Are you a slave to exercise? If so, you might be overtraining. Here's how you can tell if you are.

One overtraining clue is your resting pulse, says LifeTips. First thing in the morning, if it's 10 or more beats more than normal, you could be working out too much. Unusual fatigue and a lack of enthusiasm for fitness might also be indicators. Not sure? Try this: Cut back on your workouts for a week and see if you feel better. Slacking for a short time will allow your body to rest and your muscles to fully recover. Chances are you'll see even better results when you return to your game.

If fevers or other symptoms ever interfere with your exercise, overtraining might be the least of your worries. In this case, see a doctor, please.

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You don't have to be an Olympic-level athlete to fall prey to overtraining, a very real physical condition responsible for poor performance, exhaustion and losing your 'love of the game'. The harder an overtrained athlete pushes, the worse they perform. Weeks or even months of time off is the only cure.

How do you know if overtraining has occurred? According to Dr. Steven Keteyian, it doesn't develop over a couple weeks of serious training nor does it hit athletes running 20 miles a week or an equivalent effort in another sport. Keteyian says you're typically logging more miles/effort to begin with (e.g., 40 to 70 weekly running miles), then after pushing that number even higher (80-100 miles), your times drop and fatigue sets in. That definition does not include the majority of fitness fans.

However according to respected author and endurance expert Dr. Philip Maffetone, without proper recovery, even low intensity training can result in overtraining. He suggests it may be more helpful to consider overtraining as a syndrome, developing over three distinct stages. Read Maffetone's The Overtraining Syndrome to see if your training regimen is triggering overtraining symptoms from subtle Stage One, classic Stage Two or chronic and debilitating Stage Three.

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What do headaches, depression, fatigue, illness, irritability, weakness, joint pain, insomnia, loss of appetite, and muscle atrophy have in common? If you answered a day in Amy Winehouse's life, you're probably right, but that's not the answer we're looking for. What is the answer, then? They are all signs of over-training.

As important as it is to push yourself during your workouts, it's entirely possible to push yourself too hard and too far. To help remedy the effects of an overzealous workout program, Men's Health offers the following five tips:

1. Take a Week Off Exercise. Rest is the most effective way to treat over-training, as it provides your body with the time it needs to fully repair the damage.

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You don't have to be a professional athlete to overtrain. Even amateur fitness fanatics, especially runners and distance athletes, are at risk for overtraining as they reach optimum performance levels.

If you're planning on running a long race in the near future, keep reading. One expert on the symptoms and treatment of overtraining states a large percentage of people who train for 10ks, half-marathons and marathons are overtrained before the race begins. Cyclists and cross-country skiers need to watch out, too. Wow, I'm surprised. Figured overtraining was a rarity in the amateur ranks. Simply not so.

Exactly how a body succumbs to overtraining is not entirely known. One thought is constant training results in overactive cytokines, which in turn, trigger whole body inflammation. One current study is examining if intense, competitive training alters the way genes operate. Regardless, treatment begs plenty of rest and recuperation. Patience is essential, it can takes months to fully recover. Here are a few signs of overtraining:

• Fatigue persisting more than 72 hours after a workout, often coupled with insomnia.
• Three days or more of muscle pain and weakness.
• Rise in resting heart rate.
• Serious drop in performance for no apparent reason.
• A feeling of "heavy legs."
• Loss of appetite, irritability, anxiety or depression.
• Lowering ferritin levels (iron storage).
• Menstrual cycle irregularities
• Cuts/bruises that heal slowly.
• Few colds -- you're more at risk of overtraining if a nasty cold hasn't slowed you down.

If you'd like to learn more, check out Gretchen Reynolds' interesting article on overtraining in the New York Times.

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Today, I am limping around, aware that I worked my bad knees a little too hard yesterday by adding too much weight when I did my squats. I made one of the cardinal fitness mistakes yesterday -- I overtrained. For some people, getting a fitness routine started is hard enough, but for those who've been at it for a while, this is a problem. We like to challenge ourselves, but there's a fine line between pushing the limits and pushing too hard.

Overtraining is what happens when you push your body too hard without giving it enough time to recover.And if you're over training, you're at risk for injury. So do yourself a favour: The next time your body tells you t slow down, listen to it and take a break. It's not called being lazy if you take a couple of days off from your routine to recover -- it's called being smart.

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