Avoid overtraining

Always let a muscle rest at least one day between workouts. This doesn’t preclude you from lifting weights two days in a row; you could work your chest and back one day and then your legs the next. But if you’re doing a full-body routine, don’t lift weights more than three times a week and don’t cram your three workouts into one weekend.

As unbelievable as it may sound to a beginner, many exercisers become overly enthusiastic after they start getting results and think that if a little is good, even more has to be great. Researchers have dedicated a lot of time to studying this topic and the ACSM even has a comment paper on the subject entitled, “Overtraining with Resistance Exercise.”
Overtraining typically occurs in the following scenarios:

• Training too many times per week
• Doing too many exercises per session
• Lifting excessive numbers of sets
• Lifting too heavy a weight over too long a period of time

Avoid overtraining by following a periodized training program. See the last section of this chapter for more information.
Signs and symptoms of overtraining include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

• Loss of strength
• Chronic fatigue
• Poor sleep or eating habits
• Reduced appetite
• Excess muscle soreness
• Mood changes
• Loss of interest in training
• Increased frequency of illness combined with slow rate of healing Be sure to avoid overtraining through the following strategies:
• Use periodized training.
• Avoid monotonous training that lacks variety. _ Don’t perform every single set of every exercise of every session to absolute failure without variation.
• Avoid overusing certain muscles or joints.
• Balance your weight training with your other sports activities or cardio-training.

Weight training provides so many benefits to your life. While the risk of overtraining isn’t high, it’s important to mention so you can appreciate the importance of variety in your program, of incorporating rest, and of ultimately listening to your body.