Overtraining syndrome...advice needed!!

stoj8

after a prolonged training period...am experiencing overtraining syndrome!


Anyone had any successful methods on combating Overtraining Syndrome?

Have read a lot of literature on this ..with several clinical studies etc..

Would like to hear what worked for you...
any effective methods you have trialled that worked..will be greatly appreciated..

Azdak

Take a break of a few days.

When you start again, keep volume low(ish) for a couple of sessions.

Build up to more where you were.

Build more balance into your program to avoid in the future.

It's not that difficult to deal with.

GetSoda

Are you training like 8-10 hours a day every day at intense levels?

lithezebra

I have to be strict about avoiding overtraining. I started scheduling 72 hours between weight training sessions, and no more than 2 sessions of HIIT per week, to get rid of persistent soreness, fatigue and injuries that wouldn't go away. Everyone is different, and I need at least 3 days of rest or easy exercise per week to balance out lifting and HIIT. Also, eating enough is important if you train hard.

The good thing about more rest and recovery is that I've finally been able to get stronger, put on some muscle mass, and improve my flexibility, now that I'm not pushing myself 6 days a week.

artxe

deload week. intensity or volume or both

neandermagnon

back when I was at uni, I did a lot of research (i.e. scientific literature research not my own actual studies) on this, and the evidence from many peer reviewed studies suggests that the vast majority of cases of overtraining is actually from undereating, not overtraining. i.e. the athlete was not eating enough to sustain their level of activity. In these cases, the problems were alleviated by the athletes eating more. i.e. they carried on with the same volume of training, but ate quite a bit more, and the problems went away.

that's not to say that there aren't genuine cases of overtraining as well (especially with relation to heavy lifting and ensuring the each muscle group has adequate rest time before being trained again), but the human body can endure huge amounts of exercise so long as it's properly fed. There are people who do heavy manual labour more than 40 hrs a week for a living, professional athletes train most days of the week, some people who do manual jobs also go to the gym in the evenings, people from pre-industrial societies who lift and carry everything and walk everywhere carrying heavy loads, and so on. In a lot of people who are exercising to get and stay fit and lean, undereating is an issue as a) people can miscalculate their calorie needs and food intake and b) a lot of people are overly worried about losing fat or avoiding fat gain, and so are afraid to eat more, or are deliberately eating too little and c) ultra lean is idealised, when most people will find that the optimal amount of body fat for sports performance, fertility and optimal health, is higher than the idealised ultra low body fat levels (I'm talking about the difference between e.g. 13% body fat in women (i.e. too low, unsustainable, may result in loss of menstruation) and 18% body fat in women (i.e. the low end of the healthy range, unlikely to cause issues provided that level's reached the healthy way). not sure what the equivalent values in men are, but professional bodybuilders don't sustain these low body fat levels year round, they cut for contests then increase their body fat the rest of the time for their health)

Anyway, if you're suffering from overtraining, yes definitely take a rest, but when you get back to your regular exercise routine, I'd advise doing a thorough review of your diet and check that you're getting enough calories and enough of each of the macronutrients. Ensure you're getting enough protein and fat for your size, and enough carbs to support your activity levels.