Overtraining syndrome is often feared among the weight-training community. In order to get stronger, fitter and improve your performance, you must train hard and constantly strive to lift heavier weights, perform more repetitions and train at higher intensities. This training causes great stress to your body, so sufficient rest is needed in order for adaptations to take place. If you do not get adequate rest, then overtraining syndrome can occur.
Fatigue and Mood
Fatigue is the most common sign associated with overtraining. This fatigue is not limited to during exercise but will be present throughout the day, even when resting. You may also find yourself irritable, depressed and lose enthusiasm for weight training. Your sleep patterns can become irregular, leading to even more stress, fatigue and irritability.
Performance
Your training performance will decrease drastically, due in part to the aforementioned factors, as well as several others. When stress levels are higher due to overtraining, your body produces more of the hormone cortisol, which can contribute to muscle loss and fat gain, and your musculoskeletal system often responds to overtraining by developing overuse injuries such as stress fractures and tendonitis. Resting heart rate can increase and take longer to return to normal, and immune function is decreased. All of these lead to a large drop in performance levels. You will find that you can't lift as heavy weights for as many repetitions, and your muscles will be much more painful than usual after training sessions.
Recovery and Prevention
The only way to recover from overtraining is to rest as much as possible and to regularly evaluate your levels of fatigue and mood. When you begin weight training again, take it very easy and do not attempt to lift anywhere near what you were before your break. In his book "The Black Book of Training Secrets," strength coach Christian Thibaudeau recommends checking your pulse every morning to look for signs of overtraining. If it's three to five beats per minute higher than normal, then cut down your workout volume slightly for the day, if it's five to 10 beats higher than normal, reduce both volume and the amount of weight lifted.
Overtraining versus Overreaching
Many people confuse overtraining with overreaching. According to trainer Lyle McDonald, true overtraining takes months to recover from and results in huge decreases in performance and mood, whereas overreaching only lasts for two to three weeks, with a mild drop in performance and usually results in you coming back after a short break stronger than before. Some training programs, such as Charles Poliquin's Super Accumulation program even intentionally cause you to be in a brief state of overreaching as a way of increasing long-term performance.
References
- Princeton University: Exercise and Fitness
- Rice University; Overtraining Syndrome; Dr. Mark Jenkins
- "Journal of Athletic Training"; A Review of Overtraining Syndrome - Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms; Mary Black Johnson, Steven M. Thiese
- Body Recomposition; Overtraining, Overreaching and all the Rest Part 1; Lyle McDonald
- T Nation; The Super-Accumulation Program; Charles Poliquin; June 2007
