Burn Out
Knowing when to fold during a workout is important for avoiding overtraining. If you don’t use a heart rate monitor here’s a simple way to know when you’re too fatigued to workout:
- Know your normal resting heart rate.
- If your resting heart rate is above normal before you begin working out and you haven’t consumed copious amounts of caffeine, then you’re probably not recovered from your previous workouts.
If you can’t be bothered with checking your resting heart rate then just go by feel. If you feel like your treading through mud or that you’re normal workout feels forced or much harder than normal, then give yourself a break!
Speaking of caffeine, Dr. Lewis G. Maharam the medical director of the Rock ‘n’ Roll race series, posted this article on Runners World yesterday. More evidence that I should limit my caffeine intake to 200 mg a day.
Thursdays are my long day and I often consume more caffeine that normal. I figured that I consumed around 430 mg, nearly twice the recommended amount. Time to cut back!
If you have a little extra time on your hands today check out this NY Times article related to caffeine and athlete performance.
Do you happen to know how many ounces of coffee 200mg of caffeine is? I think I drink around 10 oz of coffee a day (less on the weekends), but I have no idea how may mg of caffeine that is? I guess I could probably Google it
Have a great weekend!
I hate when I am working out and I feel like I am running on empty…
Being irritable and not seeing results from my workouts are a good sign to me to slow down as well. Rest and sleep are so important to allow your body to recover!
Mmmmmm coffeeeeeeeee
Courtney
adventures in tri-ing
I keep thinking about giving up caffeine but I just don’t want to deal with the withdrawel.
Oh, don’t be mistaken, I’m not giving up caffeine, just cutting back a little.
this is good stuff-i need to figure out my resting heart rate!
I didn’t read the article, but the caffeine debate drives me NUTS. I swear, I read something different everyday. Overall, I like to go by what the American Dietetic Asscoiation suggests (maybe because it’s more??) and that’s 300 mg. I think that’s doable. Plus I have read so many articles about the many benefits of caffeine, so I like to think about that as motivation for “I’m doing the right thing”. I’m actually down to about 350-400 mg myself, still working at it!
Awesome advice. I love your blog by the way, and I’m aiming to move to NYC this summer!
Great post! This is something people need to remember! Burn out happens! And, sometimes people keep pushing through and don’t listen to their body and end up even MORE burnt!!! Good stuff
My body definitely tells me when I need a break. Mostly that comes from my aching knees but sometimes can tell I’m just going through the motions of a workout. As for caffeine, I’m not as much a coffee addict as I am with tea. And thankfully that has less caffeine.
Hey Fit Chick, you gave me some advice a week or so ago about over doing it. Well tonight I had a 10k planned, I got 15 minutes in, had stiff tight and sore calves that weren’t warming up, felt like I was running on the spot, and hated every minute… So I stopped and walked home. It was a mental battle, but I’m trying to learn to listen to my body, and I remembered your advice, so BIG thanks!
Anna- That’s awesome! Thank you for letting me know, that my advice helped. I’m glad to hear that you listened to your body.