Overtraining is essentially when you start to see a decrease in exercise performance or health because youre working out too much and not getting enough recovery. Training stresses the body and breaks down muscle. Its actually in recovery that we grow stronger and become fitter as our body repairs and rebuilds our muscles, says Rachel Cosgrove , CSCS and co-owner of Results Fitness in Newhall, California. So if you break your body down and it starts to rebuild, but you train hard again right away, you never get to the point where youre fully recovering and gaining strength.

It can be difficult to see that youre overtraining until something serious, like a chronic-use injury, occurs.

Okay, but prioritizing recovery isnt always easy, especially when youre conditioned to think more is better when it comes to exercise. And it can be difficult to see that youre overtraining until something serious, like a chronic-use injury, occurs. So what should you look out for? Here, the seven signs of overtraining you need to know.

There are plenty of ways to safeguard yourself against overdoing it at the gym. It starts by flowing a training program that works in recovery days, says Cosgrove. Everyone should have one day completely off from exercise, other than maybe a light walk.

Its important to remember that we get our results from our recovery.

If your schedule forces you to train intensely back to back, Cosgrove says ideally, you should never have more than two hard workout days in a row. And every four to six weeks of working out should be followed up by a de-loading phase where you lift half what you normally do or slow your pace and lower your typical mileage significantly. These de-loading phases serve as active recovery weeks in your overall training, she explains.

Outside of the structure of your training, its crucial to get the most out of your recovery time between tough workouts. That means stretching, foam rolling, icing, eating protein-heavy meals to rebuild muscle tissue, and even meditating to reduce stress , says Cosgrove.

Try this active recovery routine to give your muscles some R&R:

If youre someone who doesnt get much sleep or already has a lot of stress in your life, you need to focus even more on recovery from workouts, she says. Anything thats going to lower your cortisol levels is going to be good for you and your body. So yes, vegging out and watching Netflix can totally be a helpful part of your training.

If you recognize that youre overtraining, take a few days off from working out, and focus on getting quality sleep and fueling your body, says Cosgrove. After that, reexamine your fitness routine and plan to add in more recovery time or more frequent de-loading phases. If you jump right back in to what you were doing before, youre going to get the same result.

Above all, know that its okay to take time off from working out if its negatively affecting your health. Its important to remember that we get our results from our recovery, says Cosgrove. The more you recover, the harder you can actually push during your tough workouts. Its all about quality over quantity.