Can you overtrain on raw?

[Katie P]

I've often heard that you can do too much exercise & burn out your hormones...is this true? When I say "exercise" I mean raising your heart rate everyday for a while. I heard that it is of course good to do that but not everyday b/c it stresses the body's hormones & eventually depletes them causing fatigue, hormonal imbalances, weight gain...etc.
Anyone have any thoughts? Does eating raw help repair hormones more than if you weren't eating raw?

[rawstrength]

Overtraining is an emotional, behavioral and physical condition that occurs when the volume and intensity of an individual's exercise exceeds their recovery capacity. They cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is a common problem in weight training, but it can also be experienced by runners and other athletes. An example of overtraining would be lifting at high-intensity with the same muscle groups 2 days in a row.

. . .

Improvements in strength and fitness occur only during the rest period following hard training (see supercompensation). This process takes at least 12-24 hours to complete. If sufficient rest is not available then complete regeneration cannot occur. If this imbalance between excess training and inadequate rest persists then the individual's performance will eventually plateau and decline. Mild over training may require several days of rest or reduced activity to fully restore an athlete's fitness. If prompt attention is not given to the developing state, and an athlete continues to train and accumulate fatigue, the condition may come to persist for many weeks or even months.[citation needed]

Over training occurs more readily if the individual is simultaneously exposed to other physical and psychological stressors, such as jet lag, ongoing illness, overwork, menstruation, poor nutrition etc. It is a particular problem for bodybuilders and other dieters who engage in intense exercise while limiting their food intake.

I'm sure raw would help make more body better adapted and less likely to overtrain, but being a raw foodist won't make you a superhero. Listen to your body and give your body rest when it needs it. Be fully present when you exercise so that you can be alert to any problems that might arise.

[Revvell]

I have 3 friends who have trained almost 1000 days straight without missing a day! How do they do it? cross-training AND making it fun!

When we were children out running around and having a good time, there was no such thing as "over-training". We were out playing... finding more things to to that was FUN! We'd run until we dropped BUT, we didn't run in a straight line or on a track over and over and over. We didn't keep lifting heavy weight looking to build non-functional muscle. We'd run until we fell from exhaustion; we'd climb trees, jump over things, play tag, jump rope, throw balls at each other. Each day was a new day of play!

Keeping doing the same things over and over... well, yes, raw or not... it's not fun and you'll wear our your joints etc.

Daily movement is a necessity for humans... just vary what you do, when and where you do it and most of all, have fun! If it's not fun, it's not fundamental.

Revvell (http://letsTalkRaw.com)

[Katie P]

Huh! I never thought of it that way before....like being kids & being active everyday. Thanks that clears things up for me

[cara4art]

Actually, simply being active all day is NOT the same thing as overtraining - that comes from too much INTENSE training vs. a person's own ability to recover from same. That recovery ability depends on several things, prior base of conditioning to accept a tougher program, age(to a certain degree), sufficient rest, and last but not least, adequate nutrition for the training at hand. Never underestimate this - weight training is like unloading a truckload of steel parts - you need to EAT, even if you are on the small side, and even if you are trying to lose fat - don't eat TOO little, otherwise your body will think famine is coming and hoard the fat instead. For this you want just enough of a deficit to be able to lose some fat, but still enough to fuel workouts! Also, never underestimate the need for rest as in time in between weight workouts, and enough sleep. Even an hour too little sleep the night before can affect one's performance the next day at the gym - I've had this happen myself, so I really pay attention to this, being an older trainee(61 here, will be 62 in June). One other important thing, if you have too much overload in other parts of your life, aka stress, that will have a real impact on your recovery ability too. Treat yourself well!
As far as the raw part of the overtraining issue, I think if you have a well-constructed raw diet with denser foods and greens, as well as your fruits, that will be compatible with training. I'm sure Raweater would have something to say about this, what with putting on a lot of muscle on a high-calorie raw diet.

[Revvell]

Some of y'all really make movement un-fun!

Here are my friends and what they do ~ EVERY day AND, they're finding even more things to do ~ EVERY day! Why? Because it's FUN! And yes, being consciously active IS the same as training ~ ZenKahuna (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Zenkahuna).

I see them every week and they are SO fit, so enthused, so filled with joy and this after almost 1000 days of PLAYING!

For me this week has been gardening. Sheesh! Moving bricks, six at a time to the side of the house; bending, twisting, squatting... my legs and arms feel GREAT and, I've accomplished this great, beautiful garden (part of it anyway). Add some focused movement to that.. and I've been getting GREAT workouts... enough rest and good food... Can't beat it.

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)

[cara4art]

Hi Revell!

Awesome you're getting your gardening done - outdoor work is fab for getting in shape and you accomplish something at the same time. My Florida friend is busy putting in her garden, due to my encouragement since I found out that she has a unused backyard, and is starting up a predominantly raw food lifestyle. I had an outdoor job for awhile too, so I can attest to this. Just went over and checked out the ZenKahuna stuff too and subscribed so I can look at these later - thanks!
Aside from my gym talk that I got into, I do agree with you about having fun working out too. Actually for me, I love going to the gym, as well as getting out and about moving in general - my body needs lots of movement anyway just to work off nervous energy.

[freshlight]

Some of y'all really make movement un-fun!

Here are my friends and what they do ~ EVERY day AND, they're finding even more things to do ~ EVERY day! Why? Because it's FUN! And yes, being consciously active IS the same as training ~ ZenKahuna (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Zenkahuna).

I see them every week and they are SO fit, so enthused, so filled with joy and this after almost 1000 days of PLAYING!

For me this week has been gardening. Sheesh! Moving bricks, six at a time to the side of the house; bending, twisting, squatting... my legs and arms feel GREAT and, I've accomplished this great, beautiful garden (part of it anyway). Add some focused movement to that.. and I've been getting GREAT workouts... enough rest and good food... Can't beat it.

Revvell (http://LetsTalkRaw.com)

This sounds wonderful!
Pleasure for an hour, - water of a young coconut :)
pleasure for a year, marriage; pleasure for a lifetime, a garden. - Chinese saying
You got all of'em,-clever girl :D
I'm proud of ya!

[Revvell]

I had no idea how much is involved in really creating a garden. With mine, I had to move a few hundred bricks and then, replace some of them with concrete blocks. I am SO proud of myself YET, I know I could not have done it w/out consistently training in other ways. Whatever landscapers get paid, I have to say, it's not enough!

I use to LOVE going to the gym. Would spend 5-6 hours a day with my partner there. It was the old-fashioned gym ~ no t.v., no socializing (very little, anyway)... just hard training with free weights and a few machines.

Because of that, I can't tolerate today's "gyms". I got tired of all the extraneous noise from t.v's, chit chat, etc. Similar to when I learned to ice skate outdoors in Ct. Could NOT do it in an indoor skating rink.

I'm very happy you're enjoying what you do and all the variety you're including AND encouraging your friend to garden. Wouldn't it be great if everyone did? Supply and demand prices would go down for the rest of the folk AND, everyone would be in shape! How cool is that? :D


Hi Revell!

Awesome you're getting your gardening done - outdoor work is fab for getting in shape and you accomplish something at the same time. My Florida friend is busy putting in her garden, due to my encouragement since I found out that she has a unused backyard, and is starting up a predominantly raw food lifestyle. I had an outdoor job for awhile too, so I can attest to this. Just went over and checked out the ZenKahuna stuff too and subscribed so I can look at these later - thanks!
Aside from my gym talk that I got into, I do agree with you about having fun working out too. Actually for me, I love going to the gym, as well as getting out and about moving in general - my body needs lots of movement anyway just to work off nervous energy.

[Revvell]

Thank ya ma'am. Oh! I never told you I visited Germany for about a minute. Bo's from Dk. and we HAD to go there! Never really wanted to but SO glad we did. Want to go back and see more of it!

I like that saying. Thanks! :)


This sounds wonderful!
Pleasure for an hour, - water of a young coconut :)
pleasure for a year, marriage; pleasure for a lifetime, a garden. - Chinese saying
You got all of'em,-clever girl :D
I'm proud of ya!

[freshlight]

Thank ya ma'am. Oh! I never told you I visited Germany for about a minute. Bo's from Dk. and we HAD to go there! Never really wanted to but SO glad we did. Want to go back and see more of it!

I like that saying. Thanks! :)

for a minute? That's too short! Come and visit us and stay as long as you wish,-the FOREST is really beautiful :D

I changed the first part of that saying only a tiny bit ;)

[Revvell]

for a minute? That's too short! Come and visit us and stay as long as you wish,-the FOREST is really beautiful :D

Ohhh, thank you! I doubt it will be any time soon. His family wants to come here and He doesn't want to go there... sooo, we're here! The forest? What forest? Maybe He's been there. Maybe YOU need to come here too!


I changed the first part of that saying only a tiny bit ;)

Uh yeah, figgered. lol

[freshlight]

Ohhh, thank you! I doubt it will be any time soon. His family wants to come here and He doesn't want to go there... sooo, we're here! The forest? What forest? Maybe He's been there. Maybe YOU need to come here too!

I'd LOVE to! Shall I bring the forest with me? :D



Uh yeah, figgered. lol

I knew you are intelligent, haha ;)