Last Sunday, I had a very taxing 5 x 3 deadlift session in which I set a personal best and left all I had in the gym. I know the system most affected is the central nervous system (CNS) and that is a biggie.

Since it takes a while for me to recover from such a session, especially as I get older, here are my Top Ten symptoms telling me I may have trained too hard.

1. When I get up in the middle of the night and pound Advil without counting how many just so I get back to sleep without the aches and pain.

2. Dinner after my workout doesn’t interest me much, but sleeping at the table does.

3. I don’t want to talk (serious sign)!

4. I look at weights and implements and I don’t even want to move them out of the way, let alone lift them, push them or be in the same room with them

5. I let Val talk uninterrupted. (See #3).

6. I will watch virtually anything on tv. I am entertained by the Sham Wow guy. Conversely, I am too lazy to turn the volume down on Billy Mays.

7. I don’t even want to read fitness blogs and websites.

8. While I may laugh at my old dog laboring to get up the stairs at night, I remember I am like that coming down them in the morning.

9. I let my customers off the hook easier from placing larger orders. (That can get costly)!

10. “I don’t care”, “I don’t give a ***k” and “whatever” are heard more often in my conversations, as does “I’ll get to that later”. (This is the most subtle distinction from any other time).

11. **Bonus** “Active Rest” is too much like work.

These are my acute symptoms. If it were chronic, I’d probably be injured on top of everything else. So better to back off the training a bit, relax and don’t bother me!