Why Do I Feel So Wired? The Not So Good Feeling of Overtraining

I found myself lying in bed on Friday night, feeling wired, restless, and my arm and leg muscles felt like taut rubber bands. I couldn't fall asleep, despite being utterly exhausted. All in a two week time span, I experienced more changes that some people go through in two decades. An out of state move, several hotel stays, a road trip (with a toddler in my truck, my husband in his truck), a new town, a new house, a new preschool, a new job, a new gym, and a husband leaving for work.

However, despite all of this, I was able to get into the gym. It felt good. I took advantage of feeling good and hit it pretty hard. I even worked on getting my 3 mile run back. Pull-ups? Check. Chin-ups? Check. Dips? Oh yeah. To put the cherry on top, two out of my three days in my new position, I had the chance to participate in "PT" (physical training). This was also the shove I needed to feel the start of overtraining.

Anyone can overtrain. It is a balance between rest and recovery that sometimes we forget to strike. It is a feeling that is easily mistaken and confused with symptoms of other things (i.e., major life changes that cause stress). I always know it though because it results in the same feeling....like someone has pulled my muscles tight, loosened them and pulled them tight...repeatedly. Paired with the inability to sleep, restlessness, and a wired, electrified feeling. These are my triggers for overtraining. Motrin saved the remainder of the night for me, and the rest of my weekend involved a lack of physical activity.

Overtraining can sneak up on you and show up as signs of depression, fatigue, injury, and some of the others things I mentioned above. You might also find yourself losing interest in your sport/activity/workout or see a decline in your fitness gains. Or on the flip side, you might have an extreme compulsion to exercise. Overtraining is not always easy to spot, but perhaps the best thing you can do is be aware of its potential, its symptoms and most importantly, listen to your body.

First post from sunny Florida! Stay tuned for more!

Anna Marie