Overtraining?

Marla

Marla

Member
Hi Cathe and workout buddies:

I do the IMax once a week. I use a heartrate monitor. My heart rate can go up between 180-185. I noticed though that sometimes I cannot get it past 170. I am 40 years old and workout 6 days a week. Cardio 6x's and weights 2x's. I also walk 3 days/4 miles (15 minutes/mile) in the afternoons. AND, I have a 4 year old who demands alot of fun time. My question is...Do you think I am overtraining when I can't reach my potential on those days?

I feel great thanks to all your help.

Sincerely,
Marla :)
 
At your age or 40 your heart rate should really not exceed 145 bpm. At 180 bpm you are excercising at anaerobically and are burning muscle, not fat. I do think maybe you should slow it down a bit. It would be interesting to see what other people have to say, but IMHO I think you might be overtraining. Do you feel tired, depressed? What is your resting heart rate? Again, I am not an expert, but base my opinions on articles that I have read in the past.
 
At your age of 40 your heart rate should really not exceed 145 bpm. At 180 bpm you are excercising anaerobically and are burning muscle, not fat. Maybe you should slow it down a bit. It would be interesting to see what other people have to say, but IMHO I think you might be overtraining. Do you feel tired, depressed? What is your resting heart rate? Again, I am not an expert, but base my opinions on articles that I have read in the past.
 
Oop! sorry about the double post. I tried to edit my first post, but couldn't for some reason.
 
Just a note about the heart rate formulas--220 minus your age multiplied by a percentage to find target. Experts have come to find that these apply to only about sixty percent of the population. They are by no means gospel. I do think that 180 to 185 may be a little high but then again how are you feeling at that heart rate? Are you feeling challenged in a good way or are you dying? I am a trainer and do recommend heart rate monitors but advocate using them with perceived exertion. That means you monitor how you feel with a workout--too easy, too hard, just right. When you feel you're being challenged at just the right level, then you note the heart rate. This is the beats per minute you should probably train at. Following a general formula is not the way to go. It may not apply to you at all.

Now are you saying that in other workouts besides interval max you are unable to reach a heart rate greater than 170? Or are you saying that sometimes doing interval max your heart rate can't get above 170? If there are days that you are not training at the same intensity with interval max it might be a sign of overtraining.

What is your cardio beside IMax and walking? If I were you I might work our five days a week and increase the intensity. Two workouts should be intense, two moderate intensity, and one low to moderate depending on how you feel. I need more info though before I can make any other suggestions. I especially want to know if you are walking for an hour the same day you do a cardio session. Please let me know amd I can give you some more imput if you're interested.

Best wishes, Cyndie
 
I beg to differ!

I'm don't know where the 145 bmp limit came from. For this 43 year old, 145 is approximately 75% of max. That's cruising not pushing. Cruising has it's place but so does some heart thumping exercise if you're fit.

The formulas, 220-age & Karvonen, are just approximations of target zones. A threshold test is the only accurate way to determine thresholds & remember that they vary between activities.

The idea between interval training is to push into an anaerobic state. If you can sustain it, you're not anaerobic. This is great training for a fit person (once or twice/week).

Cyndie recently posted a wonderful explanation of why training in the fat burning zone shouldn't be the target. Total calories burned is what matters not the source of energy during exercise. But again, we're assuming we fall into the charts. Most of the testing has been performed on males. There's evidence that females are more efficient at using fat for fuel during exercise. We can also train our bodies to be more efficient fat burning machines with endurance training.

So use the charts & formulas as a guideline but more importantly know your body.

Debra
 
Any other signs?

You wrote that you feel great. Typical signs of overtraining are lethargy, poor sleep, upset stomach, slow recovery (time to normal heart rate after exercise) & elevated resting heart rate. As far as the inability to reach the same max, that is affected by so many things - solid sleep, what you ate the day before, hydration, heat, humidity, & the 4 year old ;-) that you shouldn't be concerned unless you have other signs of overtraining.

I'd love to hear more from Cyndie on the benefits of mixing intensity during the workout week. I'm also seeing a lot of training programs that increase intensity over 2-3 weeks, then have an easy (not a rest) week.

Debra
 
RE: Any other signs?

Hi Debra. I think changing the intensity of workouts is so important. I worked in one health club for two years as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer. People taking aerobics were not happy unless you practically killed them. I couldn't get them to understand that not every wrokout has to be that way. I am convinced that a real underlying problem for advanced exercisers is a case of exercise bulimia. It can be mild to severe but I believe that many use exercise as a means to eat. Now I myself am not super restrictive with my diet and rely heavily on exercise to maintain a petite size. I am talking about the person who eats pizza for dinner on Monday and then kills themselves on Tuesday trying to burn it off. Doing this every now and then is reasonable. It can get excessive though. I think that doing it consistently over time makes a person feel that a workout isn't worthwhile unless it is very very challenging. That isn't true, especially as we age. I have come to find that I enjoy exercise more when I don't think in terms of calorie expenditure but rather what's fun. Hard workouts are still fun too. I go for two really tough workouts a week that are long in duration as well as intense cardiovascularly. Then I choose two more moderate workouts that will give me a good workout but have a very high "fun factor." Then I choose one workout that is again still good but requires less motivation to do. Now these are very relative terms. For example, Power Max to one person would be very tough and to another more moderate. And don't confuse moderate with easy. Moderate to me means heart pumping and sweating but exhilirating. Tough means very winded and working on the anaerobic threshold to some degree like Interval Max. Changing intensity will increase fitness level, facilitate full recovery for the body, and ensure that you're not over doing it or taking it too easy. I think it's also mentally more motivating knowing that not every workout has to be boot camp.

Another common error I see with people is that they pack in a lot of low to moderate intensity exercise. The exercise is not intense enough to deliver some good results so they keep doing more and more. This keeps their body from fully recovering from their workouts and tends to slow their progress. This is another reason to change around intensity. They need to lessen their frequency and make some of those workouts tougher. It sounded like this was what Maria was doing but I needed more information to say for sure.

You can do this concept as you said on a week by week basis too as you stated. Everyone is a little different in their response to exercise. I always tell my clients it's a little bit of trial and error to find what works best for you. Good luck and best wishes, Cyndie
 
RE: Any other signs?

Hi Cyndie,

I really like the way you worded this reply. :) There are so many different concepts for exercising out there but the way you put it reminded me to put exercising in perspective.

It was a reminder that I needed.

Please continue to provide your sound advise. I don't know about others but I've appreciated many of your commments. :-cool

I'm strivN2Bfit , Paulette
 
RE: Any other signs?

I also appreciate your comments. When working with IMax I can go up to 180 but I'll work out with IMax the following week and only get up to 170 max. I do walk for an hour - more of a mental release - being outside 3 times a week. But I do believe my intensity varies each day. IMax is done only once a week. I alternate Cathe's step tapes for other cardio days and I lift weights two times a week. I sleep well some nights, and I keep a healthy diet and drink 10-12 servings of water a day. I also take a multivitamin, extra C and E. Do you think that maybe the additional walking is effecting my training? I just want to keep at a healthy weight. Let me also add that I do feel great when I hit the 180....

Thanks so much

Marla :)
 
RE: Any other signs?

I also appreciate your comments. When working with IMax I can go up to 180 but I'll work out with IMax the following week and only get up to 170 max. I do walk for an hour - more of a mental release - being outside 3 times a week. But I do believe my intensity varies each day. IMax is done only once a week. I alternate Cathe's step tapes for other cardio days and I lift weights two times a week. I sleep well some nights, and I keep a healthy diet and drink 10-12 servings of water a day. I also take a multivitamin, extra C and E. Do you think that maybe the additional walking is effecting my training? I just want to keep at a healthy weight. Let me also add that I do feel great when I hit the 180....

Thanks so much

Marla :)
 
RE: Any other signs?

It doesn't sound like you are overtraining. Debra was right on when she said a lot of factors come into play on any given day that will affect our potential. Some days we are superwomen and well some days we just aren't. workouts certainly reflect this. The key is consistency. Just do what you can do each and every day, keeping ih mind that days off are important too. You are the best person to judge what's going on in your body. If you feel great keep doing what works for you. If you really like your walks and you don't feel overly fatigued before or afterwards then they are probably working for you too. My hat goes off to you. I don't think I could maintain six days a week with walks on top of it. It sounds like you're a superwoman every day of the week!

Best wishes, Cyndie
 
RE: Any other signs?

Thanks Cyndie! I just love moving. If I don't I get down. I don't think it's because of guilt so much but more of feeling alive. Thanks so much for your expertise. Best wishes to you too!

Marla
 
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