1. When you exercise moderately, your immune system can actually get stronger. When you over do it, your immune system does the opposite and you'll start getting sick. Catching a cold more often than you normally do can mean that you are working out too much. If you get sick, rest until are completely healthy and start back up at a slower pace.
2. If you're having a hard time making any new gains, you may have reached a plateau which can be caused by exercising too much. As you workout, muscles begin to breakdown. While you rest, those same muscles get repaired and the result is that you get stronger. If you keep hammering away at them,they'll never get stronger and you'll be stuck lifting the same weight or running the mile in the same time.
3. If you exercise too hard, you may start to feel tired, weak and lethargic. You won't feel like going to the gym but or some reason, you'll force yourself to go anyways. Being tired and not wanting to exercise can sometimes be a sign that your body is telling you to stop and rest.
4. After you workout, a little muscle soreness is fine. If it crosses into a more severe form of soreness in which you can barely move without hurting, you need to slow down.
5. Joint pain is also a sign that you have been over exerting yourself. When you workout too hard, you can do some serious damage to joints. Just like muscles, joints need time to adjust to the workload you throw at them.
For more information on how to safely exercise, visit the Advanced Guide to Exercise. You can also check out other people's routines or share your own at the exercise forums.
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Here are a few of the topics currently being discussed on a host of exercise issues that will help you workout more efficiently: