There’s three major ways that people get overtrained and three different ways that you should respond to it.
Warning
Please don’t let this be a substitute for the advice of a physician.
The Single Difficult Workout
This kind of overtraining happens under two circumstances.
The first circumstance is the planned circumstance. You know that you are going to push your body beyond what it has done before or what it has done in a long time. Hopefully, you will succeed in reaching the level of exertion that you desire.
The second circumstance is when you are undertrained due to a lack of exercise, and you workout again for the first time after a long time, and you find yourself sore after the workout.
In either case, you should only need a short rest. If you had planned the event, then you will probably want to take it easy after your next workout. If you haven’t worked out for awhile, then you may want to back off and you certainly don’t want to push yourself harder.
Joint Pain
Temporary muscle soreness usually isn’t a big deal, but joint pain is usually a bad sign. If you’re feeling joint pain when you’re working out (or after), you should consider that you may be doing something wrong. It may be that you are not performing an exercise properly, or it may be that you have an injury that needs rest or treatment. You should avoid exercises that cause joint pain and speak to your physician to find out what is wrong
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain in joints or muscles should always be a concern. If you feel pain all the time, and you constantly find yourself reaching for NSAIDs, then you should probably consider stopping all exercise until you can talk to a doctor.
Conclusion
If you want to get in shape, then you can’t be a wimp. But once you’re in shape, you need to realize that nothing lasts forever. Working out to set personal records is for the young. Working out to maintain health is for the old. Age comes early for the aggressive athlete. And part of the challenge of working out when your old is having enough sense not to overextend yourself.