There aren’t a lot of pointers that I received starting out on my physical fitness journey that I would classify among the most important workout tips for beginners.
That being said, there are a few and this is definitely one of them.
To better illustrate where I’m going, there is a story from my days, way back, playing rugby that comes to mind.
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Working Out With The Team
We used to train three times a week for our school rugby team. It was usually after classes or early in the morning before the day began.
The regimen was probably similar to what most other schools in our district were doing.
Or so I believed.
We would do some warming up, go for a light jog around the track, run some calisthenic drills and then work on plays and strategy.
To see it described in words, it really doesn’t seem like much. But believe me, it was intense.
During the season, we had one game a week not including tournaments. So that was quite a bit of training and exercise. We were all in pretty good shape.
If you weren’t in good shape at the beginning of the season, you got into shape fast.
One year after a couple of games, we were invited to train with the Canadian junior national team. It wasn’t uncommon for them to invite squads from various school districts around the city.
It was pretty cool. They let us know when and where they were practicing and we were told we could drop by anytime and run through the drills with them.
Taking The Training To Another Level
We went as a team a couple times and it was intense. The workouts were brutal. A couple guys decided to stop joining us after a few visits but a good handful of us kept showing up.
Those of us who stuck with it, decided to incorporate the training drills we learned from the junior team into our school team practices.
And then, we added a couple practices a week of our own, using mostly drills we learned from the national team.
So at this point, we were working out every day after school and sometimes early in the morning before classes.
We became lunatics. Looking back, it was a good thing rugby season wasn’t too long during the school year.
I didn’t think about it much back then because I was just a kid but I was getting wiped out.
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What’s Happening Off The Field
Sitting through class would become more difficult because my attention span was disappearing.
I would zone out and be daydreaming or worse. I’d almost fall asleep in class.
This wasn’t like me. I’d get home and eat like a horse and then want to go to sleep. Homework rarely got done.
I realized late in the season that I would have to take breaks more frequently because of muscle strains or just sheer exhaustion.
It was probably a good thing I never got seriously injured.
Forgot One Of The Most Important Workout Tips For Beginners
This whole time I was so excited about getting better at the sport and being in great shape that I forgot a simple tip we all received at the beginning of the season. It’s one of the most important workout tips for beginners. And everyone else for that matter.
Don’t overtrain.
It’s so basic and yet sooooo important.
I figured I was indestructible back then. There didn’t seem to be anything to be worried about because I was playing well and feeling great.
Until I wasn’t.
What eventually ended up happening is one of the classic drawbacks of overtraining. I didn’t feel like playing come the end of the season.
I was burned out. One of my favorite sports ever and I was looking for excuses not to play.
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Something Unexpected With The Workout
In my humble opinion, one of the worst things you can do to yourself when you’re getting into a fitness routine is overtrain.
You’re probably thinking that there’s no chance of that happening to you because you don’t even want to exercise that much to begin with.
But believe me it creeps up on you.
You start exercising and feeling good. And then you figure you should start pushing yourself because your original workout is too easy now.
So you give yourself a little more of a challenge. Run a little longer, throw on some additional weight, tack on more sets.
The next thing you know, you’ve become a fitness animal.
By the way, there’s nothing wrong with that. Gradually increasing your workout and challenging yourself is all part of the process.
But there’s a key word in there.
Gradual.
Don’t be in a hurry. Your development and gains will come to you soon enough.
What Happens When You Overtrain
If you do too much or go too fast it will catch up with you. At first it may just seem emotional. You don’t feel like working out one day. Your finding excuses to cut things short.
You may just stop liking it and quit all together.
Those may just be symptoms of the fact you’re overtraining.
There are lots of signals your body will give you to slow down or take a break.
It may be that your muscles are getting sore more frequently and don’t seem to be healing. The soreness isn’t going away.
You may find that you become more susceptible to headaches or catching colds. Maybe you’re getting more irritable and uptight. More than usual that is.
Perhaps you’re getting impatient and losing your attention span like I did when I was going to school.
Or worse, you’re getting injured way too often during your workouts.
As I’m sure you can imagine getting injured as a result of overtraining is one of the worst things you can do to yourself.
It can set you back for weeks maybe even months. You’ll have to take time to recover and lose out on all the hard fought gains you’ve achieved.
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How To Correct Or Prevent Overtraining
If you feel like you’ve been overtraining the best thing you can do is take a rest.
Give your body a chance to recuperate. Some workouts are going to be more intense than others. It could be you’ve pushed yourself harder than usual and just need a little more time to come back from it.
Allow yourself room to develop and don’t be in too much of a hurry. If you feel like you’ve surpassed your current workout, start giving yourself a bit more of a challenge.
But only increase your workout by about 5%. Your body will need time to adjust and recover.
It’s during the recovery time that your body is doing most of its developing so be sure to give it a chance.
A great way to manage your workouts as you increase the load is to switch them up. Don’t hit the same muscle groups multiple days in a row. Maybe do resistance training one day with more of a cardio focus the next.
If you’ve really stepped up your training, don’t be afraid to give yourself a slightly longer rest to recover.
Here’s where you can learn more about the Overtraining Syndrome.
The Wrap Up
Also consider changing up your workouts so you’re not doing the exact same thing all the time. This will help keep you motivated and prevent burnout.
Remember you shouldn’t be completely wiped out after a workout. You should feel like you could actually do more if you wanted to.
If you can figure out multiple ways to work your body to achieve gains and stay focused, you’ll be more inclined to stick with it.
In my experience, you definitely don’t want it to get boring.
Also important when it comes to avoiding overtraining is making sure you’re eating right and getting plenty of sleep. This is critical when it comes to your body recovering and developing the way you want.
Keep these things in mind and you’re more likely to stay on track and avoid the pitfalls of overtraining.
Brian, this is SOLID!
Its unreal how many people don’t think to take a rest day because they believe that the pain they’re feeling is good. But intuitive training is so much more efficient for creating longevity with any strength training or athletic training program.
love this.
Thanks so much Anthony! This is a lesson I learned the hard way when I was younger. So glad you enjoyed it.