Overtraining, what are the signs and how to prevent it
Overtraining is defined by a physical and mental state in which an athlete experiences a decline in performance due to an imbalance of training load and recovery. It occurs when training volume and intensity is too high for the demands on the body and mind without adequate rest.
Some athletes don’t realize they are overtrained and start questioning their training plan, wondering why they are feeling significant fatigue and not able to hit paces and distances. Some attribute it to lack of sleep and other daily life stressors and although these can be factors, the main culprit is the training load is too high or has ramped up too quickly. Here are symptoms to consider if you think you are overtrained.
persistent fatigue not improved with rest
decrease in performance despite consistent training
Increased incidence of illness or injury
mood changes such as depression, lack of motivation, increased anxiety
elevated resting heart rate
disturbed sleep
If overtrained, what can you do?
Firstly, take a step back from training. Give your body rest. Keep moving but try things like going for walks, recovery rides, easy swims. Spend time with family or invest extra time on efforts in recovery such as cooking new meals and meditation. Give yourself enough time to recover so that you are feeling energized and excited to get back into training again. Consider having a follow up with your primary care provider to get proper bloodwork done and make sure your physical levels are normal and ready before getting back into a training block. If overtraining happens to occur a few weeks prior to a race, focus on rest. You will be in the taper phase and have all the hard work done at that point. There is no need to stress further and enjoy the downtime prior to the event.
How can you prevent overtraining?
Athletes try to push themselves to tolerate a high training load to adapt the body and improve. The challenge is walking the fine line between overtraining and undertraining to push the body to its full potential. Having an annual training plan is a great start. Take a look at your whole racing year and plan out what races you will do, space them out with enough time for recovery between each, and determine which races will be your “A” race and others just training races. There should be a purpose for each race in your season. Training should be set up with various training blocks to focus on certain skills at different times of the year. I recommend planning one day off per week and a decreased volume week every 4-6 weeks depending on your race schedule to promote recovery and prevent overtraining.
For more detailed discussion on what an annual training plan will look like for yourself, contact me for an initial discovery call to review your goals and plan your training for the upcoming season.
