How can you tell if you're overtrained?
What's the best type of exercise for older adults?
What is periodization of training?
What is a pre-competition taper?
Is running better than walking for burning calories?
How important is rest in the training program?

How can you tell if you're overtrained?

Are you sick and tired of waking up sick and tired? You may be overtrained. The consequences of overtraining include decreased performance, injury, depressed immunity, and psychological depression. There is no single marker of overtraining, but signs include decreased performance, low energy level, perception of fatigue, and inability to improve from training. Other more precise measures, such as hormone, fuel, and enzyme concentrations, often provide valuable information. Unfortunately, the usefulness of these measures is compromised because of our lack of knowledge of the physiology of overtraining. Exercisers must carefully balance training intensity and volume with adequate rest using simple measures, such as experience, daily body weight, perception of effort and feelings of well-being, frequency of illness, and improvement in performance. If you feel tired and have stopped making fitness improvements despite regular workouts, consider incorporating more rest into your program.

Source: Sports Med. 34: 967-981, 2004.

What's the best type of exercise for older adults?

Muscle mass loss—called sarcopenia—in older adults decreases their quality of life and increases their risk of injury, bone loss, and loss of independence. It is a serious health issue that drives up health care costs for all of us. Muscle loss is not inevitable as we age. At least six studies have shown that weight training in older adults prevents muscle loss, makes it easier to perform daily tasks, increases muscle protein synthesis, enhances energy expenditure and body composition, and builds strength. Aerobics and flexibility exercises are also beneficial.

Source: Sports Medicine 34: 329-348, 2004.

What is periodization of training?

The body always seeks balance. Introduce a stress, such as a heavy set of curls, and you disturb the balance. The arm muscles adapt to lessen the stress provided by the curls by increasing in size and strength. Training introduces a series of stresses. As the body adjusts, however, gains become more difficult with time. In the 1960s, scientists and coaches developed a technique called periodization that varied the volume and intensity of workouts during different times of the year and even in the same week. The macrocycle is a yearlong program that progresses from the preparatory phase involving high reps and volume to the peak phase involving low volume and high intensity. Mesocycles are 2-3 months cycles designed to develop a certain type of fitness: base strength, general conditioning, or peak strength. Microcycles are day-to-day variations in muscles exercised, reps, sets, and load. The aim of cycle training is to set you up for intense training sessions by providing the necessary rest between workouts. Periodization is difficult to study scientifically, but years of practical experience in athletes ranging from bodybuilders to football players show that it works. The principle of periodization can also be applied to endurance activities.

Source: Strength Cond J. 26: 50-69, 2004.

What is a pre-competition taper?

Tapering or peaking involves resting or decreasing training volume prior to competition for the purpose of maximizing performance. Resting for several days before a game or competition causes supercompensation—performance increases well above those of a normal training day. Spanish researchers reported that tapering involves physical restoration that helps the body recover from the stress of training and micro-injuries created during workouts. It also improves mood, sleep, the perception of improved physical fitness, and muscle and liver glycogen levels. Do not overdo tapering because taking too many days off will decrease fitness and your strength base.

Source: Sports Med 34: 891-927, 2004.

Is running better than walking for burning calories?

Many exercise books mistakenly say that people burn 100 calories per mile, regardless of whether they're walking or running. More than 50 years of research shows that this information is little more than an "exercise urban legend." One foot is always in contact with the ground when you walk, but you're airborne during each stride when you run. Running involves a "jump," which requires more energy than the stride of walking. Also, running increases metabolic rate and muscle temperature more than walking, so you continue to burn more calories than normal for hours after the run. The increase in post-exercise metabolism is greater during running than walking. You can get a rough estimate of caloric consumption during normal recreational running and walking intensities by using the following equations:

Calories burned per mile during running = 0.75 X body weight (pounds)
Calories burned per mile during walking = 0.53 X body weight (pounds)

Of course, the faster you exercise, the more calories you burn.

How important is rest in a training program?

Many people rest when they don't feel like training instead of making rest a planned part of the exercise program. Muscles grow during recovery from training. Lifting weights triggers processes in the muscle fibers that make new proteins, break-down old or damaged proteins, and speed the transports of fuels, hormones, and amino acids into the muscle fibers. Intense training without recovery interferes with these biochemical processes and slows or stops progress. Gains come from intense training, but stacking on a heavy workout without adequate recovery is counterproductive. Be systematic when designing workout: plan for intense workouts but also plan for recovery so that you can train even harder the next time. The optimum amount of rest is highly individual. Beginners can workout often because they don't train as hard as experienced athletes. Advanced athletes train more intensely but need more rest to prevent overtraining. Nutrients, genetics, and hormones affect recovery rates, so each person must adjust exercise and rest days to suit individual differences.