Overtraining

A world-class runner wrote the following in an e-mail communication:

I've just come off three weeks of particularly intense training. I went“hard”four days a week. I have plateaued and am now resting to allow my body to absorb all the good work I did but am still feeling a little bit lethargic. I sleep well but don't feel rested. My coach is concerned that I may have become anemic. As you know, my nutrition analysis has always come up good. Should I get some blood tests? Take iron? Take something else? I'm worried.

These signs are typical of an“overtrained”athlete who is suffering the consequences. Overtraining has some well-established warning signs, including increased muscle soreness, delay of muscular recovery, inability to perform at the previous training load, poor-quality sleep, decreased vigor, swelling of lymph nodes, high illness frequency, and loss of appetite. Many of these signs are a result of working at a level harder than the body's capacity to adequately recover. Overtraining rarely leads to an improvement in performance and, in fact, commonly reduces performance because it ultimately increases the likelihood that the athlete will become sick or injured.

A 26-year-old athlete who transferred to a more competitive team increased his training volume by 200 percent and after 2 months experienced continuous fatigue, tinnitus, palpitations, and insomnia. Nevertheless, he continued to play for 3 months but then became totally unfit, with sleepless nights and severe mental depression.5 This is precisely what should never happen.

Overtraining is a problem for many athletes (10 to 20 percent of those who train intensively) and appears to be relatively common in endurance athletes. Among other factors that may increase the risk of developing this condition, a poor intake of carbohydrates and fluids is known to be a problem.⁶ Overtraining syndrome is an untreated excessive training overload with inadequate rest, resulting in chronic decreases in performance and in the ability to train. Other problems may result and may require medical attention. Factors associated with the development of overtraining syndrome include

• frequent competition, particularly if it involves quality efforts;
• monotonous training with insufficient rest;
• preexisting medical conditions (e.g., colds or allergies);
• poor diet, particularly inadequate intake of carbohydrates, or dehydration;
• environmental stress (e.g., altitude, high temperatures, and humidity); and
• psychosocial stressors (e.g., work or school conflicts).

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, overtraining syndrome can be effectively eliminated through a logical training program that allows for adequate rest and recovery with proper nutrition and hydration.⁷ Studies of marathon runners suggest that even athletes who consume a high-carbohydrate diet require 7 days after a marathon to return muscle glycogen to prerace levels.⁸ A continuation of regular training before full muscle glycogen resynthesis will inevitably lead to performance degradation. Athletes must therefore understand that rest is a useful and necessary part of training, particularly after a hard and intensive training session. Athletes fearing that a reduction in training may diminish competitiveness may resist getting enough rest. Therefore, everyone in the athlete's training circle (family, coach, athletic trainer, and so on) should support the concept that overtraining is associated with reduced performance. Put simply, rest and recovery should be an integral part of the training plan.