Take a month off or MTFU?
Discussion
Hi all
I've excercised 5-6 days a week for the last 5 years or so. Typically I've done weights 3x/week and cardio for the rest. I'm naturally resisant to illness and never felt better than a year or so ago when I was doing weights and also training for the Oxford to Cambridge bike ride. I'm not superfit by any stretch but am very active and enjoy the gym etc.
Last July I started a new job, which involves flying out and being away from the family. My typical day has been 7am-6 or 7pm followed by a similar gym routine (albeit on 4 days due to the commute). Often I don't get back from the gym till 8:30pm eat at 9ish and then in bed for 10:30pm. During the summer this was fine but then in October I got the mother of colds that didn't go away for a month. I tried to train through it but to no avail so just rested. Just before Xmas I felt better so hit the gym again. Next day I got a full on cold again so I took the rest of the week off. This has basically been the flavour ever since i.e. recovery, gym, cold, recovery, gym, cold.
I don't feel ill enough to see the Dr. but it seems that every time I start to feel ok I get struck down by another cold that drains me of my energy. I'm wondering if the change of jobs and my trying to maintain the same routine is burning me out. Either that or I just need to MTFU.
At the moment I've got another heavy cold with sore throat so am on the verge of just taking a month off the gym/exercise completely.
Any thoughts?
I've excercised 5-6 days a week for the last 5 years or so. Typically I've done weights 3x/week and cardio for the rest. I'm naturally resisant to illness and never felt better than a year or so ago when I was doing weights and also training for the Oxford to Cambridge bike ride. I'm not superfit by any stretch but am very active and enjoy the gym etc.
Last July I started a new job, which involves flying out and being away from the family. My typical day has been 7am-6 or 7pm followed by a similar gym routine (albeit on 4 days due to the commute). Often I don't get back from the gym till 8:30pm eat at 9ish and then in bed for 10:30pm. During the summer this was fine but then in October I got the mother of colds that didn't go away for a month. I tried to train through it but to no avail so just rested. Just before Xmas I felt better so hit the gym again. Next day I got a full on cold again so I took the rest of the week off. This has basically been the flavour ever since i.e. recovery, gym, cold, recovery, gym, cold.
I don't feel ill enough to see the Dr. but it seems that every time I start to feel ok I get struck down by another cold that drains me of my energy. I'm wondering if the change of jobs and my trying to maintain the same routine is burning me out. Either that or I just need to MTFU.
At the moment I've got another heavy cold with sore throat so am on the verge of just taking a month off the gym/exercise completely.
Any thoughts?
Not wanting to worry you unduly, but.... 
Are you sure you don't have some kind of underlying medical issue?
I only ask becuase I used to work with a guy who went home 1 night with flu like symptons, he went to bed feeling full of the flu, and died in the night from a masasive heart attack.
The flu like symptons were being caused by his dodgy ticker.
Seems strange to me that your symptons are brought on by exercise. Might be worth getting yourself checked out.
Or just MTFU!
Are you sure you don't have some kind of underlying medical issue?
I only ask becuase I used to work with a guy who went home 1 night with flu like symptons, he went to bed feeling full of the flu, and died in the night from a masasive heart attack.
The flu like symptons were being caused by his dodgy ticker.
Seems strange to me that your symptons are brought on by exercise. Might be worth getting yourself checked out.
Or just MTFU!
From the brief summary you have given there, it looks like it could be that you are over training.
It is entirely possible that for the whole time, even when you felt great, you were doing too much. The body may have been able to resist being ill for a long time and then all of a sudden the body says that enough is enough and you start to get any cold going.
Personally I would give it a rest for a time. Possibly a month, it is hard to tell.
It is entirely possible that for the whole time, even when you felt great, you were doing too much. The body may have been able to resist being ill for a long time and then all of a sudden the body says that enough is enough and you start to get any cold going.
Personally I would give it a rest for a time. Possibly a month, it is hard to tell.
Thanks guys.
It's definitely not flu. I've only ever had flu once and was on my back for a week. I couldn't move because my whole body ached like hell.
It's basically runny nose, sore throat lack of energy and generally feeling run down. I'm clear after a few days/week of no exercise but the day after a heavy session I'm back to square one again. It's bloody frustrating.
Maybe the mammoth cycling was the start of it but as I felt genuinely great, can't help thinking that my body should be able to handle a lot more than I'm giving it at present. I also know a few guys that train a lot harder than I do, hence the MTFU bit. Being an amateur don't know if I should just train away in an attempt to blast it through or take a break (not from work but training).
I know some folks find it a struggle to get into the gym but I'm normally the other way round. Classic
It's definitely not flu. I've only ever had flu once and was on my back for a week. I couldn't move because my whole body ached like hell.
It's basically runny nose, sore throat lack of energy and generally feeling run down. I'm clear after a few days/week of no exercise but the day after a heavy session I'm back to square one again. It's bloody frustrating.
Maybe the mammoth cycling was the start of it but as I felt genuinely great, can't help thinking that my body should be able to handle a lot more than I'm giving it at present. I also know a few guys that train a lot harder than I do, hence the MTFU bit. Being an amateur don't know if I should just train away in an attempt to blast it through or take a break (not from work but training).
I know some folks find it a struggle to get into the gym but I'm normally the other way round. Classic
marcosgt said:
Sure your wife isn't poisoning you?
Sounds like you're hardly at home at all, maybe she's figured she's better off getting your death in service payment
M.
Mmm.. good call.Sounds like you're hardly at home at all, maybe she's figured she's better off getting your death in service payment
M.
OP, could you leave her your logon details so she can come and give us all some kind of closure in the future, I'd like to know whether it was a heart attack or strychnine that finally did it.
Fatman2 said:
I also know a few guys that train a lot harder than I do, hence the MTFU bit.
The guys that are training harder than you are likely to have been training a lot longer so their body has acclimatised to the volume / intensity of the training they are doing.Only other part I linked was that it is fairly seasonal. Could possibly be linked to a Vit D deficiency.
Get done to the doctors pal.
Your body is catching colds, as your immune system is battered, either from over trainning, or fighting off something more significant.
Some one I know had colds for 3 months, and started a round of anti-biotics after an infection, and his body then reacted badly to the anti-biotics.
He got fed up of being ill, and booked himself into a private check up. Turns out the poor guy has bowel cancer.
Not scare mongering, but 3 months of colds is serious.
Your body is catching colds, as your immune system is battered, either from over trainning, or fighting off something more significant.
Some one I know had colds for 3 months, and started a round of anti-biotics after an infection, and his body then reacted badly to the anti-biotics.
He got fed up of being ill, and booked himself into a private check up. Turns out the poor guy has bowel cancer.
Not scare mongering, but 3 months of colds is serious.
Fatman2 said:
Last July I started a new job added stress, which involves flying out added stress and being away from the family added stress. My typical day has been 7am-6 or 7pm added stress(although I'll concede the OP doesn't state if this actually changed from prior to the new job) followed by a similar gym routine (albeit on 4 days due to the commute). Often I don't get back from the gym till 8:30pm eat at 9ish and then in bed for 10:30pm.
didelydoo said:
I'm off the MTFU view- you're doing nowhere near enough to overtrain, people rarely are. Just eat a bit more, get on with it and it'll all be fine.
I've just highlighted 4 stresses on the body and the OP hasn't even stepped foot in a gym yet. I am of the opinion that many people are in a state of constant over stress and that starting / changing a gym routine simply just adds to the stress they are already under, this pushes many into a state of over training. More is not always better.Henry Fiddleton said:
Potentially scary stuff
OP do not take medical advice from the internet, if you are worried do not be afraid to visit a Dr. If they feel you are wasting their time they will let you know you are fine and get you out the door sharpish. But at least you'll be confident that you are ok. As Henry ^^ there highlighted.GranderTransit said:
I've just highlighted 4 stresses on the body and the OP hasn't even stepped foot in a gym yet. I am of the opinion that many people are in a state of constant over stress and that starting / changing a gym routine simply just adds to the stress they are already under, this pushes many into a state of over training. More is not always better.
Depends how you define 'over training'. Being stressed isn't the same thing.didelydoo said:
Depends how you define 'over training'.
Bompa and Haff in Periodization said:
Overtraining is a long-term decrement in performance capacity that occurs as a result of an accumulation of training and nontraining stressors
- I can supply their reference if you would like to check up on it.My take is that although the extra stress may not actually be over training, it may certainly be preventing the body from recovering in the way it was before hand.
Amongst other things Mel Siff states that a symptom of over training is a tendency to headaches, colds, fever blisters; prolonged recuperation.
Do you have a different definition of over training?
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