Psychology behind overtraining

Psychology behind overtraining

 

          Overtraining is the over-exertion of the human body through physical activity due to insufficient recovery. In laymen term, this is the result of doing too many reps in too little time.

 

          Most people believe that overtraining can occur after training in the gym for longer than an arbitrary time such as 2 hours or 3 hours. This is a myth. One of the reasons this is a myth is because everybody’s body is unique. People believe this because they believe other generic fitness advice. In reality, the best generic fitness advice is to account for your own individual uniqueness and learn what works for your body.

 

          Most people that believe in overtraining don’t buy into their own willingness to push their physique. If you are not willing to push your physique, you will not reach your fitness goals. High risk means high reward and too many people play it safe in the gym.

 

          Everyone’s body have a maximum physical amount of exertion in a given time period, but most people do not come close to reaching it.

 

          Why aren’t people coming close to overtraining? People aren’t coming close to their overtraining limit because their emotional buffer zone is huge. In today’s society, people face a very small amount of emotional pressure (in relation to the maximum amount of pressure people can actually endure). For example, people “feel” that they must eat daily. In reality, the human body can survive without food longer than a week. We “feel” that we can’t survive without food longer than a 24 hour period because we choose to feel that way.

 

          Similarly, people choose to feel that an arbitrary time period in the gym is sufficient. Most people go to the gym with two things in mind: time or reps.

 

          A lot of people go to the gym and constantly watch the clock while they are in the gym. They tell themselves that after a certain time, they will leave the gym or start doing a different exercise. These types of people are very likely to believe in overtraining. As a result, the clock control these people.

 

          Other people go to the gym planning to execute a specific amount of reps and won’t leave until they are done. Typically, these types of people care less about their time in the gym and more about the number of reps they do with specific weights. These people can also believe in the overtraining myth. As a result, they may limit themselves to the adequate amount of reps necessary for them to achieve their fitness goals.

 

          What’s the best mindset to have? Because both time and reps are two unavoidable thoughts in the gym (and in life), it is best to think about both simultaneously. It is best to think about the number of reps you can execute within a given time period (given that you understand that you are not bound by the duration of the time period). In conclusion, if you think that way, you are more likely to achieve your fitness goals.