Over the years one of the many things I’ve learned from my experiences training, as well as many others that I’ve known, is the importance of listening to the feedback your body is giving you when you stress it. Stress can come in the form of work, lack of sleep, financial problems, and, for the sake of this discussion, exercise. We exercise because of the positive benefits it creates in our body with the stress response being an afterthought. However, this response is very real despite if we are aware of it or not.
Training for extended periods of time, both in single and multiple bouts, can be very harsh on the body. Physically, your joints and connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, fascia) all take a beating from repeatedly performing an exercise over and over again. Think in terms of powerlifting. There are the Big 3 movements; bench, squat and deadlift. These movements are generally trained 1-3 times a week for most powerlifters in different variations, but the general movement patterns are the same. This can lead to overuse of the knees, hips, lower back, shoulders, and elbows if the programming is not strategically thought out.
Stress can come in the form of work, lack of sleep, financial problems, and, for the sake of this discussion, exercise.
Or another example…distance runners. They deal with plantar fasciitis, knee pain, and upper back problems commonly because they are performing the same movement repeatedly to the extreme end of the spectrum. Continuing to run tens of miles per week without planning a “down” or off week is simply not sustainable if longevity in the sport is a goal.
Beyond just the aches and pains associated with training hard for extended periods of time, there is a concept known to many lifters and athletes called “overtraining.” Though this can apply to the physical aspect as well, it is generally synonymous with the neurological side effects one will start to feel. These include lack of sleep, lack of appetite, low energy, low sex drive, and noticeable weakness in the gym, among many other possible symptoms. This happens due to a number of physiological reasons but all of them in some way can be tied back to the body is enduring more stress than it can handle and is not being given adequate time to recover.
In my opinion, it is by listening to what your body is telling you. Our bodies are made to handle extreme stresses but also have a limit. When parts of your body start hurting or you feel groggy all day with no desire to train, maybe it is a good time to either program a “deload” week or take some time off all together. Though we all want to be strong and look good naked, what good is it if your body feels like crap everyday because of it?
One of the things that define a good coach is our ability to learn from our mistakes, and luckily for everyone else, I’ve made plenty in this regard. If I have one regret from my time training balls to the wall and doing some stupid stuff occasionally, it is that I didn’t listen to my body when it was screaming at me to back off.
In retrospect, training through pain for months at a time seems ridiculously stupid when I could have eased back originally and taken care of the issue before it became a chronic problem.
So whether you fall under the category of a beat up powerlifter or a mother of 3 who just doesn’t sleep anymore, remember that every time you train it is a chance to progress or regress. If you feel great, then train your ass off that day! But if you show up to the gym feeling like crap then only do just enough to make it a productive day.
Exercise is about staying healthy as long as possible and every good day is two steps forward while every bad day is one step back. Make sure you’re always moving forward.