You’ve probably heard about overtraining and the most common phrase “you need at least one day of rest from training to avoid getting overtrained” but how do you know if you’ve hit the overtrained side of the spectrum? Are you just tired of life or are you actually overtrained? Is everyone around you really annoying or are you the bitchy person because you’re overtrained? Overtraining doesn’t just affect your training, it will affect your hormones and metabolism.

Here’s a few ways that could either give you a hint or a huge red flag right in your face.

Obvious signs you’re overtrained:

→ You can’t keep up the intensity

Haven’t been able to increase weights for some time? Starting to feel exhausted earlier than normally? Weights feeling more heavy? These are all signs that you’re on the overtrained side of the spectrum. Food and oxygen normally fuels your workouts, but your body might be busy still repairing itself from your workout 2 days ago and can’t give you 100%.

→ Feeling tired, lethargic & unmotivated

You might think you’re just tired of work, tired of doing the same thing over and over again and tired of life not treating you right, but chances are you’re tired because you are recovering. You know that feeling you just want to drag your feet behind you, you don’t want to wake up or maybe even as bad as not motivated to train, it’s not just in your head it’s actually your nervous system trying to get a breath.

→ Muscle soreness that lasts for longer

Muscle soreness usually lasts up to 3 days depending on how much you eat, longer if you eat less. It’s completely normal, but if it’s starting to run longer than usual and you feel like you just never recover completely, chances are you’ve hit the overtrained wall and you can’t actually recover completely.

→ Sore throat and feeling sick

You might be thinking you’re just about to get the common flu or that you’ve got yourself the common flu because ‘tis the season, but chances are you’ve overclocked your immune system because it’s busy fighting all that inflammation going in all ver your body. You know that feeling in your throat, a little bit sore an annoying feeling and some tiredness, dreadfulness and lethargy to go with it yeah that’s all a huge red flag.

Few less obvious signs:

→ Insomnia.

Doesn’t have to be that you can’t fall asleep, for me it’s been avoidance of going to bed. I wake up 4.30 for work so I should be in bed and at sleep by 9 to get my hours in, but yet been finding myself pushing the limit telling myself to go a few minutes later that have turned in to an hour later. I think you can figure out the bad cycle here.

→ Bloating, constipation or diarrhoea.

I knew my bloating came from constipation, but I thought my constipation came from food intolerances. I am intolerant to fructose, have always been from young years. I was ignoring it in the past and know I get very bloated and constipated if I ignore it. I shaped my bikini prep meal plan with this in mind, but thought maybe it wasn’t enough. After some deeper though and research figured it came from the stress of being overtrained as I can see a very clear pattern.

→ Loss of appetite.

Normally when I get dedicated to the prep all sorts of cravings disappear and I’m pretty sure that’s how it began and why I haven’t laid any more thought about it. While it’s good not craving all sorts of foods while being in a calorie deficit, it’s nothing to be ignored.

→ Weight loss plateu.

While talking about calorie deficit, weight fluctuates and metabolism is adaptable. Having weight loss plateaus are normal and usually managed with refeeds also called cheat meals, cheat days or even cheat week. Scientifically being in a calorie deficit should always result in weight drop, but can actually be stalled completely if hormones have gone crazy.

→ Easily irritated, negative thoughts, being rude to people around you.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if people are just more annoying than usual or if you are acting more of a bitch. Most likely the problem is within yourself, you’re acting more of a bitch. Your thoughts are negative which projects onto people around you. They’re just a reflection of yourself. How we think is based on how we feel, how we feel is dictated by hormones.

So stop being a little bitch and blame yourself if everyone is treating you badly.