How to Stop Getting Sick From Overtraining?

Posted by Dmitriy Godzin on

 

Interviewer:    When I trained hard, consecutively, for a few weeks at a time,- five, six days a week - I used to notice that I used to just get run down and sick. Why is that?

Dr. Stern:    Because when we exercise, we release cortisol. Cortisol has a negative impact on our immune system. It decreases our white blood cell production, it decreases the ability for our white blood cells to recognize viruses and bacteria, and by our immune system becoming less potent or less active, the bad bugs, the bad viruses and the bad bacteria can then proliferate and cause us to get sick.

So I attack it two ways.

Number one, you have to make sure you have proper nutrition. You have to make sure you have proper rest and repair. I formulated a supplement called Relax, which is a nighttime formula that reduces nighttime cortisol levels, so you get a deeper, healthier sleep, and it helps your immune system become more viable and more productive.

So one of the reasons why someone will get sick is because of that cortisol production, and that's why I produced the Relax formula, to make sure that your body is getting that cortisol down.

Now I also came out with an immune boosting formula to also support your white blood cell production, and to make sure that exercise isn't having a negative impact.

You get sick for basically two reasons. Number one, you're not getting proper nourishment. Number two, you're not getting proper rest.

And so you want to make sure that you don't have to stop your workouts or cut your workouts out because you need to exercise or train at a certain level to become proficient at what you want to do.

So it's not like you're doing Jiu Jitsu for two, three hours a day, and now I'm only doing Jiu Jitsu 20 minutes a day. No. Do it two, three hours, but make sure you're getting the proper rest and nourishment your body needs so you can function at that elite level.

Interviewer:    Yeah. For sure.

Do you see that common in a lot of athletes? Where they just break down consistently?

Dr. Stern:    Yeah. Of course.

Interviewer:    It's like this up-and-down current?

Dr. Stern:    Yeah. And I see it not only in athletes, I see this all the time. Someone will go to the gym and they'll get a gym membership. They'll be super excited. They're ready to lose weight, they're ready to get into shape.

And three weeks later, they got sick. They have a cold, they don't feel good, they have a fever, something like that.

That's because now they've jacked up their cortisol levels, they've placed a demand on their immune system they can't handle, and they get sick.

So does that mean they shouldn't go to the gym? Of course not. They need to learn how to rest and repair better.

Interviewer:    Yeah. It’s a lifestyle thing.

Dr. Stern:    Of course.