SO you know how they always say no pain, no gain. Well it’s definitely true, not least of all as it concerns your workout. However, does it mean that working out every single day, continuously subjecting your body to the stress of your rigorous workout, will continue to give you maximum gains in transforming your body? Well, the answer, which many will find surprising, is no.

The truth is that your body needs rest as much as it needs the workout in order to maximise gains and show optimal results, and there is a point beyond which further training will cause you to experience more negative results than positive. When this happens it means you have been overtraining your body.

Rest periods are important during your workout, but also between workouts. Now, when it comes to rest in-between your workouts, there is nothing wrong with working out on consecutive days, just not seven consecutive days. A healthy average is two or three rest days per week, because even for someone looking to increase their level of fitness, working out four to five days a week is sufficient. The occasional sixth day may be thrown in. It’s always good to alter your weekly workout programme every few weeks to avoid monotony, and so your body doesn’t get too accustomed to the same stimuli because when that happens, the results you get from your workout tend to slow down.

Programmes will vary in that the workload on any given day for one programme may be less than on another programme. Such a programme would better accommodate a sixth training day if you opt for it, but more often than not you should opt for at least two rest days in any week to give your body ample time to recover.

Your bodies are wonderfully made. When all is not well with your body, it usually doesn’t wait very long to speak to you and it usually does so through very distinct warning signs. What are some of the warning signs of overtraining?

* You may find that although you concentrate and are careful about executing your exercises with proper form, you still end up with stress-related injuries like tendonitis, stress fractures, chronic knee or back pain, and shin splints. Please note that shin splints and chronic knee or back pain can also be developed from exercising in improper footwear, so invest in the footwear recommended for the type of exercise you intend to undertake.

* If you are unexplainably fatigued and take a very long time to regain normal energy levels, that may be a strong indication of overtraining.

* If you become anaemic despite paying attention to your diet, particularly the iron content, then it may be due to overtraining.

* In the case of the ladies, if you find that for some time you stop having your period and you confirm that you are not pregnant, then it may be the result of overtraining. This loss of period is called amenorrhoea.

When these warning signs surface, it means you are overtraining and need urgently to give your body lots of rest so it can serve you well for the long haul.

Marlon Ebanks is a personal fitness instructor who has been certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America since 2009.