how much excerise is too much ????????

Micko_

hi all or anyone !

i am in need of some advice.
i have given up the smokes & have been training for a few years.
i swim everyday for one hr in the evening , during the summer i cycle most mornings for one hour and once or twce a week i run for about 30 mins. i also do about 110 press ups 2 to 4 mornings a week.

am i doing too much ??? i dont want to burn out. i'm33 and have never been so fit. i have no interest in gyms and anytime i google "how much excerise is too much" it always brings me to weight loss which is something i have never had to worry about. i just want to be fit & stay fit.

can anyone reccomend some kind of training method or a web site that would give me this information.
any information greatly appreiated on this

Micko

dna_leri

Try googling overtraining symptoms, if you don't have the following then you probably are not.

Common Warning Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining Syndrome
•Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
•Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
•Pain in muscles and joints
•Sudden drop in performance
•Insomnia
•Headaches
•Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
•Decrease in training capacity / intensity
•Moodiness and irritability
•Depression
•Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
•Decreased appetite
•Increased incidence of injuries.
•A compulsive need to exercise

Micko_

ok thanks for the speedy reply

RodSteel

dna_leri wrote: »

Try googling overtraining symptoms, if you don't have the following then you probably are not.

Common Warning Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining Syndrome
•Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
•Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
•Pain in muscles and joints
•Sudden drop in performance
•Insomnia
•Headaches
•Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
•Decrease in training capacity / intensity
•Moodiness and irritability
•Depression
•Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
•Decreased appetite
•Increased incidence of injuries.
•A compulsive need to exercise

I had a number of the above symptoms up until last year and what I found was that the volume of training was not so much a issue(as it was not a huge amount by comparison), it was my poor diet and insufficient sleep.
I corrected the diet and sleep issues and symptoms were promptly gone and have not come back.

tunney

No such thing as overtraining.

Only under recovery.

hunnymonster

The current official advice is at least 30 mins at least 3 times a week for cardiovascular health. It's generally accepted that this is too low but the official advice remains so because if you say an hour a day, 6 times a week, you'll put people off. Looks like you're hitting this so you're fine on this score.

The only comment I would make (and I realise this is pot calling kettle black) is that you're heavily focused on cardio type exercise. Would you consider adding more resistance exercise into the mix. You can do this outside the gym using something like this one (but there are loads out there if you google bodyweight exercise). The other spanner I would throw into the mix is variety.You might already be doing this but if you're plodding away at a constant effort you will benefit hugely from mixing the intensity up a bit - add hills to the bike, sprint in the water etc..

Just some random thoughts, you're already doing things pretty well so feel free to ignore the suggestions.

tunguska

Micko_ wrote: »

hi all or anyone !

i am in need of some advice.
i have given up the smokes & have been training for a few years.
i swim everyday for one hr in the evening , during the summer i cycle most mornings for one hour and once or twce a week i run for about 30 mins. i also do about 110 press ups 2 to 4 mornings a week.

am i doing too much ??? i dont want to burn out. i'm33 and have never been so fit. i have no interest in gyms and anytime i google "how much excerise is too much" it always brings me to weight loss which is something i have never had to worry about. i just want to be fit & stay fit.

can anyone reccomend some kind of training method or a web site that would give me this information.
any information greatly appreiated on this

Micko

Its all relative micko. One person might tell you youre doing too much but another will tell you you're not doing enough. Do what you wanna do, find and set your own boundaries.

Micko_

thank you all for the replies ,

thats good advice with seting my own boundries.
something i think i have already done.
thanks again

M

InTheTrees

No interest in gyms? Is that because you dont have access to one or dont want to be indoors? Or is it the dependence on machines and weights etc?

I think its good to have a general strength training routine, most require weights or machines but you can find ones that dont.

Husavik

A gym instructor said to me not to do too much weights training on one set of muscles without balancing it with the reverse set because they can be weakened by all the emphasis on one side. So maybe look at doing back muscles exercises to balance the press ups work. For example, lat pull downs or the arms only rowing move. Only problem is you need props for this like a bar to hang from or to join a gym.

theflash800

as long as your fit, healthy and not in pain when exercising. then i don't think you have much to worry about.

the point at which exercise out weighs recovery (eg. your can't recover quick enough before your next session) is where problems arise.

So feel free to exercise as much as you want. But if exercise becomes a compulsion. (eg. takes over other important parts of your lifestyle.) Then you may have some sort of an addiction to exercising... But from your general regime you've posted, I don't think your doing to much,

InTheTrees

theflash800 wrote: »

Then you may have some sort of an addiction to exercising...

Like 99% of the people in this forum!

2nd Row Donkey

dna_leri wrote: »

Try googling overtraining symptoms, if you don't have the following then you probably are not.

Common Warning Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining Syndrome
•Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
•Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
•Pain in muscles and joints
•Sudden drop in performance
•Insomnia
•Headaches
•Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
•Decrease in training capacity / intensity
•Moodiness and irritability
•Depression
•Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
•Decreased appetite
•Increased incidence of injuries.
•A compulsive need to exercise

I think we all suffer from this one.

TFBubendorfer

dna_leri wrote: »

Try googling overtraining symptoms, if you don't have the following then you probably are not.

Common Warning Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining Syndrome
•Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
•Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
•Pain in muscles and joints
•Sudden drop in performance
•Insomnia
•Headaches
•Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
•Decrease in training capacity / intensity
•Moodiness and irritability
•Depression
•Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
•Decreased appetite
•Increased incidence of injuries.
•A compulsive need to exercise

And what about that one, then?

Wonkagirl

tunney wrote: »

No such thing as overtraining.

Only under recovery.

I've read that before, but never fully understood it. What do you mean by under recovery- Do you mean that you need to nourish your body with the right foods, etc- or do you mean that you need to be getting 8 hours sleep a nite.. or both? or something else?

As far as i'm concerned, you can exercise every day as long as it's different disciplines- for eg Mon/Wed i run, thurs i cycle, fri i do a weight session in the gym, sat i do a brick session and sun i normally go for a walk.. you're not putting too much emphasis on one muscle group 2 days in a row then.

For me the big issue is drinking (on average) 2 nites a week- i think that's a disaster for the recovery!

tunney

Wonkagirl wrote: »

I've read that before, but never fully understood it. Do you mean that you need to nourish your body with the right foods, etc- or do you mean that you need to be getting 8 hours sleep a nite.. or both? or something else?

As far as i'm concerned, you can exercise every day as long as it's different disciplines- for eg Mon/Wed i run, thurs i cycle, fri i do a weight session in the gym, sat i do a brick session and sun i normally go for a walk.. you're not putting too much emphasis on one muscle group 2 days in a row then.

For me the big issue is drinking (on average) 2 nites a week- i think that's a disaster for the recovery!

Right foods, plenty of water, plenty of sleep.

Overtraining isn't related to the same muscle group being overused.

Heart, energy systems, endoctrine system are the things that give the problems.

Best way I heard it was "if you come in from a ride and within 30 minutes aren't up for a ride if offered you've done too much"

Wonkagirl

tunney wrote: »

Best way I heard it was "if you come in from a ride and within 30 minutes aren't up for a ride if offered you've done too much"

that's a good one, i'll remember that.. i very rarely feel like that- certainly not after cardio anyway. the odd time when i do my power session of weights on a fridya morning i'd be fairly wrecked for a few hours, muscles jittering and the like.. i've copped on to the nutrition side of things a bit more recently, and always try to have protein within an hour of finishing- got in the door this morning and munched straight into a boiled egg that i'd cooked last nite..

i suppose stretching is important too? i'm bad for stretching. i always do it after bootcamp, as it's part of the class, but the rest of the time i'm not great..

tunguska

Wonkagirl wrote: »

that's a good one, i'll remember that.. i very rarely feel like that- certainly not after cardio anyway. the odd time when i do my power session of weights on a fridya morning i'd be fairly wrecked for a few hours, muscles jittering and the like.. i've copped on to the nutrition side of things a bit more recently, and always try to have protein within an hour of finishing- got in the door this morning and munched straight into a boiled egg that i'd cooked last nite..

i suppose stretching is important too? i'm bad for stretching. i always do it after bootcamp, as it's part of the class, but the rest of the time i'm not great..

Weight training will knock the stuffing out of you alright. I think it has something to do with the central nervous system being stressed, ditto for an interval run(or bike). I take a spoonful of maca after an intense training session which has a dramatic effect on my recovery. How clean your diet is will also play a part.

Jay Pentatonic

I always think it depends on the individual, some people can do loads of exercise & some can do barley anything.

Listen to your body, if you feel something is wrong, that probably means you need some rest.:)

tunney

Jay1989 wrote: »

I always think it depends on the individual, some people can do loads of exercise & some can do barley anything.

Listen to your body, if you feel something is wrong, that probably means you need some rest.:)

But then aload of people use this as an excuse to undertrain

hunnymonster

There was a post over a year ago where tunney (one of the more dedicated athletes out there) was having a lazy day and hit the snooze button. He got a swift kick up the backside from Mrs Tunney and was shoved out of bed with the "this IM isn't going to do itself". I think we all need a Mrs Tunney, literally or figuratively to get us out the door sometimes.

earnyourturns

I read this really good novel last year called The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou www.abdou.ca about two athletes - a swimmer and a wrestler - training for the Olympics. It recently got voted best sports book by CBC (like RTE, only in Canada). Anyway, it talks about the central paradox of an athlete's life being "listen to your body, but don't listen to your body" given the gruelling training regimes at that level of competition.

It's really good, I'd recommend anyone read it if they get the chance. I read it during the peak marathon mileage period and could relate to it oh so much...