stress related, see above) and this limits my hip mobility and leg strength

    3. Ive been somewhat bogged down in coursework and assignments and trying to prevent low episodes.

    In regards to physio, it seems martial arts, some weight lifting (but not supe strenous) and gentle cardio will help in combination with the therapy.


    Think is Im finding Im thoroughly exhausted and worst, Im not recovering properly from exercise. Im considering dailing back on the amount of training Im doing for a bit. Question is, I dont know how to adjust my trainin routine

    Too much cardio makes me knackered. Swapping some cardio out to more weights and Im too sore and weak to train. Too much training, I cant do either of the others.

    At the moment it's

    Monday - Karate (sparring) 90 mins

    Tuesday - Rest day/ Monthly 1-2-1 in kung fu (on this day, I dont train the day before)

    Wednesday - Bujinkan

    Thursday - Karate (forms focused class 1-hour)

    Friday - Lifting (Usually a full body)

    Weekends - Usually a rest, my karate teacher also does BJJ, so if I have time and money, we sometimes have an hours session on that.

    Thats my week. Im considering turning the weekend into a complete rest period. The bujinkan training isnt super strenuous, so I treat that as active recovery day.

    Still feel Im not recovering properly though, even with 3 days rest.
     
  2. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    You have all the signs of overtraining.

    A few points.

    All good workout programmes have rest days scheduled in.

    Are you sleeping well? part of your sleep pattern is for mental repair, the other part physical repair, so poor sleep means mental and physical issues.

    Are you hydrated? You must remain hydrated at all times, not just before a workout.

    How is your diet? Your diet is the fuel that drives the workouts, but before it does that your food is the fuel to maintain your basic metabolic rate. This is maintaining body temperature, bone and skin growth, brain function etc.

    There's lots going on before you can even begin to fuel your workout.

    My advice is to take a complete three week break. No exercise other than a walk in the park.

    In that 3 week break go to bed at exactly the same time each night. It takes 7-21 days to get entrained to a new schedule.

    Get your hydration in order and keep your diet fairly clean.

    When you get back to training cut it right back. 3 or even 4 rest days. Stick to that plan for 6 weeks.

    Keep a diary and evaluate how changes in diet and hydration affect you.

    After 6 weeks add another day's training, but keep the diary up and a comparison.

    If you continue to overdo it you can make yourself ill.

    You'll not find out what the problem is unless you go about things sensibly.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2015
  3. furinkazan

    furinkazan Valued Member

    I did mention the sleep is awful. I can averge about 5 nights a week, down to my clinical depression.

    A break might be a good idea actually. i finish some modules this week and then get summer break, so I might have to refuel and recharge first
     
  4. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

  5. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Sound like you're overdoing it.

    As for depressions and the like, I was much the same. I've found my depression was linked directly to my self confidence/self respect, which is a hard thing to create from nothing. I've found that not focusing on anything but the present can alleviate a lot of stress. Not thinking about anything in the future, or the past. This is only a crutch until you can truly say you are no longer depressed.


    Any questions or whatever, please feel free to ask or message me :)
     
  6. icefield

    icefield Valued Member

    One to three rest days a week? And one of the sessions isn't that hard its almost like active rest? I dont think you are over trained I think its a case of too much stress in general. the body doesn't differentiate between stress caused by training, caused by exercise, or caused by lack of sleep or life stress in general its all the same to the body. Your CNS sounds fried this can take weeks yo recovery, do some very light aerobic stuff only for a few weeks to help rest your cns,make sure you eat properly and go to bed early, try to not do anything too stressful (easier said than done i know) do stuff that makes you happy and relaxed you.
     
  7. furinkazan

    furinkazan Valued Member

    Well, the lower contact Goju Ryu and bujinkan classes do the happy part. Lifting does too, but then that could slow my recovery a bit. Im thinking if Im not going to be putting money into training for a little bit, maybe take some time at the local thai massage place near my house (that helps relax me)
     
  8. flaming

    flaming Valued Member

    Are you eating enough, I have found adding more fat too my meals in the form of fried eggs or cheese helps with recovery from exercise ?

    Since I have been doing ashtanga yoga my sleep has been much better?

    Each six weeks of exercise don't exercise for a week, you'l probably be worse performance wise in the week back but in the second week you'l see improvements. or that's what I have found. If you feel bad, depressed on a training day cut your volume in half and use perfect form see it as a refreshing workout.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2015
  9. furinkazan

    furinkazan Valued Member

    Just a progress update. I've taken about 6 days off now, and no weightlifting for even longer. Things I've noticed

    1. Raging apptetite. Im going through my normal meals, but bigger portions, snacking too. I am drinking a lot more water now, which is helping me.

    2. I'm sleeping a lot heavier, going into the 12 hour or more sleep patterns. I think Im recovering physically from it, and my energy is picking up.

    3. The biggest thing Ive noticed is Im getting lots of odd, yellowy bruises in areas I haven't knocked, but have definitely been feeling tense and sore in those spots. Im going to get my blood tested soon anyway (I have fluctuating red and white counts, has been that way since a baby) so if it is blood related I can find out if thats a cause. Otherwise it might just be the relaxation period helping.

    Im not going to resume anything other than some stretching and gentle walking for a while I think
     
  10. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    Excellent news.
     
  11. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    just for future reference - if you find you have to ask yourself or anyone else if you're overdoing it, then you're probably overdoing it.
     
  12. SteveP

    SteveP Valued Member

    I find if I've got something running through my mind or struggling with something mentally it tires me out. I've confused this with over training in the past when, in actual fact, it was more mental stress than physical stress that was causing my tiredness.

    Some good advice above and a process of elimination is what helped me work it out.

    As an aside I find mental stress coupled with heavy cardio (bike racing) to have more of an affect that mental stress coupled with strength training with weights. Not sure why and it's probably quite a localised thing.
     

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