I must know, Can you overtrain with...

[Apprentice]

Forms or strikes? If so how? and what would be the best method to train? lenghtwise, sessions, times a day, days a week, weeks a month, months a year, :D

[SevenStar]

you can overtrain with anything. It has to be in moderation. If you are throwing 5,000 punches a day 7 days a week you will overtrain. You can definitely train everyday, but don't overdo it. The body does need recovery time. Are you concerned that you are over training? If so, I can list some symptoms of it here.

[Apprentice]

Oh yea, and stances too, can u overtrain with those...


Well, i guess SEVEN STAR answered that Q, and no, im not overtrainning, however i would like to know the symptoms, because when i start training, i wanna train very seriously, and very hard, to get the best results, what would one (anyone)suggest to maximize training efficiency?

[SevenStar]

Mood swings, depression and anxiety are all classic signs that you are training too hard and not allowing ample time for recovery. Psychological distress can result from decreased performance and the perception that normal exercise routines are getting harder instead of easier. Other symptoms are sleeplessness, soreness and nervousness. You may not experience all of these, so monitor your body closely.

Also, don't get caught in the endless loop created by overtraining - due to overtriaining, workouts are getting harder, but you think the reason is not because of overtraining, but because you aren't training hard enough, and therefore train harder, which in turn continues the overtraining cycle.

When are you going to start training?

[SevenStar]

Stance training can be done everyday, but you may want to work up to it. Like anything else, don't overdo it. No need to hold horse for 30 mins a day, everyday in the beginning. Work up to your goals.

[fgxpanzerz]

I am currently experiencing almost every symtom u just listed. depression, mood swings...etc. Those things can be caused by anything and I assure u that I'm not overtraining. A real symptom of overtraining is pain in the joints caused by tendonitous or something along those lines.

[Kristoffer]

If u train untill u puke, you have trained too hard. I've done this a couple of times. Then I got used too it, so now I can do it without puking.

[JWTAYLOR]

I've been happiest with a 6 day a week, 2 hour a day intense training session. For those 2 hours, my wife knows not to talk to me, no calls, I put my dog in another room, no distractions, and I throw myself at it.

In addition to that, I have a class that lasts about 3.5 - 4 hours twice a week. Plus a one hour sparring session once a week. Real all out full contact rounds once or twice a month, max.

That is the training schedule that works FOR ME. That may or may not be the training schedule that works FOR YOU.

My suggestion is train as much as your coach tells you to. If that doesnt' seem like enough, ask your coach what else you can do. At least until you've been in it for a few years, and you can find out what is good for you and your goals.

What are your goals for training?

JWT

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

Apprentice . .. why aren't you training yet? I remember you coming to the workout forum more than half a year ago ... maybe longer.

[Apprentice]

Thanx for all the responses, and now, to answer everyones questions:


SevenStar: When are you going to start training?

Answer: When i get a job, then i can take up a kung fu class, Hung Gar most likely



GunnedDownAtrocity: Apprentice . .. why aren't you training yet? I remember you coming to the workout forum more than half a year ago ... maybe longer.

Answer: I AM trainning at the moment, just not in Kung Fu, however i do workout...i just went through a week of rest or so...and now im starting with weights, i was doing only body exercises for a while, and have i really been on this forum a half a year??? I really dont think its been that long, but hey, it could've, i have no conception of time



JWTAYLOR: What are your goals for trainning?

Answer: With Working out, to get a little bit of size, and strength...with Kung Fu(the topic of this)...to get the movements engraved into not only my brain's memory, but my muscle's memory, so i can perform the movements with absolute ease, and as a reflex with power and speed, and to develop strong inner power (inner meaning, chi, mind, body and soul)...


Thanx for all of the replies

[Tae Li]

hey people, I was reading some of the symptoms for training to hard and at one oint I think i may have been training too much and half wa through traininG i would start to yawn even though i had gotten my 6hours of sleep, so i guess this means that i was over doing it with training???

[SevenStar]

"I am currently experiencing almost every symtom u just listed. depression, mood swings...etc. Those things can be caused by anything and I assure u that I'm not overtraining. A real symptom of overtraining is pain in the joints caused by tendonitous or something along those lines."

If you are experienceing all of that and are positive it's not overtraining, then you've got issues. And you may not be training hard enough...

There are plenty more symptoms of overtraining than pain in the joints, that's merely an early symptom. I don't have to back up anything I say - I know I know what I'm talking about, but here's what a brief search pulled up:

Active.com
"Early symptoms usually include fatigue and noticeable muscle or joint pain. Later symptoms can include insomnia and frequent waking in the middle of the night, frequent colds, the onset of allergies or asthma, chronic injury and worsening of performance...The most common causes of overtraining are too much volume, too much racing or, in most cases, both."

muscle101.com
"Too much heavy exercise, and you risk using up too many of these neurotransmitters, and this net deficiency is what cause the symptoms of mild depression. Think of it this way, you nerves actually use chemicals to transmit signals, kinda like nerve juice. Now when you start running a little low on the nerve juice, you're still sending signals, albeit very weak ones. So your workouts will feel lame, cause you just don't have the necessary juice to push your muscles to the max.

This lack of nerve juice has much greater implications than just lame workouts. Nerve juice is needed for so many functions in your body, that a deficiency of it can cause serious problems. Your immune system suffers, your brain just won't work as well as it could, you'll be tired all the time, and more."


sportsmedicine.about.com
"Mild leg soreness, general achiness.
Pain in muscles & joints.
Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy.
Sudden drop in ability to run ‘normal’ distance or times.
Insomnia.
Headaches.
Inability to relax, twitchy, fidgety.
Insatiable thirst, dehydration.
Lowered resistance to common illnesses; colds, sore throat, etc. "

musculardevelopment.com
From here, you can go one of two ways. If the overwork is chronic (long-term), you’re headed downhill, and probably fast, resulting in injury, weakness, a loss of lean body mass, decreased appetite, even depression, and a host of other, more severe problems. At best, full recuperation from chronic overwork would take weeks. This should be what we all fear— “overtraining” at its destructive worst.

nfpt.com
"A general feeling of fatigue, joint pain, problems dealing with stress, undue fat accumulation, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, slowed healing of injuries. "

esportsmed.com
"All athletes must train hard in order to improve their performance. Some athletes fail to recover from training, become progressively fatigued, and suffer from prolonged underperformance. They may also suffer from frequent minor infections (particularly respiratory infections). This has been called the over training syndrome, burnout, staleness, or sports fatigue syndrome"

Dr. Pribut - clark.net
"There are variety of different signs and symptoms of overtraining. Most often mentioned is unusual fatigue or a feeling of staleness. The early morning resting pulse may jump 5 or more beats. A falloff in performance may occur, despite increased training. Muscles may be unusually sore. Emotional changes may also be noticed. Increased anxiety, tension, depression or anger may occur. Difficulty focusing and in making decisions may also occur. The desire to train may disappear. Joy in other activities may also dissipate. Bowel changes may be noted - diarhhea or constipation may occur. More frequent cold or virus infections may occur. Loss of appetite and weight loss may also occur.
Overtraining symptoms bear much resemblance to chronic fatigue syndrome. "

rice.edu
"The most common symptom is fatigue. This may limit workouts and may be present at rest. The athlete may also become moody, easily irritated, have altered sleep patterns, become depressed, or lose the competitive desire and enthusiasm for the sport. Some will report decreased appetite and weight loss. Physical symptoms include persistent muscular soreness, increased frequency of viral illnesses, and increased incidence of injuries. "

Should I go on?

[SevenStar]

ttt for fg - whatever his name is

[xiong]

I think that the focus needs to be on the difference between outright depression and overtraining.

Of course it is possible to exhibit symptoms of depression without overtraining, it is also possible to exhibit muscle and joint soreness without "overtraining".

This type of overtraining occurs in elite athletes, which I would hazard a guess many on this forum are not, myself included. I train to combat stress, insomnia, colds, etc. and think that it does accomplish this for me.

For me the important part of my training is listening to my body. Am I just sore or have I pulled something that needs to heal? Everyone should pay close attention to their bodies to get the most out of their training. If you only train a couple of hours a week and exhibit these symptoms you may need medical help and anti depressants.

[Apprentice]

i was always told u shouldn't train when your sore, u think depends on what KINDof soreness? comments?

[SevenStar]

I was always told the same. Typically, If I'm sore, I'll train a muscle that's not sore. If I'm sore all over then I won't train that day. I've had days where I thought I would die if I didn't train, not matter how sore I was, so I'd train lightly. I never noticed any adverse effects from that, maybe because I don't do it on a regular basis.