Is training outpacing your rest and recovery?
Overtraining syndrome occurs when you are just doing too much and not allowing your body to rest and recover. It is often caused by excessive high-intensity training with insufficient rest periods. This results in feelings of constant tiredness, reduced performance, neural and hormonal changes, mood swings and frequently poor health.
Symptoms and Warning Signs
It may be hard to know when you’re overtraining. It’s natural and expected to feel fatigued after challenging training sessions. Feeling like you are not recovering between sessions or experiencing overall fatigue and difficulty pushing yourself during workouts can be indicators of overtraining.
Training-related signs
- Unusual muscle soreness after a workout, which persists with continued training
- Inability to train or compete at a previously manageable level
- “Heavy” leg muscles, even at lower exercise intensities
Lifestyle-related signs
- Prolonged general fatigue
- Increase in tension, depression, anger or confusion
- Inability to relax
- Poor-quality sleep
- Lack of energy, decreased motivation, moodiness
Health-related signs
- Increased occurrences of illness
- Increased blood pressure and at-rest heartrate
- Irregular menstrual cycles; missing periods
- Weight loss; appetite loss
