Starting out on a low point

[BrownBear]

Hello all who read this,

 

I'm really excited to be able to meet all of you. Every now and then I have delved into the resources of Nerd Fitness and found inspiration in the dense content on self-development and strengthening. I want to be a rebel too. When it comes to training, my favorite exercises are pullups, push-ups, barbell lifts and bench presses. I like to run too, especially in large parks with hills.

 

I am interested in the psychological effects of such activity. In my short life I've gone from the depths of crippling fear and anxiety to pure glory, and wavered in between. I expect to find many other journeymen in this community.

 

I thought that there would be many among you who have dealt with what I am feeling today: a pervasive fatigue from over-training. I felt the need to break my diet regime today and eat fruits and dark chocolate because of how weak everything felt. Usually I would be intermittent fasting during the morning.

 

Has this ever happened to anyone? Did you start to feel better within the day? Or did you keep pushing yourself to perform? How did you rationalize breaking diet/activity plans in order to rest and recover?

 

It was my second day in  a row training on a fast yesterday. I started to become sleepy at the gym after having done two sets of a sprint cycle, bench press, and deadlift circuit. I was very thirsty and hungry too. I've never felt like sleeping at the gym before, and I did feel exhausted, but I kept going and finished the set. After I got home and ate a carb-heavy meal (Sundays are pasta days) I felt my body and mind starting to shut down. It was only halfway through the day but I started to think of going to sleep. I tried to nap but my heart was racing too fast, so I sat on my chair in the dark.

 

The rest of the day I did not do or move much. This morning I awoke after 8 hours of sleep but did not feel very rested. So today I broke my fast early and continued eating carbs willy-nilly.

 

I obviously overtrained, and have to work on managing my energy/regime planning better. But I'd appreciate being able to hear any of your stories of having to recover from overtraining. It sort of bothered me to disrupt my regime today, but I expect to be back at 100% tomorrow. Does this sound unrealistic?

 

Much thanks if you actually read through that.

[shaar]

Short answer - yup.  When your body needs a rest, it'll let you know.  Rest days are integral to muscle growth and overall health and stuff.

 

My advice?  Don't overthink it!  You know you don't always feel fatigued, so when you do, time to chill it out for a day so your body can recover and go strong the next.  IMO fitness is a good balance of exercise and rest, they both work together to improve your body.

 

Welcome and good luck with your fitness goals!

[laodamaren]

Hey!

First of all welcome to NerdFitness, I'm also pretty new around here!
You obviously overtrained, so best to do is rest, but I guess you figured that out yourself. I experienced similar situations before, but I won't elaborate those as they're just not significant. Carb-heavy meals are always very tempting when your body is weak and looking for energy, but if you actually want to restore those muscles you'll need more protein. Try a light carby snack before hitting the gym (like 1h - 30 mins in advance) rather than afterwards, so your body can use the energy while working out. 

Personally, whenever I felt my body almost collapsing, I immediately stopped pushing myself and allowed my body to rest and replenish. For me a hot bath usually does wonders. 

If your body is really that exhausted, I'd give it 2 or 3 days to recover rather than one. You can still go out for a walk or do some light cycling or so, just so you keep moving, but i'd highly recommend NOT lifting any heavy weights for a few days.

 

Hope I could help a little bit, feel free to contact me if nothing I said made any sense

Best of luck!

[laodamaren]

Hey!

First of all welcome to NerdFitness, I'm also pretty new around here!
You obviously overtrained, so best to do is rest, but I guess you figured that out yourself. I experienced similar situations before, but I won't elaborate those as they're just not significant. Carb-heavy meals are always very tempting when your body is weak and looking for energy, but if you actually want to restore those muscles you'll need more protein. Try a light carby snack before hitting the gym (like 1h - 30 mins in advance) rather than afterwards, so your body can use the energy while working out. 

Personally, whenever I felt my body almost collapsing, I immediately stopped pushing myself and allowed my body to rest and replenish. For me a hot bath usually does wonders. 

If your body is really that exhausted, I'd give it 2 or 3 days to recover rather than one. You can still go out for a walk or do some light cycling or so, just so you keep moving, but i'd highly recommend NOT lifting any heavy weights for a few days.

 

Hope I could help a little bit, feel free to contact me if nothing I said made any sense

Best of luck!

[laodamaren]

Oh btw, I did not mean to reply the same thing 2 times 

[BrownBear]

I'm so appreciative of this advice, thank you shaarawy and laodamaren.

[shaar]

You can do it!!!