So I've been going at Krav Maga for a little over 6 weeks now and I've finally hit my limit. I was able to add 3 days/week of Krav Maga and maintain my 6 days/week rowing schedule, but upping it to 4 days/week has just done me in. I'm not talking about being extremely tired or lacking the mental fortitude, my muscles (mainly quads and upper arms) just stopped working!

So I guess I'm going to drop one day of rowing, because I really want the continuity it will bring to the Krav Maga training. And I'm still trying to figure out how I'll be able to fit in swimming once the pool opens. I had really wanted to hit 15 Mm lifetime rowing within the next year, and I may still be able to do it rowing 5 days/week, but if I have to drop yet another day to accommodate swimming, I'll be in trouble. I guess we'll see...

It sounds like to me you may be overtraining. You gotta give your body a chance to recover. You might benefit by taking a week or so at half intensity and/or take a couple days off altogether. That'll give your muscles and body a chance to really recover and you'll come back stronger afterwards. Also make sure you're getting enough sleep (at least 8 hours) and have your diet on target.

I think you're probably right about the overtraining, I am pushing myself pretty hard, but I normally think of overtraining as a cardiovascular thing and my resting heartrate has been holding more or less stable. It was my muscles that were just giving out on me. I do always take Sundays off as a recovery day, except for maybe a long walk.

In any case, I'm doing better now that I dropped one day of rowing, but I'm still tired and so probably still pushing a bit too much. The pool opens in another week and I've more or less resigned myself to drop another day (maybe even two) of rowing in order to get in some swimming. Want to stick with Krav Maga four days a week though because I'm loving the beatings, literally and figuratively.

Rowman,

It sounds like you have set the bar too high or may lean toward being a bit compulsive about your goals..

Prioritize.. You could really hurt yourself or get burnout from doing too much. I think workouts should be fun if possible.. and it sounds like your main sport is rowing. It's a great workout. If you do wind up hurting yourself, it could just set you that far back from both goals..

I'm still not sure what the other is or if I've seen it.. but it sounds like it's the latest martial arts/workout fad.. It will still be around once you reach your Rowing goal for the year.

Swimming sounds like it could be a nice break from the physical demands of the 2 other sports.. Less stress on your joints.. (although I know you say it is your muscles..)

Good Luck... You are one ambitious dude!

Thanks kpw.

I should be clear that I'm not really training to be competitive, I am in fact in it for the long haul, I'm just trying to see how far I can push myself within that constraint.

That being said, I was clearly a bit too ambitious thinking I could absorb 4 days/week of another sport without affecting my rowing schedule. I have, for the last couple of years, slowed down the rowing over summer in order to accommodate swimming and I'll do that again this year. I'll just slow it down a bit further than usual to accommodate the Krav Maga; I'm really enjoying training with my kids and the beatings are the next best thing to having Jillian as a personal trainer.

Overtraining can happen to pretty much any facet of your fitness. For most people it's very difficult for them to overtrain because they simply don't force themselves to go that far. The problem with overtraining is that you end up getting injured eventually and then you really have a problem. Listen to your body and if it's telling you take a day or two off for recovery then do it, especially since you're not training for some sort of competition. You have your entire life ahead of you to train and reach your goals. Doing to much at once will burn you out. It definitely sounds like you're on the right track and know what you want so keep it up. Just be smart about it.

Very true. Here's a Wiki about overtraining, which includes some signs to look for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtraining