Treadmills and cortisol?

[Kris111]

I started using a treadmill more regularly about last August and I noticed my weight only seems to go up no matter what I do. Before the treadmill I had almost no problems!

So I have read about overtraining and cortisol levels going up. I did have all the symptoms of overtraining and I have even started taking that indian herb supplement to combat this.

Last week I did absolutly great without the treadmill  lots of running outdoors ,losing weight for once....not on the treadmill and I didnt have overtraining symptoms at all but I tried treadmill on the weekend and surprise my symptoms of overtraining came back. From eating like an animal not being able to sleep ,lethargy,heartrate climbing etc. 

Now I do train a lot and in the past I have found that really outside no matter what I have done that I have never run into the problem of overtraining and this cortisol stuff. So I am going to stick to that but can anyone tell me if there a safe way to train on the treadmill where I wont push my body into overdrive ? I would like to put the Incline so I am atleast burning as much as the mile I am doing to make it worth it. 

[WavyDavey]

Hi @Kris111 ,

Can you give us more detailed information about what your exercise routine is-- how long, how often, how many calories burned, resting heart rate, average heart rate during the exercise.

In my experience, people often think they're overtraining when they're not. It's more often a case of over-reaching. Real overtraining takes months to recover from, and is pretty nasty stuff. It happened to me once, and I was putting in a lot of heavy lifting at the time. Had to take 2 months off from the gym.

So if you're still able to train, technically it's not overtraining, but probably overreaching. If you feel you're overtrained, I'd want to get a coach's opinion about that before I started back up again. Pushing on when overtrained is very, very serious and not recommended.My definitions of overtraining come from professional weightlifters. I realize that commonly the word overtrained is thrown about for elevated heart rate, sleep trouble, etc. But the overtraining I'm talking about will keep you so low that exercise at all but the smallest intensity isn't really possible. Athlete's careers end sometimes due to ignored overtraining.

Edit: I moved this thread to the exercise section, as it has more to do with that than weight loss, and will get better visibility.

[bikerhiker]

@Kris111 

Overtraining is overtraining.  There isn't a safe way to train on a treadmill beyond real common sense.  I think a lot of it has to do with one's ego and ambition what one's physical body and strength can manage.  Sometimes the ego gets the best of us and that blurs our mental logic where overtraining is common in a number of amateur athletes.  The purpose of a coach is to guide inexperienced athletes so overtraining is minimized; instill some common training sense and proper training protocol to help enhance one's running performance rather than degrade one's performance.  Overtraining in the long run will lead to injuries and poor training habits.

[Kris111]

I dont know it's different everyday for how far I can do..I do as much as I can I dont have any set thing..lol. i go anywhere from 7 to 24.. ya I'm crazy. i was even trying to break away from the treadmill do running outside and leave only 3 to treadmill so I would do the death canyon easier one part 1 ...but I did up the incline at the end and I still went into overdrive.

.I am going to 100% back up the opinion on ones ambition. I think it's a mental problem. I am thinking about getting rid of it but not sure lol.


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[WavyDavey]

It does sound like you are a bit of a lover of intensity? If so, it might not matter so much if it's treadmill or running. If you tend to go overboard, that would probably show up there also.

Can I interest you in a brisk walk? 🙂

[Kris111]

Lol well I've never had overeating or hormonal imbalances from outdoor running and any normal stuff


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[bikerhiker]

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@Kris111 wrote:
I dont know it's different everyday for how far I can do..I do as much as I can I dont have any set thing..lol. i go anywhere from 7 to 24.. ya I'm crazy. i was even trying to break away from the treadmill do running outside and leave only 3 to treadmill so I would do the death canyon easier one part 1 ...but I did up the incline at the end and I still went into overdrive.

.I am going to 100% back up the opinion on ones ambition. I think it's a mental problem. I am thinking about getting rid of it but not sure lol.


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

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It is not uncommon to have ambitions; we all do and sometimes that is a good thing.  At least I did as I am very familiar with your predicament -- I was a former 35min 10k and ultramarathoner.  I have a feeling that you are a strong runner and that you have a strong ambitious mind and acute mental acuity.  This is not actually a bad thing; it can be good when you have a good coach who can tame your ambition and channel your training in such a way that emphasizes your strong energy and drive to the proper training techniques that tire you out, but leads to performance improvement and stronger workload.  From what I am seeing from you, you just need someone to evaluate your training routine, offer some constructive suggestions and monitor/mentor your training sessions.  Hope this helps..

[Kris111]

Well you are probably right about that. I think along with diet would be a big part too,probably wasnt eating enough/right because of incline adding more intensity to . I'm sure rest was factor somewhere to.
Dont know anyone to train here. Think I'll just try to keep it low key for now. Lol


Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.