Overtrained, What Can I do to Recover?

by Eric

Overtrained, What Can I do to Recover?

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Hello Mark,

I've been reading your site for a few months now and following much of your advice.

A little background info: I'm 24, 6'3", 175lbs (yes very much an ectomorph).

Strong sex drive until two years ago I suddenly started feeling tired, depressed, and just plain out of it...lots of brain fog.

I attributed it to drinking and smoking cigarettes and decided to cut back on both, and started going to the gym last November.

Alas, in my failure to research proper training I was working out heavily 5-6 nights a week, lifting to failure every set, and not eating NEARLY enough calories to compensate.

I soon developed bad insomnia, a warning sign of over training as I have learned. I figured it was just a phase and for the most part have kept up the same lifting routine since then.

I now have many more symptoms of over training syndrome including anxiety, weakness/fatigue, and of course, still no sex drive.

I never connected the dots that my insomnia could be caused by my horrible workout and diet plan.

I completely stopped working out about 2 weeks ago in an effort to rest and recover from the damage I've done and hopefully get rid of my symptoms.

I also completely quit smoking months ago and drinking a few weeks ago.

My question is, aside from the stereotypical "the best way to recover is not over train in the first place" advice that most give, do you have any suggestions what I can do to speed up the recovery process?

What I wouldn't give to be able to sleep 8 hours straight like I did before all this.

Overtrained, What Can I do to Recover?

Hello Eric,

Scroll down toward the bottom of the page below, and read the section under the headline..."Workouts and Testosterone"

Hormonal Issues Circadian Rhythm and Sleep

It sounds to me like you need to reset your clock, get your circadian timer back into rhythm.

You've already handled the overtraining part, so now it's all about sleep, and cortisol production, which are closely linked to light exposure.

In essence, you need too be very strict about when and how you expose yourself to light.

During the day, your goal should be to maximize exposure to the sun.

And when that sun goes down, turn off those artificial incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, and prepare your body for a full nights sleep.

Remember...

It's during those deep nocturnal sleep sessions that your body releases growth hormone into your system.

If you fail to sleep deeply or to tweak light exposure, and cortisol remains high in your system, that growth hormone release is not going to happen.

Why?

Because cortisol is catabolic, while HGH and testosterone are anabolic, and your body can't operate in both realms at the same time.

So if cortisol is high, testosterone and HGH are going to remain low, plain and simple.

To sum up...

Until you get a grip on this problem, you need to be very diligent about artificial light exposure before bed.

So do the following...

-Cut the lights early, and supplement with ZMA before you hit the sack.

-Keep your exercise routines short, intense, and random to maximize HGH release.

-Make it a point to expose your entire body to the sun whenever possible.

Do all this, and you should be back to normal in no time.

Good luck!

Overtrained What Can I do to Recover
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