Overtraining Part 3: The Systems of the Body

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In this post I will give brief explanations on how and why the various systems of the body can become overtrained.

Part 1     Part 2

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Overtraining The Endocrine System

In Overtraining Part 2: Understanding Overtraining, I discussed the different forms of stress and the systems of the body it affects.

I also stated “essentially all stress is handled the same way by the body”. What this means specifically, is that the body reacts with the same “fight or flight” response to nearly all stressors.
So… when the body receives a stress, regardless of form, in most cases it will produce the hormone cortisol. Cortisol itself is not inherently bad. Without it we would not be able to handle the craziness of an average day in the modern world. However, like nearly everything that can benefit us, too much of it starts causing problems.  With all of the unnatural stressors we face every day, intense exercise could prove too difficult to recover from.

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Overtraining The Nervous System

Performing high neurologically demanding exercises and workouts (i.e. anything done with near-maximal speed or using near-maximal load) is generally going to tax the nervous system more than a similar workout using less speed or less load.  Performing too many exercises of high neurological demand in a workout, or not allowing the nervous system to fully recover between workouts high intensity workouts, is likely to result in overtraining of the nervous system. To get a better understanding of the nervous system, check out The Parasympathetic Secret by clicking HERE.

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Overtraining The Skeletal System

Perhaps a typical weekly training split..

Monday: Chest, Triceps.
Tuesday: Back, Biceps.
Wednesday: Legs.
Thursday: Shoulders.
Friday: Arms.

If this resembles anything similar to your weekly training split, consider what this break up would look like from a joints and skeletal system perspective.

Monday: Shoulders.
Tuesday: Shoulders.
Wednesday: Legs.
Thursday: Shoulders.
Friday: Shoulders (perhaps a lighter shoulder day, though).

If you are having shoulder pain when you lift, it could have absolutely nothing to do with your ratio of pushing to pulling exercises or weak rotator cuff muscles, and everything to do with the fact that you beat up your shoulder joints in literally 80% of your workouts.

Also, consider the example of jogging 5 days a week where the exact same stressor is placed on the joints thousands upon thousands of times of times in a row.

Continuous and repetitive stress on the skeletal system is ideal for creating over-use injuries down the road.

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Overtraining The Muscular System

Blasting a particular muscle group once per week in an attempt to create muscular damage and soreness can often lead to overtraining of the muscular system if appropriate rest/recovery methods are not taken. Check out Are You Sore? by clicking HERE. Also, if the 30 minute and 2 hour post-workout windows of increased nutrient uptake are not taken advantage of, recovery can be severely compromised and even a “lighter” workout can lead to overtraining the muscular system.

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Overtraining The Digestive System

Eating foods not in alignment with your metabolic type, eating non-whole foods, eating the same foods every single day, and/or eating foods you have sensitivities/allergies to, you can overwork and damage your digestive system, leading to a variety of different problems that can show up anywhere in the body.


The Interconnected Systems

As I wrote in my book review for The Source on Paul Chek’s, “How To Eat, Move, and Be Healthy”, every system of the body is interconnected and dependent upon the others. By overtraining one system, you are putting additional stress on all of the other systems. Appropriately training the body as a whole unit, with all of its systems taken into consideration, will prevent overtraining of a specific system, and thereby preventing a “weak link” in the human chain.

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Overtraining Part 2: Understanding Overtraining

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In Overtraining Part 1: The Intended Adaptation & Intro to Overtraining, I discussed the concept of aligning your goals with the adaptations you are training for, as well as some of the signs and symptoms of overtraining. In this section, I will dive deeper into the idea of overtraining, including stress and the systems of the body it affects.

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Today’s world has far more stressors than that of our biological ancestors, the Paleolithic homosapien. In other words, the average caveman’s life was nowhere near as stressful as a typical American’s. To better understand what I mean, take a look at the list below:

Types of Negative Stress

1. Physical Stress - too much exercise, extended periods of sitting, improper footwear
2. Chemical Stress - tap water, plastic containers, glues and materials in houses/cars, non-organic foods
3. Electromagnetic Stress - over-exposure to sunlight, electronic devices
4. Mental Stress - negative thoughts, problems/deadlines at work, trying to remember too much
5. Nutritional Stress - eating foods that you have allergies or sensitivities to or eating in ways that does not fit your metabolic type
6. Thermal Stress - being in extreme heat or extreme cold for extended periods
7. Emotional Stress - problems with relationships, worrying about decisions

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Incredibly, all types of stress affect the body the same way. What this means is: the more stressors you have in your life, the less physical exercise you will be able to recover from. If you have a significant amount of stress, in any of these possible forms, it will take less physical stress (i.e. exercise) for you to overtrain than if you did not have as much stress in other areas of your life. By reducing the amount of stressors in other areas of your life, you will be able to recover from more intense training and, therefore, achieve better results (once again, given your intended adaptations are actually what you are training for).

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As stated in Part 1, “Overtraining is essentially training beyond one’s means to recover”. When there is too much stress placed on the body, systems begin to break down.

These systems include:

1. Cardiovascular system
2. Skeletal system
3. Muscular system
4. Neurological system
5. Endocrine system
6. Digestive system
7. Immune system
8. Lymphatic system
9. Respiratory system

Generally, the one that will break down is the weakest link in the chain. If you pay attention, you will often notice when it is signaling there is too much stress in your life. For me personally, I generally get headaches and occasionally lower back pain when I have too much stress. Think about which system seems to give you problems when you are stressed out.

In Overtraining Part 3: Physical Stress, I will take a look at what specifically physical stress does to the body to cause overtraining. Be sure to check it out!

Tony Cates is a busi­ness man­age­ment major at Edge­wood Col­lege in Madi­son, WI.  He is a cer­ti­fied per­sonal trainer, per­for­mance enhance­ment spe­cial­ist, and the S&C Coach for Edge­wood Col­lege Men’s Bas­ket­ball.  He can be reached at catestony@gmail.com or (608) 852-7433.

This arti­cle may be repro­duced with bio­graph­i­cal infor­ma­tion intact.

Overtraining Part 1: The Intended Adaptation & Intro to Overtraining

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This series of blog posts will address the concepts of overtraining.

What exactly is a “great workout”?  It could mean something very different for everyone. Whether you are looking for sweat and a feeling of fatigue, getting a great pump, or just feeling more alive than when you started, everyone has a different idea of what they are looking for in a workout.

The individual’s goals and perceived adaptations from the workout will likely play a large part in their satisfaction with the workout as a whole. However, will the anticipated adaptation of the exercises always be the resulting adaptation? In other words, are the results you think you will get (burn fat, tone and sculpt, build muscle, increase energy, prevent injury) the same as the results you will actually get?

Note: The manipulation of training variables in order to achieve a specific desired adaption will be discussed in a later post. At this moment, I am addressing the issue of overtraining.

Will a “great workout” always lead to great results? Simply put, no.

1)   Not everyone has the same idea of what makes a “great workout”.

2)   A “great workout” may not provide the appropriate stimulus for your desired results.

Understanding the specific adaptation caused by the manipulation of training variables will allow you to align your anticipated adaptation with the results you are striving to achieve. In other words, if you know what the exercise is doing to your body you can make sure that is what you want to have happen. If you feel like you are having great workouts but are not getting the results you want check to make sure you are providing the correct stimulus. If your first reaction is that you need to start working harder, well… read on.

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Will working harder always lead to better results? Once again, no.

1)   Working harder could put you beyond your ability to recovery from the workout.

2)   The stimulus may not be what is needed to create the desired adaptation.

Overtraining is essentially training beyond one’s mean to recovery. If this is continued for a long enough period of time, progress will stop and you will likely start taking steps backwards!

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How to recognize overtraining:

1)   Increase in resting heart rate

2)   Lower motivation and energy than normal

3)   Decreased performance

4)   Feeling “out of it”

5)   Trouble sleeping

6)   Soreness lasting for days

7)   Loss of appetite

8)   Decrease in body temperature / metabolism

Hard work will not get you the results you are looking for if you are doing the wrong work. If you are unsure how to manipulate training variables to achieve your desired adaptation be sure to ask for help, research on your own, or check back for my future post on this topic. Start doing the work that is appropriate for your body and goals and start seeing results like never before.

Watch for Overtraining Part 2: Understanding Overtraining, Coming Soon!

Remember: Exercise creates an environment for change in the body; nutrition and lifestyle allow that change to take place. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet, and you cannot out-eat a bad lifestyle.

Tony Cates is a business management major at Edgewood College in Madison, WI.  He is a certified personal trainer, performance enhancement specialist, and the S&C Coach for Edgewood College Men’s Basketball.  He can be reached at catestony@gmail.com or (608) 852-7433.

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