Overtraining - DO NOT DO THIS!

It is known worldwide that exercise helps you lose weight/build muscle/increase sporting performance and so on, but problems come along when you exercise too much.
I myself love fitness, I love working out, I get a buzz from it! But I also know when to rest, and many people don't - they just think 'must workout, must workout'. Your body heals itself and grows when you rest. Working out in the gym is only phase one of getting in better shape, phase two is rest and getting the right nutrition in your body. Here are some of the 'side effects' of overtraining:
- Can cause a weight loss plateau
- Can mess around with your menstrual cycle
- Can play havoc with your sleeping pattern
- Can cause mood swings
- Constant feeling of exhaustion
- Takes up all your free time
Those side effects are no joke.... who wants to always feel shattered? who wants to stop losing weight when that's your goal? Who wants to annoy their friends with mood swings? I would guess nobody!
Some people are so obsessed with losing weight that they will go to the gym everyday for an hour, and then get confused why they aren't losing weight, so they go even more! In my eyes, I don't see the point in going to the gym for half an hour a day doing a bit of 'light exercise', unless you are recovering from an injury or of an older age. I would rather go to the gym once every two days and 'kill it' as they say, go to the gym and have a real hard workout. This will mean you won't overtrain and also, will give you more free time to do other things. The reason why I just said you won't overtrain is because if you went to the gym for half an hour every day and you weren't seeing the results you wanted, your more likely to up that to an hour a day or more, and it can progress from there - which is overtraining.
I hope this helps, just remember - less is more......in a way. Listen to your body, treat it with respect and you will reach your goals.