[Effie_drine]

Overtraining is the trainee's number one "enemy" next to training injuries. Overtraining results from an imbalance between the amount of stress applied to your body, and your ability to adapt to it. Overtraining results in losses in size and strength and actually also increases the probability of illness.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms of overtraining:

Decreased muscle size and strength
Longer-than-average recovery time after a workout
Elevated waking pulse rate
Elevated morning blood pressure
Increased joint and muscle aches
Headaches
Hand tremors
Tiredness
Listlessness
Insomnia
Loss or decrease in appetite
Injury
Illness

So what biochemical mechanism leads to this overtrained state?

After the onset of high-intensity training exercise the body pumps out cortisol which breaks down protein into their constituent amino acids and routes them to the liver for conversion to glucose.

The longer the workout, the more cortisol is pumped in and the more protein is destroyed.

This causes a "catabolic state" as the largest supply of protein lies in the muscles so that is where the cortisol goes first.

Research by Costill and Nieman et al., has shown that one hour of intense strength training will increase the protein stores in our immune and skeletal systems, but that any further training will only begin to deplete these stores.

Overtraining can force the body into a weakened physical state, which, at best can produce a cold or the flu and, at worst, can tear muscles ligaments, and tendons once these bodyparts lose their structural integrity protein loss.