Many people wear their post-gym aches like a badge of honor: what is it if not proof they pushed hard enough? But sometimes there's more at play than delayed-onset muscle soreness. Sometimes, you're actually overdoing it.

The tricky part? Distinguishing between "I worked hard" soreness and "I'm heading toward injury" fatigue isn't always obvious, especially when you're just starting out.

We asked Alice Fontecilla, a personal trainer and therapeutic skills expert at Muscle Booster, to break down the warning signs of overtraining and how to tell the difference between soreness and something more serious.

4 Signs You’re Overtraining

When you're new to fitness, it can be harder to decipher whether you're sore from a challenging workout or from pushing too hard. Here are several signs your body is asking you to dial it back. 

Persistent Tiredness

"If you consistently feel exhausted instead of energized post-workout, it's likely that you're pushing yourself too hard," Fontecilla explains. "If you feel healthy and are getting adequate sleep but are waking up tired, it indicates that there could be an issue with the frequency of your training."

Exercise should leave you feeling accomplished, maybe a little tired, but not drained. If you're dragging through your day despite sleeping well, your body (and muscles) need more recovery time.

Drop in Performance

"If you're finding it harder to do your regular workout routine, and your performance is beginning to plateau or decline rather than improve, it indicates that you could be overtraining," says Fontecilla. "Ultimately, steady increases in speed, weight, and distance are safest when training."

Progress isn't always linear, but if you're consistently struggling with workouts that used to feel manageable, that's your body waving a red flag.

Consistent Muscle Soreness

"If your muscles are consistently sore and achy, it could mean that you may not be taking enough time between workouts to rest," Fontecilla notes. "Certain exercises can cause micro-tears in your muscles, which, if there's not enough recovery time between training, means your muscles won't rebuild, leading to potential injury."

Some soreness after a tough workout is normal. Soreness that lingers for days or never really goes away is not.

Lack of Motivation

"Not all signs are physical. You may find yourself avoiding the gym or not enjoying it as much as you once did. This could be a sign of overtraining," Fontecilla warns. "Training isn't a sprint, and by exhausting yourself and overtraining, it can lead to demotivation."

If you're starting to dread workouts you used to enjoy, it might be burnout rather than a discipline problem. While finding ways to motivate yourself can help with general motivation slumps, a persistent lack of enthusiasm despite rest might signal you need to scale back your training intensity or frequency.

When Overtraining Turns into Injury

"People are often super motivated to meet their fitness goals, particularly at the beginning of their journey, meaning they can sometimes do too much exercise in a short space of time," Fontecilla explains.

"If you're consistently overtraining, pushing yourself a little harder than usual or are trying a new activity, it can lead to delayed recovery and injury. Be mindful of giving yourself time to recover from exercise, especially when you're increasing your training load."

Her recommendation? "As a general rule, aim for a 5:2 split. Five non-consecutive days of training per week, with two rest days."

Soreness vs. Injury: How to Spot the Difference

Here's where things get important.

"It is common for people to feel stiff and even sore after a particularly strenuous workout, which often appears 24 to 72 hours after training, peaking at around 48 hours," Fontecilla says. "Soreness is typically felt when stretching the muscles and can lead to short-term strength loss."

That's normal.

What's not normal: "However, if the pain persists, gets worse, and swelling or bruising is visible, it's likely a little more than post-workout soreness and may require a little more attention."

In other words, soreness should fade within a few days. Pain that lingers, intensifies, or comes with visible swelling or bruising needs to be checked out.

Rest Days Aren't Laziness

They're part of the training plan. If your body is sending you signals like fatigue, declining performance, persistent soreness, or loss of motivation, listen to them before they turn into something worse.

You can't outwork poor recovery. And you definitely can't train through an injury.