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Exercise Toxicity
by Dr. Kareem F. Samhouri
Doctor of Physical Therapy & Kinesiologist
http://www.atozfitness.com/recommends/abstrengthguide.html 

This is an interesting topic...

Some people try too hard when they work out, not realizing they are actually sabotaging their own efforts.  There is a such thing as overtraining, and it doesn’t only lead to injury.  Overtraining can absolutely lead to decreased fat loss, less definition, and greater cardiac risk.  I know that this sounds odd, but bear with me as I explain the 3 principles of overtraining that make exercise toxic when you do too much.  These principles are:

1.    Poor Heart Rate Recovery

2.    Acidic State In The Body

3.    Second Session Syndrome (TM)

Let’s take a closer look at each one of these...

Poor Heart Rate Recovery:

By maintaining your max heart rate over a prolonged period of time, as would happen with anaerobic exercise and too little rest, you will actually be training your heart to respond to exercise in an over-exaggerated way.  Your body will begin to learn that your ‘Fight or Flight’ response is an ‘All or None’ response, and react to exercise accordingly.  I believe this is best illustrated by a story of one of my previous clients:

You see, when I first started personal training I wasn’t convinced that overtraining was a legitimate problem, so long as someone maintained mobility, wasn’t 9 out of 10 sore, etc.  I was accustomed to two-a-days from water polo and swimming for so many years, that I hadn’t given a whole lot of thought to the idea of my client riding horses for 2 hours a day, riding her bike for an hour, and then training with me to the max 4 days a week.  She didn’t get hurt.

In fact, it was nothing like that.  She got into ridiculous shape, and, to this day, I’m so proud of her accomplishment.  Instead, Juliane (my client), began to notice that within the first minute of walking on the treadmill her hear rate would go up to 155 bpm, without a whole lot of exertion.  Naturally, this got me thinking...

You see, heart rate recovery is one of the greatest predictors of cardiac disease.  I hated the thought of my client who was in such incredible shape having an increased risk of cardiac disease.  Over a couple of months, we were able to correct the issue, but her heart rate ‘spike’ was a result of overtraining.  That was the bottom line.

Acidic State In The Body:

According to Eastern medicine, any decrease in the pH of your body (i.e. making it more acidic) will result in increased probability of infection.  Dr. Mike Gorman, a chiropractor and applied Kinesiologist in the Bucks County area, has explained to me that he balances pH in order to cure cancer.  Crazy, I know!

If you constantly tax your body in ways that make it interpret the stress as illness, it will always be trying to recover.  During this entire recovery process, your body will be more stressed, and you will also have a large build up of lactic acid.  Remember, any prolonged increase in acidity may lead to bigger diseases than just injury. 

Don’t worry, I’m not saying that lifting weights causes cancer, or anything like that.  I’m just explaining that a prolonged acidic state in your body makes it difficult to recover.  By allowing the pH to return to normal, you are creating a stronger body, and a body more capable of fighting outside infection.  It just makes sense. 

Second Session Syndrome (TM):

Overtraining can lead to prolonged recovery time, as is explained above.  It’s a fact that you will be unable to perform at the same level every day over the course of a month if you overtrain.  The following are ways that you can overtrain, leading to decreased efforts on all subsequent visits to the gym: 

1.    Frequency - how often do you work out?  Do you rest at least 1 day per week?

2.    Duration - how long do you work out?  Are you dosing exercise correctly if are building up to a higher exercise tolerance?

3.    Intensity - how hard are you working?  Are you taking ample rest periods to recover between exercises, sets, or circuits?

4.    Mode - are you mixing it up a bit?  Do you constantly do the exact same form of exercise?  Do you need help with program design?

Within a few weeks of overtraining, you are sure to suffer from Second Session Syndrome.  This awful ‘disease’ is when you plateau or decrease strength the day after a workout.  This shouldn’t be the case.  If you are working out correctly, you should be able to feel just as strong today as you did yesterday.

Overtraining is dangerous in more ways than one.  Exercise truly can be toxic.  By understanding the 3 principles listed above, you are sure to have a competitive advantage in your six pack abs exercise program. 

If you’d like a free trial of an incredibly effective ab strengthening program that only takes 10 minutes per day, please go to: http://www.atozfitness.com/recommends/abstrengthguide.html

Sincerely,,
Lewis & Sarah
Publisher - AtoZfitness Total Body Makeover