How Can We Recognize Overtraining?

OVERTRAINING “SYNDROME”

I’m not sure who decided we needed to put “syndrome” at the end of everything these days, but this is a specific instance where I don’t believe it’s warranted. In my opinion, calling overtraining a syndrome medicalizes the athlete, takes control out of their hands and may make them feel like their body is failing due to a vague medical diagnosis. Creating that kind of uncertainty in an athlete is profoundly unhelpful, so I choose not to call it “Overtraining Syndrome”. Let’s call it what it is - simply, overtraining. More plainly, doing too much, too soon, too quickly, and probably for too long.

One of the biggest challenges with overtraining is that athletes usually don’t know they’re in it until something really goes haywire - bone stress injury, metabolic issues, irregular menstruation, to name a few. This is why it’s crucial for athletes and coaches to monitor training load closely throughout each training cycle. I’ll talk briefly about how to avoid overtraining in the next blog. For now, how can an athlete, coach, PT, or physician readily identify it?

HOW CAN WE RECOGNIZE OVERTRAINING?

There are a number of factors that we should be aware of when considering overtraining.

1. Training

2. Lifestyle

3. Health

Within each of these factors, there are symptoms which athletes, movement providers, physicians, and coaches should be able to recognize. Some are general, others specific. Put together, they can tip us off that we might be training too hard and setting ourselves up for injury, or being sidelined with other health issues.

TRAINING RELATED

1. Abnormal muscle soreness after a workout that persists with continued training

2. Inability to train or compete at a previously manageable level

3. "Heavy" legs, even at lower exercise intensities

4. Recovery feels delayed

5. Plateaus or declines in performance

6. Thoughts of skipping or abbreviating training sessions

LIFESTYLE RELATED

1. Persistent general fatigue

2. Increase in tension, depression, agitation, anger, or confusion

3. Inability to relax, persistent anxiousness

4. Poor-quality/poor-volume sleep, inconsistent sleep

5. Lack of energy, decreased desire to exercise, moodiness

6. Lack of joy from things that have previously been enjoyable

HEALTH RELATED

1. Increased frequency of illness; illnesses seemingly back-to-back

2. Increased resting blood pressure and heart rate

3. Irregular menstrual cycles; missing periods

4. Weight loss; appetite loss

5. Constipation; diarrhea

Most athletes are very familiar with any number of these symptoms, though they may not have immediately recognized that they were due to overtraining. It can be really difficult to determine what’s a standalone symptom and what’s a sign of overtraining. Experiencing 2-3 of these in a similar time frame may indicate that you’re overtraining.

To help monitor, I’ve created a simple questionnaire that might be useful to review monthly - especially when in the midst of a training block.