If youve never heard of biofeedback, these are the most important cues to look for in someone who is training hard. Do you have or have you ever had these symptoms described in this Q & A? I routinely talk to individuals who train hard and cant sleep well at night, your body is a cortisol factory, at minimum your overreaching with your training, 100% of us our probably stressed out at life. You need complete rest days! By Paul Burke Q: How often should I rest between workouts? A: That’s a very important question. Most people, especially those I know who are over 40, usually overtrain. First and foremost, anyone over 40 who is truly natural and trains hard should be working each bodypart no more than once every eight to nine days. In other words, you should have, at minimum, a day off between weight-training workouts—often two days off. When you train with weights, you override the autonomic nervous system. For instance, when lifting moderately heavy weights, you force your breathing to accommodate the strain your body is going through. Holding your breath for a couple of reps during a heavy set is not a normal way to breathe; thus, there’s a conscious override of the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is also involved, in the form of the “fight or flight” response, which leads to the secretion of cortisol from the adrenal glands. Excess cortisol can really mess with other hormonal systems, including the steady flow of DHEA and the rhythmic clock that cortisol functions under when the body is healthy. For example, it can disrupt the pituitary output that orders the pineal gland to put out a certain amount of melatonin for about eight to 10 hours of sleep. Your cortisol may be out of whack if you feel tired at odd times during the day and yet wired at night. Upon waking, check to see if you have slight tremors in your hands, with each in a flexed-back prone position (palms facing the floor, with your wrists flexed to bring them up as far as possible). Any tremor in that position means that your nervous system has not recovered fully. Also, if your mouth becomes extremely dry during weight training, you may be producing too much cortisol, which not only hammers blood sugar down but can also change the way carbohydrates are used during exercise. Another reason to give yourself at least one day off is to ensure that all soreness has dissipated. I believe that if you have muscle soreness anywhere, you shouldn’t work out with weights that day because your body is still in the growth mode. (You’re either going forward or backward—the body never stands still, but it can’t grow and be stimulated at the same time.) My advice is to train very hard when you’re in the gym, and when you have it to give, go all out. Rest at least one day, if not two (if you’re sore), before you start to train with weights again. You’ll be amazed at how fast you’ll grow when you get more rest coupled with more intensity. You’ll have increasingly more strength and energy. Editor’s note: Paul Burke has a master’s degree in Integrated Studies from Cambridge College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He’s been a champion bodybuilder and arm wrestler, and he’s considered the leader in the field of fitness training.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 13:53:49 +0000
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