Overtraining... again!

Well, I've gone and done it again. This is the third time this year I've overtrained, although this time the symptoms are a bit different. My joints and muscles are achy, particularly in my arms and shoulders. Previous times when I've overdone it I've also lacked motivation (not wanting to go to the gym, let alone train), my sleep has been disrupted, and I've felt like I was about to get a cold. For the past few days I've just had the aching feeling.

The last time I trained was Thursday, which means that so far I've had 4 days of rest. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, it could well be 5. Reading about overtraining on CrossFit forums, one person advised taking a complete week of rest if necessary, and not doing even light training just for the sake of doing something. At the moment, I'm itching to lift something heavy, even though I know I need to rest. It's the addictive qualities inherent in exercise that keep me going sometimes. As someone noted, perhaps it should be called CrackFit! (Yes, I know I'm not a CrossFit athlete, but it's the style of training that's closest to the regimen I follow.)

I definitely need to rethink how I train, as this is happening too often. Right now I exercise Monday through Thursday, have a personal training session on Saturday, leaving Friday and Sunday as my rest days. As Paul's observed, I often try to fit too much into each session with perhaps 4 or 5 different routines; sticking to just 2 is a more intelligent strategy.

One comment of note, in response to an article about CrossFitters overtraining: "I actually work out less, with greater results than I used to... I used to pretty much always go 5x/week, now it's 4x, and sometimes 3x week. I feel better, recover better, and I've shifted from "I have to hit the PR/I suck at pullups-f$%$%ck!/can't believe that person was faster or lifted heavier than me" BS, and just work out each time as hard as I can, and I do 100% of my best each day."

Part of my problem is that in the back of my mind is the (absurd) idea that if I don't train, I'll turn back into the Pillsbury Doughboy I used to be. However, "Burning Calories: If I don’t workout then I won't have burned any calories today and if I don't do that then I’ll surely get fat. Stop connecting diet and exercise! They are two separate pieces of a healthy profile. Did you know that people actually GAIN weight when they are overtrained or under-slept?"

On another forum, someone said: "Just remember you get stronger by recovering from and adapting to the stress you put on your body in training. Smart training + proper recovery = results. More training ≠ more results."

I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not an athlete, so I don't need to train like one. I'm just trying to have fun getting stronger and fitter, which I measure with improved PRs. I'm not trying to win any trophies.