Thursday, November 25, 2010

Fitness Myth: More is better


Many people believe that more exercise performed will always lead to an improvement. However, there is a limit to the amount of exercise that one can perform before experiencing the effects of "overtraining". The human body requires rest between exercise bouts in order to recover from the exertion undertaken in each session, as well as to recharge mentally. The negative effects of overtraining can include sickness, a decrease in performance, injury, depression and a loss in motivation.

In order to prevent overtraining, each exercise program should have adequate rest periods between each session. This is known as periodization. Adequate periodization will prevent overtraining and allow each person to perform to their maximum ability.

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