Overtraining: Feel the Burnout!

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· Disruptions in sleep patterns and mood.

· Loss of weight or appetite.

· Propensity for overuse injuries, such as repeatedly tearing cartilage or pulling muscles.

"If your workout feels bad, don't assume you need more [exercise] to make it better," Roberts says. "Some people have bad workouts and feel they need to do more, when more isn't always better."

The biggest mistake he sees in intense exercisers is failure to adequately recover from one workout before hitting it hard again. "In tendon and bone, overuse can cause micro-stress that results in injury."

And while it's clear that youthful bodies can take and recover from a pounding better than riper musculoskeletal frames, Roberts says the general rule holds regardless of age: If exercise feels good, keep it up; if not, cut it out.

Bottom line: Overtraining happens but not often in the general population, and it's not a silent killer: You'll feel it. If you have no pain or fatigue but your workout has flat-lined, mix up the routine to distribute heavy use around your body. Otherwise, carry on.

Put down the weights -- c'mon, put . . . them . . . down -- and join us for our online chat, today at 11:30 a.m. at http://washingtonpost.com .

-- John Briley

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