Overtraining

1. It increases cortisol levels and can make you gain weight!

People who are struggling with weight gain are constantly told that they just need to exercise more and cut calories, but in reality this is detrimental to metabolism and can backfire. Compared to shorter, more intense exercise (such as high-intensity interval training or HIIT exercise), doing long hours of steady-state exercise (such as jogging) can actually lower your metabolism and fat-burning potential.

Because of the way exercise affects your hormonal state, fat metabolism can actually decrease due to strenuous and excessive cardiovascular exercise, as it raises cortisol levels, which ultimately decreases insulin sensitivity. (1) Elevated cortisol levels are associated with fat storage, as is insulin resistance, which controls blood sugar levels. (2) The potential for weight loss can also reduce fat burning by convincing your body that it is “starving,” meaning you will unknowingly hold back every precious calorie you consume to ensure survival.

If you living in a calorie deficit because your exercise levels is too high and your food intake is too low (especially if you are worried about it), your body receives a message that it must slow down all of its functioning in order to conserve energy. You can go into a catabolic state that causes your hunger and thirst levels to change - in fact, dehydration and cravings for sugar or salt are associated with overexertion.

Another important factor: Research shows that without even knowing it, most people end up eating more if they exercise frequently to replenish the calories they burn. In this sense, 30 minutes of cardio may be better for weight loss than 60 minutes of cardio! This means that if you're feeling tired and losing your appetite due to an obstruction, then relaxing and eating on a high-calorie, nutrient-rich diet may be just what you need to recover.

2. May lead to adrenal fatigue or "failure".

While moderate exercise undoubtedly has a positive effect on hormonal health, research shows that there is a "point of diminishing returns." Too much exercise without adequate rest can cause chronic stress and is linked to adrenal problems. (3) Severe adrenal fatigue due to overtraining, called overtraining syndrome (OS), can cause adrenal insufficiency, in which the adrenal glands become so depleted that they no longer produce enough "stress hormones", including types of cortisol and adrenaline.

The University of Texas A&M Kinesiology Department describes overtraining syndrome as "chronic fatigue, burnout and aging when there is an imbalance between training / competition and recovery." Result? Constant fatigue, loss of appetite, sleep problems, nutritional deficiencies, and even the need for hormone replacement therapy are a serious type of disease that develops under the name Addison's disease.

3. Causes changes in mood and sleep patterns.

As with adrenal insufficiency and overtraining syndrome, the glands that normally control the production of hormones responsible for maintaining your mood start to malfunction when your body is under extreme stress. Many studies show adrenal dysfunction in overtrained and stressed athletes, sometimes to the extent of insomnia, demotivation, irritability, anxiety, or depression.

 

Experiencing a combination of nervous and endocrine (hormonal) changes can keep you awake at night and lead to insomnia, or wake you up too early in the morning and keep you awake, leaving you weak and preventing you from concentrating for the next day. ...

And because your brain has a hard time producing enough "happiness hormones" to raise the cortisol levels it craves, overexertion is associated with moodiness, fatigue, and even depressive symptoms such as suicide. (4) A 2013 study by the University of Miami Department of Psychiatry found that among four different patient populations, overtraining coincided with increased symptoms of depression and suicidal behavior associated with increased insensitivity to pain.

4. Can Negatively Impact Libido, Menstrual Cycles and Fertility

Too an awful lot exercise can negatively impact manufacturing of sex hormones (like testosterone and estrogen) related to libido, fertility and reproductive health. However, alas millions of ladies and men, especially younger girls, overdo it each day. Termed the “Female Athletic Triad,” this complex situation in females due to overtraining and ingesting too few energy can result in menstrual dysfunction, low energy and decreased bone mineral density. (four)

You don’t poverty to be a professional sportsperson to experience those results — any woman who overtaxes their frame too frequently can expand this circumstance.

Not to say that overtraining doesn’t have risks for men too, however ladies’s our bodies seem like particularly sensitive to high degrees of pressure, exhaustion and operating in a calorie-deficit. When your frame gets the signal that it’s being labored too tough, it reasons your stress hormones to hearth at a higher charge, which could lead to symptoms similar to PMS, such as acne, insomnia, low libido, food cravings like sugar dependancy, and different hormone malfunctions.

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