Fitness
Gotta Run: Is it possible to exercise too much? – Salisbury Post

Gotta Run: Is it potential to train an excessive amount of?
Revealed 12:00 am Saturday, October 15, 2022
Most common exercisers have heard feedback from much less enthused people that our knees gained’t make it or that we’re going to put on out our our bodies in some trend. Often the individuals who say this don’t get a lot train however is there some reality to what they are saying? Can we do an excessive amount of train?
I ran 42 miles on the ultimate day of working throughout North Carolina and pedaled back-to-back century rides (over 100 miles) on my bike journeys a number of occasions. These distances pale when the actual athletes who practice for distinctive distances run over 100 miles and bike over 250 miles a day in competitors. One of these competitors requires simulating the trouble for a lot of hours in coaching.
Everyone knows that train is nice for our well being and health, and it’s tempting to imagine that extra is routinely higher. However as with so many different good issues in life, there comes a degree of diminishing returns, and it’s potential to overdo it.
Precisely what constitutes an excessive amount of bodily exercise will depend on our particular person skills and targets. It’s typically accepted that 2.5 to three hours per week of average train will get you the advantages that I speak about every week, reminiscent of cardiovascular well being, much less likelihood of diabetes and different well being dangers, together with psychological readability, focus and a way of well-being. Going previous that quantity is for objective and efficiency and the method will get extra difficult.
“If you’re exercising for efficiency — whether or not it’s to get stronger within the health club, run a marathon or enhance your tennis recreation — it’s potential to emphasize your physique past what it could actually bounce again from,” stated Kristen Dieffenbach, an train scientist and director of the Middle for Utilized Teaching and Sport Sciences at West Virginia College. She says the aim of coaching is to induce a so-called coaching response. We work out, and our physique responds by getting fitter, stronger and quicker. These enhancements don’t occur through the exercise itself however happen through the restoration interval. That’s when your physique repairs the harm introduced on by arduous train, like micro tears in your muscle fibers, and makes variations, like growing the energy-producing mitochondria in your cells.
“So long as your physique is ready to sustain with this restore work, your exercises will proceed to help your efficiency,” Dr. Dieffenbach stated. However when the stress out of your exercises builds up past your capability to recuperate, you will have entered the zone of an excessive amount of, identified within the endurance world as overtraining.
“What makes issues difficult is that the road between coaching arduous and overtraining is fuzzy. There’s no components or quantity that may inform you what’s an excessive amount of,” Dr. Dieffenbach stated. As an alternative, what issues is how your physique responds to the train you’re doing. Dr. Dieffenbach urged pondering of train and the bodily and emotional sources it requires as calling upon cash in a financial institution. You’ve solely a lot in your price range, and if you happen to attempt to overspend, you’re going to finish up worn down or injured.
Throughout my aggressive years, I generally had a lingering tiredness, and all exercises turned arduous for days or perhaps a week at a time. Together with that got here bother sleeping, the next resting pulse price and a lingering chilly. The physique is miraculous but when train must be pressured and doesn’t enrich your life, then as arduous as it’s to confess, it could be time for a break. Experiment with decrease depth exercises, a couple of days off and cross coaching. Some further sleep and time away from the coaching watch each might assist.
Our native Halloween double is simply forward on Oct. 29 and 30 with the St. Matthews and Spooky Dash 5Ks. Search for these and a busy November schedule as effectively at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.