Created on Monday, July 08, 2013 12:54 pm
Whether you are amateur or professional, be enthusiastic with sports but don’t overdo it! Anything “too” is not good. It is important to properly coordinate athletic efforts and rest periods needed for recovery. After all, the bow cannot always be tight.
Whether you “progress” with exercise depends not only on the workout but at least on the period of recovery that follows. That rest and proper nutrition belong in that recovery phase goes without saying, of course.
supercompensationThe best time to start the next workout after recovery is during the “supercompensation phase.”
This is the phase after the so-called “overload principle” of a workout. The workout is then so heavy that it disrupts the balance of the muscle cells, so to speak. Your body responds by initiating a recovery process. If you take your time to do this (and thus don’t start the new workout too early), your body will enter the supercompensation phase. It then adapts to increasingly severe training stimuli. So you then “move forward.”
If your training and rest are not well matched and you start training when the supercompensation phase is already over then no progress will be made. Your condition remains as it was.
If you start training too soon after the previous workout then your body has not recovered enough. Your performance will eventually deteriorate and the risk of overtiredness, and thus risk for overtraining, then lurk. This happens when you consistently ignore your body’s signals.
We know both sympathetic overtraining and parasympathetic overtraining.Overtrained
The sympathetic nervous system is the part of the autonomic nervous system that influences the organs in such a way that the body can perform labor. So the conscious part. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of the autonomic nervous system that influences the organs in a way that allows the body to enter a state of rest and recovery. So the unconscious, for example, controlling organs and breathing, all the “automatic processes.”
Characteristics of sympathetic overtraining include increased morning pulse, high resting heart rate, fatigue during training and recovery phases, irritability, stiff muscles, decreased appetite, weight loss, restlessness and slower recovery after training.
If you find that you are overtrained in this way, take plenty of rest so that you can fully recover. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, this could be a complete period of rest with no workouts or lower-intensity workouts.
If you ignore signals of sympathetic overtraining for an extended period of time then the parasympathetic nervous system takes over.
This is because it promotes rest and recovery. You are then listless and tired. Parasympathetic overtraining is difficult to recognize. This is because it is usually accompanied by normal appetite, adequate sleep and a low resting pulse. Often the reason for the lack of focus and performance is then (unfairly) sought outside of sports. This form is particularly common in endurance sports such as running and cycling but also in explosive sports such as bodybuilding and martial arts. Recovery can take from a few days to even weeks or months depending on the severity.
So better not to let it get to that point.
So step up your workouts slowly on a good schedule with adequate rest. In doing so, ensure a well-tuned diet. Keep track of when and how intensely you trained and how much rest you need afterward. Make sure to minimize stress from factors other than exercise as much as possible, as these also have a major impact on your recovery! Listen to your body and take adequate rest when your body gives these signals or then train at a lower intensity.
Lots of sports fun and good health!
