Don’t Outrun the Train

Overtraining is common in nearly every sport, fitness and physical activity and can be described in several ways.

Firstly, defined as when a person performs more training than his or her body can recover from or to the point where performance decline. We mostly have the belief that the harder and longer we train the faster we will build or progress despite evidence to the contrary. Many do more than they can tolerate, and our bodies can't fully recover from 1-2 days’ rest. Many of us don't even know we’ve overtrained until we hit the mark, break down, then need several weeks and months to recover.

Many factors contribute to overtraining and naturally, they’re not all deliberate. Let’s examine a few that are noticeably common in most fitness activities. 

It’s difficult to identify and contest overtraining because many athletes consider extreme tiredness as an indication of successful training. Hence the best solution is to know the general signs and symptoms sooner then take appropriate action to adjust and recover.

Your cardiovascular, hormonal, nervous, skeletal and immune systems can be affected from overtraining. In as much as overtraining can affect us physically, it also presents a mental detriment.

Let's look at some physiological and mental symptoms of overtraining:

Physiological

•Fatigue

•Decreased strength& performance

•Tightness

•High rate of overuse injuries

•Allergic reactions

•High heart rate

•Disturb sleep patterns

•Muscle tenderness

MENTAL

•Moodiness

•Instability in emotions

•Palpitation

•Diminished sex drive & performance

•Fear of training

•Lack of concentration

•Anxiousness

•Lack of enthusiasm for training

Symptoms are aggravated by external stressors such as lack of sleep, poor nutrition, menstruation, illness, work-related stress.

Monitoring yourself for symptoms of overtraining and acting immediately as they appear is the best approach. It’s good to take days off to recover if symptoms last for a while. If overtraining is caused by intensity of training, try reducing the frequency of your training intensity by 25-50% and reduce duration of training by 25-50% until recuperation is reached, then gradually progress.

Also, let’s not forget to vary your workouts to keep things interesting. Get adequate sleep, reduce excessive stressors, and introduce flexibility training into your exercise routine (this has shown to help with the quality of sleep). Foam rolling, static, active, or dynamic stretches will help reduce muscle soreness, improve joint mobility, improve exercise performance, and mitigate painful sleep.

We’re all doing our best to reach our potential and beyond, but we don’t just exercise hard, we need to get there wisely and with caution.  One breakdown or injury can lead to an overall disruption in your fitness activity or progress.

Listen to your body, stop when necessary and give that body the rest it needs!!!

Don’t forget, I’m not just blogging, I’m also a certified trainer.  Contact me to get to work! -Eric