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If you are someone who is trying to get in shape and do it fast, you are probably spending a lot of time at the gym. The issue is that you might not know how much time is too much and what is too little!

However, there is one caution you're going to have to take note of. That is, you've got to avoid overtraining. Overtraining occurs when you work too hard, so you're not giving your body the rest and recuperation it needs between weightlifting sessions so that you can repair and beheld the muscle you're breaking down.

To understand overtraining, you first have to understand that when you are "building" muscle, you're actually breaking muscle down. 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 that then must heal and repair.

What you should take from this experience is that the tears that have healed and built up are tougher than the tissue that was there before. When you move forward and stretch your muscle, you will find that you need to let your body repair so you can get the building stage.

Remember that if you are overtraining your muscle is just going to begin breaking down. There is no time for it to try to repair itself and the muscles that you want are actually being prevented from building.

What are the symptoms of overtraining and how can you recognize if you are doing it? Catching yourself before it gets out of hand is essential.

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.

One of the symptoms of overtraining involve seeing a drop in your testosterone level. This is a natural result of what happens if your body does not get enough time to recover.

Another thing that you might notice is that you are going to start gaining fat. Not only will your muscles feel like they aren't going anywhere, you will find that your body is going to get softer. Not only does your testosterone drop, your cortisol goes up. Cortisol controls stress in your body and encourages weight gain.

Have you noticed that your health is taking a blow? If so, this is definitely a sign that you need to stop. When you work out too hard, your immune system is going to suffer for it. If you see that you are getting colds and flus more easily, it is time to slow down. Working out should give you less health problems, not more.

Are you losing muscle mass? When you overtrain, your muscles are going to suffer for it as much as any other part of you. Remember that you are training to get results. Essentially, a good bodybuilding regimen is going to be ideal when you want to avoid the symptoms that go with muscle loss while still getting the body that you want.

How are you going to avoid overtraining? The truth is that that is easy. Nutrition is a key factor and when you want to build your body, you'll find that you should intersperse days of intense weightlifting with days of good rest.

Work out one day and then do some light cardio when you work out on your rest days. Remember that you should rest your body between the heavy duty lifting that comes along with it.

Finally, good nutrition is important, too. Your body can't rebuild itself unless it's got the tools do so. That means that nutrition is just as important as rest is. Opt for good, lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. If you do this, you should see results in no time, and you should feel much better, too.