This week a friend arrived saying he was injured in training.

He had pain in his shoulder joint and forearm.

This set off a red flag, so I asked him how his exercise routine was going.

To absolutely no one's surprise, he did an obscene amount of exercise a day.

To the point of spending more than 3 hours at the gym with little or no rest between sets.

His enthusiasm and desire to evolve are admirable, but it shows impatience

Nothing worthwhile in life is built overnight.

Doing an absurd amount of exercise will not make your muscle grow more or faster,

On the contrary, it will disrupt your life to the point of making you regress.

"But how to identify Overtraining?

Luckily, your body knows you're in danger and starts sending you signals.

But if you don't know his language, or aren't paying attention, it won't help.

Some of the symptoms are:

It's normal to get injured from time to time

The tendency is that with time training you gain experience to understand your body.

When a little pain is bothering you and it's time to stop.

Or learn which exercises or positions are most comfortable.

But if you're injured all the time, going from one injury to the next,

Or worse, accumulating injuries one after another,

It could be a sign that your body is failing to recover.

I know people who get a cold every 15 days and think it's normal.

There are a lot of factors that can weaken your immune system, so it's not necessarily overtraining.

But it's worth paying attention, especially if you have more than one symptom.

Getting sick is something rare in the life of a healthy person.

The fact that people around you are constantly suffering from colds and flu doesn't make it normal,

It just means that their lifestyle is leaving them fragile.

The tendency over time is for your strength to increase and for you to be able to progress with the loads.

There are days when this won't happen, it's normal for us to be a little weaker at times.

But if you're losing strength over time

This is a sign that something is wrong.

Whether due to local muscle fatigue or nervous system fatigue.

That's why it's important to write down the loads and repetitions and take stock from time to time.

To check your progress

Having sore muscles after training is normal.

This does not mean that you will grow more or less,

But when this pain lasts too long,

It means your body is not recovering properly.

They are more severe for beginners, but once you have some experience, it becomes a one-off.

I feel uncomfortable two or three days after training.

If your pain is constant, lasting more than a week, be careful.

"Okay, but how do I solve Overtraining?"

First keep in mind that overtraining is not as common as you might think.

Most people are actually undertraining,

Training far below one's own capacity

But if you have identified one or more signs, there are some strategies:

If you are sure you are overtraining,

The best immediate solution is to take at least a week off.

Doing as little effort as possible so your body has time to recover.

But keep in mind that the return must be gradual, do not return with 100% intensity,

Try starting with 60 or 70% of loads and increasing over time

Instead of stopping altogether, you can greatly reduce the intensity of your training.

Use 50% of the loads for a week or two until symptoms reduce

And then gradually return to normal weight

Your recovery depends equally on these two factors.

Sometimes it's not even your training that's too intense,

But your rest and nutrition are deficient,

And they don't give you the support to recover properly.

Sleep at least 7 hours a night, without interruptions and always at the same time.

Sleep is better at night, in a dark environment and at low temperatures.

As for your diet, make sure you are getting a good amount of protein.

In general 2g per kg of weight.

Most people overestimate how much protein they eat.

Make it a habit to weigh your meals.

Increase your calories a little, during this recovery period your body will need more energy.

Finally, make sure you are ingesting good amounts of vitamins and minerals,

Whether through fruits, vegetables and vegetables,

Or dietary supplements.

Always prefer natural to industrialized.

And drink 50ml of water per kg of weight.

An 80 kg person should drink 4 liters of water per day.

"But it's a lot, I'm not a camel!"

Exactly, the camel can store water and go for long periods without drinking,

You need to replace this water constantly

Even if you think it's a lot, it's quite possible that this is one of the main causes of your symptoms.

And many others related to dehydration that I didn’t mention here.

Keep a bottle nearby and monitor the daily amount.

Whether on paper or with an app.

Thanks for reading!