If you are training hard, it's crucial to listen to the feedback from your body. There are clear warning signs if you are overtraining:
- An increase in resting heart rate of around 10%, or about 5 beats per minute above your normal rate, is a clear indication that you are over trained, sick, or both!
- Reaching training heart rate zone much sooner into a training period than usual
- Increased time for heart rate to recover between intervals
- The inability to make progress in fitness goals
- Extreme fatigue, depression or lack of enthusiasm for training
- Regular injuries or sickness
Rest means many different things. One important component of rest is sleep.
There are numerous benefits associated with getting sufficient sleep. Research has shown that if you get less than eight hours of sleep a night, your alertness, productivity, creativity, and general health are all affected.
In addition, researchers have found that people who sleep less than eight hours per day are more likely to gain weight (fat) than those who get a full night's sleep.
Like your workouts and your diet, rest is something you have to plan for.
