So is it really possible to overtrain? Absolutely! But sore muscles from a long bike ride or aches and pains from a touch football game do not constitute overtraining.
So how can you tell if your exercise regimen is doing you more harm than good? For most people who keep fit with daily exercise, pushing themselves to a level where the training is causing exercise performance to decline is not very likely. In fact, many recreational athletes don't actually monitor performance other than by how well they keep up in the Monday night basketball game or if their clothes still fit.
What if you are training for a marathon, or a long bike race, or maybe a triathlon? When you add volume and intensity to your workouts, your body sends you messages about how well it is adapting.
"The biggest thing you can do is listen to your body, advises Scott Trappe, PhD, Assistant Professor of Exercise Physiology at Ball State University in Indiana.
It is well known that in preparing for competition, athletes train more often and/or more intensely in an effort to make their bodies perform better. This is the way to improve performance, but there are limits.
An expert panel from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) answered this question by defining the differences between overload training, overreaching, and overtraining.
- Overloading: Planned pushing of training limits that is necessary to achieve improved performance.
- Overreaching: Unplanned, excessive overload without adequate rest. This is a short-term problem marked by poor performance in training and competition.
- Overtraining: Untreated overreaching that results in chronic decreases in performance and an impaired ability to train. This is a long-term problem associated with prolonged overload training without proper recovery time.
Overtraining occurs when an athlete spends too much time training and not enough time resting and eating the nutrients needed to rebuild muscle tissue that is damaged during intense exercise
Trappe explains that exercise is only the stimulus for building fitness. He adds that many athletes don't realize how essential rest and proper nutrition are to this process.
The USOC/ACSM panel states simply, "Failure to adapt to overload training is the primary cause of overtraining syndrome. You train harder, but your body does not adapt to this stress by improving performance (i.e., faster race times, ability to lift more weight).
It's not only about training. A number of other factors, many of which have been difficult to prove in controlled studies, seem to contribute to overtraining.
- Poor diet
- Preexisting medical condition (cold, allergies)
- Monotonous training
- Frequent competition
- Environmental factors (altitude, temperature, humidity)
- Psychosocial stressors
- Heavy travel schedule
"The main symptom is an unexpected loss of performance that cannot be attributed to illness or injury, says Jack Raglin, co-chair of the USOC/ACSM panel and associate professor of kinesiology at Indiana University. An overtrained athlete is training as hard, if not harder, than usual for the same or poorer results.
Athletes who are overtraining may exhibit any number of the following symptoms, with mood disturbances, depression and muscle soreness leading the pack:
- Mood disturbances (irritability, anger, anxiety)
- Depression
- Muscle soreness
- Elevated morning resting pulse rate
- Persistent fatigue
- Loss of energy and vigor
- Loss of appetite
- Frequent minor infections
- Weight loss
- Heaviness in the limbs
- Increased injuries
- Insomnia
-
Reduced
concentration
Bear in mind that these symptoms are common to numerous other conditions as well. Therefore, they must be considered in the context of a specific athlete's training regimen and personal life.
Dr. Trappe explains that there is no medical test to determine if you are overtraining. One symptom alone may not mean you are overtraining, but several symptoms combined with a drop in performance are pretty good indicators.
Be warned most athletes are not aware when they are overtraining. "The symptoms typically come on gradually over a period of several weeks," says Trappe.
Dr. Trappe suggests monitoring your training by asking yourself the following questions:
1. How is my resting heart rate? Check your pulse each morning when you get up. If it becomes elevated over your norm, you may be overtraining.
2. How is my appetite? Eating less than normal may indicate overtraining.
3. Can I get through the day without taking naps? If you are not sleeping enough at night and are feeling fatigued all day, your body may be telling you to cut back your training regimen.
There's really only one way to recover from overtraining syndrome. Rest! How much rest you should take depends on whether you have been overreaching (training too hard for a short time) or truly overtraining (training too hard for an extended period).
- Overreaching treatment: In the overreaching stage, reduced training and/or a few days rest should be enough. Rest days can include recreational exercise activities. This is also a great time to take a look at your nutrition and see where you can improve it.
- Overtraining treatment: Overtraining is a chronic, long-term condition that will require rest and complete cessation of training. Keep up your physical activity with recreational exercise. It's hard to stop training entirely, but it's often necessary. Again, proper nutrition is important.
Recovery can take anywhere from two weeks to several months, in severe cases.
Don't be afraid to rest! "Too often athletes think taking a few days off will cause them to become unfit," says Trappe. He explains that you do not lose fitness gains that quickly.
As usual prevention is the best medicine. Here are some tips on how to avoid overreaching and overtraining:
- Develop a training program that includes enough rest for your body to recover from intense exercise. Adequate rest is especially important during heavy training.
- Keep records of how your training relates to your performance. This will give you the chance to notice that you are working harder for the same or poorer results.
- Feed the machine! "Replenish your carbohydrate stores after a workout, otherwise you will start your next workout at a disadvantage," warns Dr. Trappe. Eat protein to rebuild muscle that has been damaged during exercise, and eat carbohydrates to fuel your body.
- Ask a certified trainer for help planning your training program.
Training limits are unique to each individual. Studies have shown that athletes of equivalent conditioning respond quite differently to the same overload in a training regimen.
"Some people can tolerate large volumes of work better than others," Trappe explains. "Some people will respond positively, and some will respond negatively." Remember, listen to your body!
We've all heard of metabolism. We think of it as how our bodies use the food we eat, but there's much more to it.
Metabolism encompasses the entire process of the build-up and breakdown of energy and tissues in the body. There are actually three stages of metabolism:
- Equilibrium: A fully recovered state in which energy is neither being depleted nor replenished, and structural tissues are not being damaged or repaired.
- Catabolism: Energy is being depleted and tissue damage is taking place (i.e. during exercise).
- Anabolism: Energy is being replenished and tissue repair is taking place (i.e. resting and eating a healthy diet)
