Good day all, My Sifu/Guru thinks I might be over training myself. I am about 22 right now and haven't trained in martial arts for about 6 - 8 years prior to these past three weeks. Personally I don't feel very sore at all the first 2 days of training and sometimes sore after the third day, but always rest on the fourth day despite really wanting to go that day. I tend to skip the water breaks and don't bring anything like an energy bar to keep myself fueled (something recommended). Otherwise I have good energy throughout the classes and despite breaking a sweat or feeling pretty tired I get right back up ready for the next thing. All the classes listed below are 25% cardio and 75% technique/sparring with about 2 - 3 short water breaks in between. Monday 7 - 1030pm: Muay Thai, Jun Fan, Kali/Silat Tuesday 7 - 915pm: BJJ, MMA Wednesday 8 - 10pm: Muay Thai, Jun Fan Thursday: Rest Friday 6 - 7pm: Yoga Saturday 11:30 - 2pm: MMA, Kali/Silat Sunday: Rest
I'd say the volume is high, but that's offset by the relatively low intensity ("75% technique"). Go by how you feel - if you're sleeping well, have energy on your rest days, aren't feeling stressed, then crack on.
What VZ said . I'd just add that given the number of arts , so long as you can absorb and understand all the intricacies of the different MA styles then fine. I guess it depends how experienced you are , cross - training is great but it is possible to spread yourself too thin unless you have a thorough grounding in a single art to start with.
You've got no chronic injuries and are in good health from the sounds of things not to mention being at a good age for heavy training. Don't panic too much about being able to train a lot and have fun! I would say to keep on top of your nutrition and sleep though. "Overtraining" can creep up on you if you're not taking the right precautions to keep your weight maintained/going up and doing foundation work on your mobility, strength and conditioning.
overtraining is a physiological response to doing more than you are physically capable of recovering from. you are most definitely not overtraining. also, stop skipping the water breaks, that is unproductive and possibly detrimental. i would suggest having the energy bar or something similar as well. see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3435910/
Get some training in while you're 22 because it gets a lot harder to get in at 42! If you think you're over training pop in the odd light session or even a whole recovery week.
Thanks everyone! Today I am a bit more sore than usual, but that was from Muay Thai being a bit more intensive than usual yesterday. Otherwise I love it and feel great, even tot he point of having energy after I am done despite my body feeling a bit tired. Seems like I need to focus on nutrition and keep hydrated during classes.
The more Ive gotten into the competative side of training and combined this with power lifting, the less I believe in the idea of 'overtraining' as such more 'inadequate recovery' so long as you are consuming the correct macro and micronutrients, remaining hydrated sufficiently, having enough sleep and keeping on top of your condition (By which I mean injury recovery) then there's nothing to suggest over training. And from what you described in your first post, it doesnt sound like it. One thing to watch out for is things like a mood shift, sudden increases in stress or broken sleep, thats the biggest one I've had trouble with before I adjusted my diet.
You've only been training 3 weeks, overtraining is more a long term thing. Eat well, sleep well, and cycle your weeks, so you have one easy week every 4-6weeks, and long term you'll be able to keep it up. Its far better to train twice a week ongoing, then 8 times a week for two months and quit.
This+ Also you won't see the effects of overtraining in 3 weeks. Maybe in two months or so. I generally as a rule of thumb take a week of rest from any and all training for 1 week after a two month cycle.
Unfortunately I dont know enough about your physical condition or your health to answer that question but as long as there is no cold/sharp pain in your tendons/muscles, pain in the chest, dizziness or feeling like you cannot breath in enough air(not caused by current effort) oh yeah and you have no sleeping disorder. If there are non of the symptoms above then you are not over exerting yourself but if even one of those appear you need to take few days of and preferably visit a doctor. Trust me if your not careful and ignore even one of theme you could cause yourself a lot of problem.
^ This. You need to consider that one of the types of overtraining (Basedowic) can present itself in non-athletic office workers - family, workload, finances, studies, commuting, etc can all stress the body's energy systems. Sports training (martial arts or otherwise) is just one of the factors that can cause overtraining.
At the moment this^ is very much me. I have a lot of stress in my life at the moment, with work and personal issues. It's not so much overtraining, as it is under-recovering. I'm not sleeping at all well, so I have no energy to train. I can manage some weights and short conditioning sets, but cannot even think about doing a long cardio session during the week. I'm too tired.
I think the replies overall and frodocious' in particular illustrate that A) overtraining is cumulative B) training loads that causecit can vary from person to person and C) can be based on a number if external factors outside of the training itself such as work, mental and emotional health, nutrition, sleep etc My advice would be to eat, stay hydrated, sleep and most importantly to listen to your body. If you start to feel run down then dial it back and look at your rest and nutrition. Stay healthy!
My last degree course in sport psychology, only focused on athletes. The only thing I took from it - that I thought was of any use - was basically what you just said; plus something about praise. If you tell someone your gifted or you've got good genetics limb length/ ratios their performance will decrease gradually over time. If you tell them your training hard today or that's enough. Theire performance will usually increase. I can't remember the researcher or studies. Dweck rings a bell I'll have a google. Also I did an essay on Jessica Ennis and her coach and he basically said the same things in 'folk psychology/common sense psychology' language; in a article or video I watched on the internet.
What would you define as a "long cardio session"? I often stress* the importance of building an aerobic base because of the dividends it pays in terms of increasing maximal strength potential and rate of recovery. But it also promotes better sleep and I know you want to build strength because of your back issues, but honestly in your situation I'd recommend cutting right back to 1 or 2 posterior strength exercises at most (e.g. pull-up, hyperextension) and 15-20 minutes of walking, 4-5 times a week. Short, mild sessions, done often, will let you make progress (albeit slow progress) while giving your body a chance to recover properly. I'd also suggest seeing your doctor - the symptoms of overtraining can be caused by acute or chronic illness. * = pun not intended.
For me, a long cardio session is a 45(ish) min easy run. At the moment, I know what it causing my stress and its not something I can change for the time being. The main issue I have is lack of sleep, which is partially due to stress and partially due to my lack of willpower to put the light out early enough.
Could you try some kb goblet walking up and down your stairs. Unless you have a bungalow. Doing a Sumo kb dl at the top. Warrior really sorts the hips and I find long walks if you have time. Or if you don't have time walk faster. walking especcially uphill is an inefficient method of locomotion because it doesn't use the stretch rsponse. That's why I believe it looks daft on the olympics.