The Bull stops here

It can be difficult to get the right balance when it comes to training. It is a great art to know what your body is capable of, what it really boils down to is common sense and mind over matter.

Mind over matter you may wonder; well, some individuals believe they are capable of lifting only a specific amount of weight or running only a certain distance; if we didn’t have a ‘fear factor’ barrier or tell ourselves you are incapable of progressing any further, we would actually be capable of pushing ourselves and achieving more in the gym. On the flip side it also involves great knowledge to avoid over exerting the body and causing damage.

The signs of training hard usually involve, for the majority of us, a worn out feeling, panting, sweating and a few aches the following day.

If you don’t push yourself enough you will never reach that physical peak or that ultimate physique but if you push yourself too much you may cause injury.

Over training can cause the following symptoms…….

1. Under-performance in competition or training
2. Heavy and/or achy legs
3. Reoccurring illnesses
4. Reoccurring injury
5. Restless sleep or disturbed sleeping patterns
6. Feeling lethargic/exhaustion (may cause lack of concentration)
7. Loss of appetite
8. Anxiety, feeling low, depression, irritability, lack of enthusiasm especially with training

From the list above you may also recognise symptoms that could be caused from other areas in your life for example stress, an emotional event/trauma, lack of eating, the list is endless as to why some of these symptoms may occur.

We are all different, therefore our capabilities of how far we can stretch our body will be individual to our bodies own genetic make-up. Performance gains will continue to grow and your body will change form and tone up as long as you continue to use common sense and not over exert your body to cause damage.

At ShapeNoBull we have some key factors to help you push yourself and not over train:

Recovery Products

1. Keep a diary – this will allow you to know what weights you lifted previously and remind you of what you are capable of.
2. Nutrition is vital – depending what you want to physically achieve there are supplements you can take to help your body recover quicker.
3. If it hurts, stop – if you have an injury do not train on it, rest it a week or two, or see a health practitioner to get it sorted – by leaving an injury untreated you could be causing long term damage.
4. Take a break - Depending when you can fit training into your schedule make sure you take at least a day or two off every week. You need your body to recover.
5. Do not train the same body part every day; leave a gap of at least two days to allow recovery and growth.
6. Listen to your body if you are feeling unwell, or tired do no train – there is a big difference between laziness, lack of motivation and actually being physically tired.

Remember the key is to experiment with your training, but be sensible and listen to your body. Resistance training using the correct technique will lead to massive muscle growth.....

Updated: 22^nd October 2010