Regarding "overtraining".

charlesmauch

Since I began spending time at the local Y I've heard over and over to be careful not to overtrain. I've read about some of the symptoms, but I've never really come close to any of them.

I don't get a chance to be very active (outside of the gym) so I tend to enjoy myself while I'm there. I have no problems spending 2 (sometimes 3) hours there in the morning before I get out and get on with the rest of the day.

I guess my question is ... is overtraining a problem that a LOT of people actually experience? I can understand that maybe you'd hit the ceiling if you went from a couch potato to hours of cardio every day.

My guess, and it's only a guess - is that overtraining results when your undereat for the amount of activity you are actually performing. Is this something anybody else has found?

I've been loosing an average of 1.5lbs a week for the past several months, but I eat a "lot" (3000+ calories a day) for someone on a "diet".

Thoughts?

cwolfman13

I have a tendency to over-train. I realize this now so I can usually catch myself before I do any damage...hopefully.

Just as an example, for most of the winter of 2013 I was working out regularly...doing quite a bit of running...had done some 5Ks and 10Ks...doing some cycling...hitting the weight room, etc. Everything was pretty hunky dory.

I had signed up for a Go Ruck challenge later that summer so late winter/early spring I started training for that...lots of running and military PT kind of stuff along with carrying around a loaded pack...everything was going pretty good. About mid way through spring my mom asked me if I wanted to do a triathlon in the fall with her...sure...what the hell. I was already running a lot, no biggie..I just needed to start riding more and doing some swimming.

So now I'm spending my mornings on my bike, my lunches running and/or doing long marches with a loaded pack and some extra PT kind of stuff...still hitting the weight room a few nights per week and swimming twice per week. At this point things are not so great...I'm eating just fine...I'm just starting to get really tired and my body is breaking down and not recovering properly...

No biggie...June comes and I complete the Go-ruck...with that out of the way, time to focus on that triathlon. I ramp up my mileage even more on the bike...swimming more too...keeping up with my running and still hitting the weight room doing Starting Strength of all things. ..

Now it's August and my triathlon is fast approaching...good thing...I'm tired...my body is beat up...I can feel it...everything hurts. But hey, wait a second...cyclocross season is about to crank up in another month...I better start getting out to the Tuesday night practices...cyclocross kicks ASSSSS!!!!

So now I'm peak training for my triathlon...still doing SS...and going to Tuesday evening cyclocross practices. Ok...I can do this...power through...no biggie...winter will be here soon enough and I'll take a breather....

Two weeks before my triathlon that was supposed to be my main goal..my main objective...then snap...I'm on a run and I feel my calves tighten up...they're pulling hard on my posterior tibial tendons leaving them both completely strained and my feet turned out to the sides...I was unable to straighten them for over a week...after that, it was I was still on crutches for a few weeks.

Forget the triathlon...never made it. I ended up rehabbing those tendons instead...out of commission for about 12 weeks from anything more than walking slowly. I missed the whole cyclocross season to boot.

Fortunately, i was able to get back on the bike in the winter for which I started training for a 1/2 century ride...and only a 1/2 century ride. After that ride I attempted to start running and swimming again in an attempt to complete my goal of that triathlon...snap...those tendons again.

It's now been another year...I just started running a few weeks ago and I'm still cycling...but I'm taking things much slower. I'm hoping all of the rehab work has paid off as well as the year long hiatus from running. At the moment I'm just trying to work back up to a decent 5K in the hopes that I can finally do my tri...but I have learned my lesson and will take things one at a time.

Cherimoose

charlesmauch wrote: »

My guess, and it's only a guess - is that overtraining results when your undereat for the amount of activity you are actually performing.

Yes, or under-rest for amount of work performed.

If you feel fine, you're probably fine. Just watch for the common symptoms, like fatigue, constant soreness, anxiety, or reduced performance.

SKME2013

Cwolfman 13: sorry to hear about your misfortune. I can fully sympathise...I overdid the training for running, did a race and then kept on going. Now I have pain in my leg and will not be able to run the HM this coming Sunday.

OP: yes I did feel superb for a very long time until suddenly it hit me, or better my leg. It was not only running, but working aggressively my elliptical, biking, roller blading, hiking and on top I walk my dogs every day 8kms.

Make sure you get a rest day and and don't train at high intensity all the time. Have perhaps a look at the 80/20 rule. (80% at lower intensity and the remaining at higher)

Best of luck
Stef.

chrisdavey

If you are there fore 3 hours, the intensity level can't be SUPER high for that whole time. It's impossible basically.

Google over reaching as that is what you are referring to.

Over training is a medical condition and would put you in hospital. Semantics I know but just letting you know.

Over reaching is fine if you are aware of it and it is for a purpose e.g. going through higher volume training for a period of time and then decreasing volume (increase intensity) to recovery and super compensate.

The issue comes when people have no idea about the resting part or lowering volume and just keep going harder and harder. (especially if you are in cal deficit)

If you training a lot, more food and sleep will be required to recover basically. At some point, you will plateau and need to reduce volume.

Foamroller

@ cwolfman, ty for sharing your overtraining story.

TOO GOAL ORIENTED. I think a lot of us can get too eager once we've got a taste for physical activity. I also think that a lot of us forget that appropriate volume and intensity is RELATIVE to each individual's fitness level. Comparing to other people's ability to perform is very bad if you're not at their (higher) level or being too ambitious on your own goals. Yes, been there, done that!

I'm still testing the balance between food intake, performance and resting time. I know now that when I overdo my goals I'm asking for injuries.

VARIETY. What really works for me is variety, fex. to have 2x a week hard sessions at the gym sprinkled with a bit of running outdoors and indoors, slow and fast walks. When I'm dogtired all the time, ache-y, no motivation and very hard to fall asleep, overly crabby mood, I listen to the signals my body is giving me and adjust accordingly. And why not do more playing, dancing etc? Physical activity comes in many forms and don't have to be so serious aIl the time.

PROCESS ORIENTED. Setting my mini goals just out of reach was a game changer. That way I keep motivated being rewarded, but see a steadier progress:)

Was out with broken ribs etc for 6 months in 2013, still at the best form of my life atm.
I'm soon 44 years old with a resting heartrate at 50-53 bpm, so slow and steady progress works well for me.

Edit: fixed some errors.

Pinkranger626

For me it's been a struggle with my job and my hobbies. I'm a personal trainer and a group exercise instructor. The over training issue came up for me when I was teaching high intensity classes multiple times a week, often times back to back (i.e. kickboxing, bootcamps, bodypump, etc.) and I was still lifting three times a week, running, and going to other people's classes on my own time. It didn't matter how much I was eating because I wasn't giving myself enough rest, even though I was adhering to the standard one day of rest rule.

I was recently sidelined by a gluteal tendinopathy issue. 8 weeks with nothing but maybe 30 minutes on the recumbent bike (I hate that bike). It was triggered by weird circumstances, but I think it was a compound of all the stress I put my body through over the last few years.

I'm back to running and lifting again, but I'm much more aware of stretching and resting and finding a better balance. I've scaled back my classes (luckily I switched to a job that I can do that with) so my body is in a better place now.

As for your situation OP, Keep an eye on how much high intensity and high impact stuff you're doing in those 2-3 hours. Honestly, when it comes to regimented exercise, the only time I'll spend more than an hour is when I'm running long distance. Other than that I'm in and out in 45-60 minutes tops. Sometimes the overtraining issue doesn't show any signs until it's too late and you're injured. Make sure you're stretching too, that has made a huge difference in how my body recovers.

lporter229

A lot of times it's not a matter of feeling tired or getting injured, it's just that you are not reaping the benefits of your hard work because you are not giving your body the time it needs to rest and repair. I agree with Steph, check out the book "80/20". It has changed my training dramatically and I am feeling stronger than ever. It is geared towards runners, but the information within can pretty much be applied across the board.

jacksonpt

Does it happen? Yes. Is it common? No.

Assuming sufficient sleep and calories/nutrition, it's REALLY hard to do for most people.

charlesmauch

Thanks for the replies, gave me a bit to think about.

I lift heavy 3x a week, which usually takes an hour but to be honest half of that time is spent resting and fooling with my phone between sets. I'll follow that up with some conditioning work (jump rope, hill sprints, heavy bag work, etc) until I start to run out of gas.

On the other 3 days I'm there, it's usually pretty easy. About 30 minutes of mobility work (foam rolling, dynamic stretching, mountain climbers, groiners, etc) and then a long walk/jog, and some static stretching to finish it all up.

A bit more than a year ago, any physical activity was a chore (I was 340lbs, BMI somewhere around 40%). I remember breathing hard when trying to tie my shoes or crossing the street quickly. I've lost over 100lbs since then, and I suppose at the moment I'm just enjoying that I *can* be this active.

And I'll pickup 80/20 today on amazon. Thanks!

Wronkletoad

jacksonpt wrote: »

Does it happen? Yes. Is it common? No.

Assuming sufficient sleep and calories/nutrition, it's REALLY hard to do for most people.

+1

cwolfman13

charlesmauch wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, gave me a bit to think about.

I lift heavy 3x a week, which usually takes an hour but to be honest half of that time is spent resting and fooling with my phone between sets. I'll follow that up with some conditioning work (jump rope, hill sprints, heavy bag work, etc) until I start to run out of gas.

On the other 3 days I'm there, it's usually pretty easy. About 30 minutes of mobility work (foam rolling, dynamic stretching, mountain climbers, groiners, etc) and then a long walk/jog, and some static stretching to finish it all up.

A bit more than a year ago, any physical activity was a chore (I was 340lbs, BMI somewhere around 40%). I remember breathing hard when trying to tie my shoes or crossing the street quickly. I've lost over 100lbs since then, and I suppose at the moment I'm just enjoying that I *can* be this active.

And I'll pickup 80/20 today on amazon. Thanks!

Yeah...you're fine...nothing to worry about at this point. Keep at it, you're doing great...

veloman21

For cyclists, Strava has a useful feature called fitness and freshness which is especially useful if you have a power meter. It helps me understand the relationship between fitness, fatigue and form in my training. Basically a series of days of long (3-5hr) rides will improve my fitness levels a good bit but my fatigue levels will increase even more and my form will decrease. However, a rest day will see my fitness level drop only slightly but my fatigue levels will decrease considerably thus my form will increase.

I use this to prepare for races and find it works very well for me.