Overtraining vs. Pushing Yourself: What’s the Difference?

Most lifters and fitness athletes have seen two types of people in various gyms they train in. There are those folks that are giving their best effort throughout a set, pushing themselves beyond failure, then taking a moment to recover before either doing it again or moving to the next movement on their plan.

Then there are those that are getting themselves as psyched up as possible and making themselves perform set after set, looking for the next open station to go to, and doing it again. These people started before you got there and made it a mission to not stop until after you left.

The people that we described first are dedicated athletes that are pushing themselves toward a specific goal with a sound strategy. The latter description is simply overtraining and will not serve these lifters very well in the long run. You may be wondering what the difference is, and we are going to cover that for you here.

Understanding the Fine Line

For those that are new to the concept, overtraining is when the amount of exercise you are doing is greater than the amount you can recover from. More often than not, this has less to do with the amount of effort you are doing during each individual set and more of a matter of doing too much for too long.

An example of pushing yourself properly may be when you do a set on the seated row machine, and you reach failure after a certain number of reps. You may choose to do a rest-pause set or reduce the weight and perform more reps until you reach failure again. This is pushing yourself and maximizing the intensity of a set. You can do that a few times over the course of a workout and be fine.

An example of overtraining would be taking each individual set beyond failure, resting as little as possible, and repeating that for a couple of hours or even beyond that. The more you do, the more you are risking injury, and you would be doing this after your muscles have already been properly fatigued.

Intensity during a set is good when you use it sparingly and with a specific purpose in mind. When you are simply trying to see how long and hard you can go in the gym, that is when it turns into a potentially harmful situation.

What Is Overtraining Syndrome?

There is actually a term used for overtraining. Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) is also known as burnout in some circles. Researchers define OTS as “a maladapted response to excessive exercise without adequate rest, resulting in perturbations of multiple body systems (neurologic, endocrinologic, immunologic) coupled with mood changes.” (1)

The symptoms of OTS are not just felt in the immediate aftermath of a workout. A lifter or athlete can feel the effects long after they completed the last rep. Some symptoms may include the previously mentioned mood swings, appetite loss, chronic fatigue, and even insomnia in some cases. Imagine being so overtrained it affects your sleep.

Longer-term issues may include damage to the central nervous system and a reduction in muscle mass. If the fibers are unable to be rebuilt through nutrition and recovery, they won’t grow. So, overtraining is actually counterproductive to those that are focusing on hypertrophy and getting stronger.

This is not a new concept, either. OTS was originally discovered nearly a century ago (2), and research published as recently as 2025 concluded that “Balanced training and recovery are crucial for preventing OTS and maintaining optimal health and quality of life in physically active individuals.” (3)

Signs You’re Overtraining

If you’re asking yourself if you have been or are currently overtraining, then take a few moments to evaluate your training, recovery, and life in general. If you are noticing any of the symptoms below, then you may need to reconsider what you are doing.

• Plateaus or decreases in strength or performance 

• Lack of quality sleep

• Elevated resting heart rate (over 80 BPM in most cases)

• Suffering from frequent illness or injuries

• Elevated anxiety

• Hypertension

It is one thing if you have a bad workout or are dealing with a random cold or illness. However, if you are noticing these signs for longer than two weeks, you may be overtraining. OTS is a progressive issue, and if it has been a month or more that you notice one or more items on that list, then you are long overdue for a break from training. The Cleveland Clinic reports that proper recovery from OTS can take a few weeks for most, but if you reach what they call parasympathetic or Addison’s overtraining syndrome, then you are looking at months (4).

If you ever find yourself feeling multiple symptoms and questioning whether you are having a greater issue, then it is time to seek medical advice. Call your doctor to get more information and to evaluate and seek remedies for your individual situation.

What It Looks Like to Push Yourself (In a Healthy Way)

This should not be mistranslated as us saying “don’t train hard.” Working out is not meant to be easy, and you should absolutely challenge yourself when you are training. If you are lifting a weight, you should be questioning whether you can do that last rep with proper form or even with a spot before ending the set, at least occasionally. That is not overtraining. That is progressive overload. If you got 10 reps last workout, go for 11 or 12 this workout or add more weight and see if you can get 10 again. If you are saving that effort for the last set of an exercise, then you are pushing yourself in a healthy way.

If you are running for max distance, then you need to push yourself when the heart rate goes up and you are starting to breathe heavily. When you are done, you should feel fatigued and want to take a short rest before moving on to the next thing.

After that workout is done, check in with yourself over the next day or two. Yes, you may experience delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), but you should not feel injured. You also may notice that you slept a little longer and better that night. Mentally, however, you may feel more confident and looking forward to the next workout. If that describes you, then you are adapting well to the program you are following.

How to Stay in the “Productive Zone”

There could be a fine line between pushing yourself and overtraining in some cases, but you can navigate that line in a few ways. First, track your workouts with a log or by measuring your rate of perceived effort (RPE). This can help you decide when to hit the accelerator or back off the next time you train so you can recover properly.

Next, pay attention to the best resource of all, your body. You could and in some cases should feel fatigued when you are pushing yourself. There is nothing wrong with that. However, if you need days to be ready to train again, and it wasn’t a major competitive event, then you are risking overtraining. In that case, a couple of extra rest days or even a deload week (training at a significantly reduced rate) may be needed.

Speaking of rest days and deloads, schedule those into your programming. An extra rest day every few weeks and a deload week every few months can be a great way to prep the body for another training cycle and mentally recharge your batteries.

Nutrition, Recovery, and Supplement Support

Obviously, OTS can be caused by overtraining, but it could also be affected by a lack of recovery and nutrition. Overtraining does not just happen in the gym. If you are not eating enough quality calories and getting enough rest, then you are setting yourself up for bigger issues, such as an increase in cortisol, dehydration, and a lack of energy for activities in and out of the gym.

First and foremost, make sure your recovery is on point by getting a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night and eating enough quality calories. Supplementation can also be a great ally in preventing overtraining. When it comes to recovery, Sleep Aid and Growth are excellent choices, regardless of your fitness goals.

Taking products such as Cortisol Support to manage stress, and performance pre-workouts such as Stim-Free will help you stay ready for that next workout. You can also use quality protein like Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate anytime of the day.

Final Thoughts: Know Your Limits, Push With Purpose

We would never try to discourage a fitness enthusiast from challenging themselves. Pushing yourself is great because that is what it takes to reach goals and get better. However, there is a difference between that and overtraining and doing things that are harder just because they are harder.

Training hard with a calculated approach and a planned out strategy is much better than going all-out just so you leave the gym exhausted and sore. Know the difference, and you will see a greater return on the investment you are putting into the workouts.

Maximizing that ROI with proper supplementation will make your results even better, and Transparent Labs offers the best sports nutrition products for improved performance and recovery. You are already going to push yourself in the gym, so make sure you’re arming yourself with the highest quality ingredients to support that effort.

REFERENCES

1. Overtraining Syndrome. A Practical Guide. Jeffrey B Kreher †,*, Jennifer B Schwartz ‡

2. Overtraining Syndrome as a Complex Systems Phenomenon. Lawrence E Armstrong 1,*, Michael F Bergeron 2, Elaine C Lee 1, James E Mershon 3, Elizabeth M Armstrong 4

3. Beyond physical exhaustion: Understanding overtraining syndrome through the lens of molecular mechanisms and clinical manifestation. Ondrej Fiala 1, Michaela Hanzlova 1, Lenka Borska 1, Zdenek Fiala 1, Drahomira Holmannova 1

4. The Cleveland Clinic - Overtraining Syndrome