Exercises and Diet for the Overtrained?

Your take on overtraining is correct. Spinning and any exercise with minimal resistence will do wonders to your muscles recuperating. The goal is to give the muscle very minor work to simply get a little blood flow in and lightly stretch it.

Food is the primary thing which will directly effect recuperation. You want to make sure you protein intake is around 1 gram per pound of body weight. Carbs need to be around 1.5-2 grams per pound of body weight. These numbers are just a stating point and need to be adjusted to your metabolic needs.

All this a side your fitness level will give you an idea of recup. time needed. Your idea of when you have recup. is a individual assesment.

" Pain is weakness leaving the body "

Don't forget to keep a diary of feelings, HR, weight, etc. this will help you chart your return to fitness.

Overtraining sucks!!!!!!
I raced as an elite triathlete for 12 years and most of the time I was cooked due to the number of races and travelling.
I often took allot of time out due to being sick with recurrent respiratory problems.
Hard on the pride when you know you could have won!
The danger you have is you may look so deep into your training etc your life and start having a pity party.....pull out man.
Yes you are tired this can be changed.......diet for me was the biggest factor and also realsing my make up meant I had to cut back on to much hard stuff and look at more strength orientated programes , My recovery days were so slow it was great. I used to take so much food and stuff on my easy days that I would feel more full than anything. My tapers were different and my training cycles were shorter with a few more easy weeks to unload the hard weeks.
What made the difference in my diet

1. I started drinking heaps of vegeatable juices all sorts and found the ones that worked for me.

2. Cut back on sugar.....there is some suggestion in studies that eating say a chocalate bar can lower you immune system by up to some say 70-80% scarey when you immune system is already taxed by endurance training. I was training around 4-5 hrs a day and so allot of my meals were energy bars etc high sugar products at the end of the day.

3. replaced my carbs for more protein from seeds and nuts etc not to much load up the liver.

4. Fresh veg and fruits great stuff high in carbs lots of minerals etc which combine with free radicals. Increase amount of vit c
Think about B12 injections did me wonders.
Increase zinc great stuff.

5. Started to drink barley green and replaced coffe with green tea big difference in my life.

6. Read and read found what foods worked for me, people so concerned with training they forget recovry is so much more important thats why drugs are so good increase recovery!!!!
Change and change and change like training and keep a record find when you felt great look at what you were eating as well.

7. Hot baths with epsom salts helps allot once or twice a week.

8. fasting with veg juice and green tea for a few days nothing better, hardest thing to do!!!! worth it.

look itno detox stuff while you are on your time out and apply it to your plan.

if you do what others don't you will get what others dont!

Another product which works so well for me is Ensure Plus what a winner, made by a medical company for cancer patients etc wow what a winner water it down rocket fuel, high in protein, carbs and fat, loaded with minerals etc.

I looked after a lady who was 97 years old and she had been on 3 cans of this stuff a day nothing else for seven years she looked great.
try it as a pre race fuel etc.

Keep your mind on your dream don't fold at the line, every top sports person goes through this the winners have the x factor in times of trouble.

Go well

Kiwiboy:
I've heard the opposite: that excess proteins tax the liver into producing too much urea. Please educate me on carbos and how they, too, tax the liver, please.

TJK, D. C.