You obviously are trying to get yourself in shape. If you aren’t spending hours in the gym doing intense weight training, you are probably not going to achieve your desired results, and may think about enhancing your program. However, keep in mind that you must not overtrain.

If you work too hard without giving your body time to rest and recuperate between weightlifting sessions, you will get what is called overtraining.

It is essential to realize that when you build up muscle through exercise, it is actually breaking down this same muscle. You’re not building the muscle in the gym, really. Instead, what you’re doing is breaking down muscle in the gym and producing tiny injuries in the muscle then must heal and repair. When these injuries heal and repair, they heal and repair stronger than they were previously. In order to build muscle, you first need to break it down. Once you break down your muscle you need to let your body rest and the muscle repair. In doing this you will find that this is they way you actually build muscle.

When you overtraining, you’re not giving your body the rest it needs in between workouts to properly build and repair. What this means is that you’re actually preventing muscle from building. Worse than that, though, you’re actually hurting yourself in a number of other ways, too. Look for these symptoms to see whether or not you’re overtraining. If you are, you can take steps to improve this and get back on the muscle building track.

First of all, when you are overtraining, you will be working really hard, but you won’t be building much if any muscle. That’s the first thing you’ll probably notice. If you keep going with overtraining, though, you’re probably going to notice other symptoms, too.

Your testosterone levels will go down if you don’t let yourself recover between your workout sessions.

As counterintuitive as that sounds, you might get fatter. You might gain weight you don’t want to, in the form of fat. That’s because if you keep overtraining, not only will you be breaking down muscle without building it back up, and muscle burns fat, but you also increase your levels of cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone that makes your body want to retain fat, especially in the area around your stomach.

By overdoing it you are actually doing yourself harm as you weaken your immune system. This is because it is trying to deal with the fact that your body has constant inflammation from muscles that are damaged and sore. So if you find yourself getting colds and flu more easily, slow down. A good workout will help fight off colds and flue, not get them more.

Finally, keep in mind that when you overtrain, you’re losing more muscle than you are gaining. This is the opposite of what you actually want to accomplish, and a good bodybuilding routine will assist you in achieving the muscle you want as well as avoiding the symptoms that you do not.

A bodybuilding routine should alternate periods of intense workouts with rest periods. You should lift challenging weights three or four times a week, and give yourself any days off that you need. It is a good idea to do some light cardio on the days you are not lifting, however you need to keep in mind it’s important to rest your muscles after such heavy duty lifting. They need time to recover and to repair. This will help you bulk up in the best way, with muscle.

Your body can’t rebuild itself, even if you’re resting, unless it’s got the tools do so. That means that nutrition is just as important as rest is. Now, don’t pile on the potato chips or other junk food, opt for good, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Good, nutritious calories that will fill you up and give your body the means to repair itself in between workouts. If you do this, you should see results in no time, and you should feel much better, too.