"The other day when I got home, I got really sick and threw up. Now my body feels very worn out!Am I overtraining'I want to take 2 days off from the gym to rest my body...would this help?"- [name withheld]Let me make a prediction... you are about to approach overtraining burnout!If you don't take some time off to let your body rest and recover, you'll end up quitting the gym entirely or actually making backward progress. I'd like to explain the concept of less is more but first, let's take a look at some of the other common signs of overtraining.

Some Signs of Overtraining:

Just the other day, I saw a post on a popular bodybuilding message board by another person who wanted to know if working out the same muscle group twice in one day was recommended since they had the time.

I want you to understand that you grow and change outside of the gym. Many people believe that when they are at the gym they are making progress but in fact that's entirely not true.

Remember, recovery is an all important step that is often overlooked. And that leads into...

My recommendation is train 2 days on, 1 day off. Training more then 2 days in a row is very difficult if not impossible for the natural person to recover from. When you simply break up your routine, you are allowing for more recovery time and thus allowing for your body to get stronger and better.

A concept I've talked about in previous articles but the theory is, completely stop training every 8-10 weeks for 1 week and just allow your body to recover and your joints to heal. Many people can't do this. They just want to keep on going and going like the Energizer bunny but in fact, taking a break is a good thing and will allow you to come back stronger and better then before. Try it. You'll be surprised.

Many times people will do cardio with weights but they do it before or after and for too long. Here's a few tips.a) HIIT style cardio b) Train in heart rate zones and perceived exertion (how you feel at the time you are asked) c) Do your cardio AFTER your weight training session. Use your quick fuel for the weights and your longer term fuel (fat) for cardioThe secret to getting more from your workouts is training more efficiently and training less.

If you do a quick search on the Internet for "Nine Simple Ways to Increase the Intensity of Any Workout" you will find many ways to get more done in less time and avoid the common overtraining symptoms.