Can You Do Too Much Weight Training?

Weight training is one of the most popular forms of exercise used by the general population to lose weight and get fit. The popularity of programs such as CrossFit, fitness boot camps, and strength and conditioning classes has opened the door for many people to add weight lifting to their typical workout routine. This is great news because the benefits of building muscle mass and improving overall strength are many, particularly for women.

The benefits of strength training include:

• Increased muscle size, strength, power, and endurance
• Decreased body fat
• Increased bone density
• Increased HDL cholesterol
• Better glucose management
• Better blood pressure control
• Improved self-esteem and confidence

The key exercise principles for building strength with weight training are fairly simple: choose an exercise, decide how much weight you will lift, how many times you'll lift it, and how often you'll do that exercise. 

However, it gets a bit more complicated when you consider the endless number of ways you can modify that formula.

If you want to get stronger you'll need to challenge yourself and work to overload the muscles. But with that overload, you need to build in some rest time so the muscles can rebuild and adapt to the stress. If you frequently overload your muscles but don't allow sufficient rest, you're putting yourself at risk for injury.

When it comes to weight training workouts, the key to improvement is in finding that ideal combination of training volume and intensity. Too much, or not enough, of either volume or intensity can hinder your improvement.

Overtraining with weights generally shows up if either workout frequency or training intensity is at a high level for too long.

Therefore, if you are working out frequently, you need to keep your intensity a bit lower. If you train less frequently, you can up your intensity. You run into trouble when you start thinking that more is always better. It's not.

When you overdo strength training workouts because of increased or excessive volume—you work out too often with minimal rest days—the first warning signs are symptoms very similar to those of the classic overtraining syndrome endurance athletes experience—a washed-out feeling and general fatigue.

The other type of overtraining with weights occurs when you train at too high of an intensity with too much weight, too often. Basically, this means you're lifting your maximum weight all the time. This type of overtraining generally results in decreased performance and can set an athlete up for joint injuries.

No matter what type of overtraining you are doing, the warning signs are clear. The chief warning signs of overtraining are that your performance is declining and your workouts are becoming less fun. Other common signs of overtraining include:

• Decreases strength, power, and endurance
• Decreased coordination
• Increased resting heart rate (HR), or blood pressure
• Increase malaise and fatigue
• Trouble sleeping 
• Irritability, depression, apathy
• Increased muscle soreness, joint aches, and pains 
• Poor self-esteem 
• Frequent colds and flus
• Slow healing

If recognized early, it's fairly easy to prevent and correct the overtraining symptoms. Obviously, rest is the first action to take, but it's often the most challenging for a committed athlete. If you recognize any of the above indicators that you are overdoing your workouts, take a few days off and do something less intense.

Here are some basics for preventing overtraining:

• Add extra recovery days to each week
• Vary your workouts to avoid overloading the same muscle in the same ways each week 
• Go for a walk or do a day of stretching
• Avoid having both high training volume (frequency) and high intensity 
• Don't always work a muscle to failure 
• Follow a periodization workout program

Ultimately, to prevent overtraining, you should work out with a coach or trainer who can oversee your program and keep you following a progressive, periodized program that builds in variation that includes both phases of high-intensity training followed by phases of reduced workloads and increased recovery time.