How Much Running Is Too Much

How to know its too much   |   Ways to prevent overtraining   |   When I ran too much

In what category are you? Beginner, amateur, or professional runner? Each category will have its “limits” different from each others.

For example, a beginner running more than 20 kilometers per week could be too much running. If you are just getting into running, you should slowly increase your mileage. Start with running 2-3 times per week, 5-10 minutes of running.

In a month you could get up to 25-30 minutes of running at once, at a slow pace. Anything longer or faster could be considered too much running.

Our bodies need time to adapt to the effort. In order to increase the aerobic capacity of your muscles, the mitochondria need to increase their density, the hemoglobin to increase its content, and the total blood volume to increase its blood supply.

Consistent and gradual training will bring your body to a point where you can sustain more effort.

Remember that it takes time, and it should be done gradually. It is recommended not to increase your mileage/time by more than 10% in a week.

Amateurs and professional runners could run anywhere from 50 to 150 km a week. It all depends on their cardiovascular capacity and years of training. Too much running for these categories can be judged only based on their symptoms and previous experiences.

In the running community, “too much running” is known as overtraining. In order to get better and improve running times, athletes should increase their load of work and add more stressors to their bodies (such as lifting, speed workouts, and cross-training). This formula for success could drive them towards training too much. Too much, as in many cases, is not always better.

Another factor that stays between our desire to run a specific mileage and the ability to do it is our genetics.

Unfortunately, this is not something we can control. The difference is made by everyone’s anatomy, biomechanics, cardiovascular system, heart size, cardiac output, and so on. In this case, as we discuss running too much, which could be responsible for injuries and overtraining, genetics is accountable for muscle fiber type, and predisposition to injuries (such as tendon or ligament injuries).

Skeletal muscles are made up of two types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch muscle fibers and fast-twitch muscle fibers. Slow-twitching fibers are beneficial for longer distances, and endurance running, while fast-twitch fibers are advantageous for sprinting. The point is that for some people it is easier to get faster and run longer and others have to work harder for it. It is important to find what is the right mileage for you where you feel energetic and injury-free.

Sometimes the reason we can’t sustain more effort or recover after a harder run is that we don’t fuel properly our body.

When you are training high mileage or doing any type of higher intensity exercises you need to pay closer attention to what you are eating; if you are eating enough of it and if you hydrate enough. Proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and greens are essential for energy and recovery.

Therefore, if you are looking to optimize your performance and step up the game, I will recommend adapting your foods to a balanced diet that contains nutritional, healthy foods.

You don’t need to have a strict diet, but you need to prioritize eating foods that will boost your recovery and energize your body.

Hydration is as important as diet or training. Enough hydration will help remove waste in your body, regulate your body temperature, cushion your joints, and so on. During hot days of summer, water is not enough to prevent dehydration, that is why it’s recommended to increase your electrolytes or sodium intake.

Doing the same movement every day could put too much stress on specific muscles and overdo it.

By including days of cross-training and weight exercises, you’ll be using different muscles. Working other muscles, it will decrease the risk of injuries, and increase your performance.

Running shoes like everything else, have an expiration day. They are engineered to improve running performance through their midsole cushioning, arch support, and comfort. If they are worn out the cushioning can’t absorb the impact anymore, which will put more stress on your joints and muscles.

Running on hard surfaces like concrete or asphalt puts more stress on your joints. It might be beneficial to run on a soft surface once in a while. Harder surfaces don’t absorb much stress compared to grass. See shoes for concrete surfaces.

Make sure you get enough calories during the day. Those calories should come from healthy and unprocessed foods.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Include electrolytes or hydration drinks.

From my personal experience, I have been running too many times. As an athlete with so much experience, you will think that I know to see the signs of overtraining early enough to change the course. but, sadly I am not listening to my body as much as I should.

When you love running, you can’t stand the idea that you could possibly run too much.

Unfortunately, our bodies say otherwise and stop us from doing anything that’s too much. I understand that you want to put in the effort, but sometimes less is better.

Listen to your body and take a step back with the first sign of overtraining. Better to take a day off than a week. My coach told me once “better to be 10% undertrained than 1% overtrained.

When you complete your exercise or a sweaty run you will feel tired but competent. But it is as significant as running to come back to the normal routine.

These are 4 must-do’s that one should take care of after running.

When you start your running first you warm up your body to start your body for exercise. Similarly, after the completion of a run or a fast walk cooling down your body is also an essential part of post running routine. A cool-down will help your body to get back into a state of rest.

Cooling down will also reduce your breathing rate, and heart rate of your body. It will also relax your body muscles. Your cool-down process must stay for 5 to 10 minutes.

Stretching is an important part of post running routine and it is good for muscle soreness.

Scientifically it is proven that running or exercise stretching improves your muscular performance. Because during a workout your muscles contract and expand and when you stretch later it will make the muscles tighten.

Stretching also avoids regular injuries on the ankle and knees. Because stretching will boost the flexibility of a muscle and helps to carry the workload.

Our body weight makes up 60% of water and it plays a crucial role in our body function. So you must take water after an immense run. There is no as such need to get conscious about the number of glasses you just simply drink water and indulge your thirst.

It is a good habit to have something to eat after a run because it will help to refuel your body. It will restore your protein To rebuild your muscles. Scientifically proven that your meal should contain carbohydrates to freshen up your body by rehabilitating your body’s glycogen.

To conclude this article we can say that follow the above-described post-running routine just to get a bounce after an onerous running spell.