People claim overtraining does not exist, the only thing you got to do is push that weight! On the other hand, there are people who claim that they are overtraining and saying that it is real, feeling weak like a beaten-down dog.
To make it clear, most people don’t get over-trained, it’s very very rare that people suffer overtraining, the reason for it being under-recovery.
Overtraining takes place only after years, hours, and hours of abusing yourself, and not giving time to your muscles for proper recovery. The reality is that you probably are not overtraining, it’s just that you don’t have proper muscle recovery.
Generally, it’s just an excuse to go on by telling yourself that you are over-trained. Stop over-diagnosing yourself! There is a term called overreaching, where you have symptoms of overtraining, about which we talk further in this article.
1. Stop Stressing
Stress is a barrier in training. If you are stressed, whatever be the reason, relationship problems, financial problems, school, or work, it’s affecting your progress.
I remember when my ex-girlfriend dumped me I could not go to the gym, my mind was somewhere else and I was not connected with my own body.
“I loved the iron, but had lost the touch I had for a short while.”
To avoid it just don’t stress, be positive. Easier said than done, but be conscious and try to do some light exercises like bodyweight training or choosing a lighter weight at the gym.
2. Get Enough Sleep
I cannot stress this enough to people to get adequate sleep every night, minimum sleep of 8 hours for optimum muscle recovery. I know, Arnold says don’t sleep too long, but you are not him. Look at yourself and get adequate sleep!
Sleep is a big component of athletes, if you can’t shut yourself down, you won’t end up in a good place in the long run. There are times in life that you may sleep less, but if there is a chance to sleep a lot make sure to use it.
Your body releases hormones like testosterone while sleeping and if you are not getting the sleep you need, you won’t perform well. Did you know there are many high-level athletes who smoked marijuana to help them sleep? This shows how important it is to have enough sleep.
However I would not recommend smoking marijuana, I would rather say to open up the window of your room, make it a little chilly, get under the sheets, and have a long sleep, which will make you happy and satisfied. Become a baby, listen to your body and sleep!
3. Get Better Nutrition
Sometimes one may be eating, they just eat less to help recover from their training sessions. People who gain weight a lot slower than other individuals tend to complain that they can’t gain weight, that they can’t eat more…
You just have to eat more! Eat a little more protein, fat, and carbs, it’s really that simple, no big science. Food is the key to muscle recovery!
As you know, Rich Froning is one of the greatest athletes of all time while training would drink a fat full of milk, eat up some oreo cookies, and go on with his session. You need food to recover, so stop going on those low-calorie diets!
4. Over-reaching And Improper Planning
There is a plan of programming, where you do more workload than your body can actually handle, done usually by athletes such as powerlifters, and Olympic lifters, to hit a new max on a lift.
This is usually done for a certain period of time where one does more than he can handle, then when you enter into the state of tiredness, exhaustion, not that happy, achy in places, is when it’s time to take a de-load. This is when your body gets to rest from the load it has been handling for the past weeks.
This state is all planned from A-Z. You will know when you overreach because it is properly planned. If you are not on proper programming, then I would suggest you hop on to one.
Many people would go to one program and then after a while hop on to another and do it over and over getting nowhere, hop on to one program and stick to it!
Don’t jump from the Cube method to Sheiko, then to Smorlov, etc. over and over or even combine them. Stick to an overreaching program at least for 4-8 weeks, max 10 weeks.
Keep track of all these pointers above and keep improving your recovery.
We hope that you enjoyed this post on the 4 Simple Tips To Speed Up Muscle Recovery!
