Overtraining

Overtraining occurs when a person exceeds their body's ability to recover from strenuous exercise. Overtraining can be described as a point at which a person may have a decrease in performance or plateau as a result of failure to perform at a certain level or training-load consistently; a load which exceeds their recovery capacity. People who are overtrained cease making progress, and can even begin to lose strength and fitness. Overtraining is also known as chronic fatigue, burnout, and overstress in athletes.

It is suggested that there are different forms of overtraining. Firstly, "monotonous program overtraining" suggests that repetition of the same movement, such as certain weight lifting and baseball batting, can cause performance plateau due to an adaption of the central nervous system, which results from a lack of stimulation.

Signs and symptoms

Overtraining may be accompanied by one or more concomitant signs:

Persistent muscle soreness
Persistent fatigue, different from just being tired from a hard training session—occurs when fatigue continues even after adequate rest
Elevated resting heart ratea persistently high heart-rate after adequate rest, such as in the morning after sleep, can indicate overtraining

"Symptoms of overtraining include muscle soreness, boredom, poor motivation, sleep problems, increased morning pulse rate, diminished sex drive, a drop in energy, decreased resistance to illness, poor appetite and weight loss."

There is a difference between overtraining and overreaching; overreaching is when an athlete is undergoing hard training but with adequate recovery; overtraining, however, is when an athlete is undergoing hard training without proper recovery. With over-reaching, the consequential drop in performance can be resolved in a few days or weeks.

Performance

Early onset of fatigue
Decreased aerobic capacity (VO<sub>2</sub> max)
Poor physical performance
Inability to complete workouts
Delayed recovery

Overtraining can affect the athlete's athletic ability and other areas of life, such as performance in studies or the workforce. An overtrained athlete who is suffering from physical and/or psychological distress could also have trouble socializing with friends and family, studying for an exam, or preparing for work. Another proposes that amino acids are used up faster than they are supplied in the diet, a condition sometimes referred to as "protein deficiency". Finally, systemic inflammation has been considered as a mechanism in which the release of cytokines activates an excessive immune response.

Treatment

Recovery

The most effective way to treat the effects of overtraining is to allow the body enough time to recover:

Taking a break from training to allow time for recovery.
Reducing volume and/or intensity of training.
Suitable periodization of training.
Splitting the training program so that different sets of muscles are worked on different days.
Self-massage or rub down of the affected muscles. During the recovery process, extra calories from diets may help the body speed the recovery. Keeping the body nourished with a balanced diet and hydrated with an adequate supply of water are both important for a successful recovery. Finally, addressing vitamin deficiencies

Clinical presentation

Source:

Prevention

Passive recovery, instead of active recovery, is a form of rest that is recommended to be performed by athletes in between rigorous, intermittent exercise. With active recovery, time to exhaustion is much shorter because the muscles are deoxygenated at a much quicker rate than with passive recovery. Thus, if avoiding overtraining means preventing exhaustion, passive recovery or "static rest" is safest. "Five weeks of rest appreciably improve both performance and mood state, and there is growing evidence that a very low level of exercise will speed recovery." If active recovery is performed during intense exercise, an athlete may find themselves in a state of being overtrained. The gradual variation of intensity and volume of training is also an effective way to prevent overtraining.