Over Training

Over training often happens with athletes who are training for competition, and they end up training the body beyond its ability to recover.  This is often fueled by the athletes over emphasis on the need for improvement.  The athlete believes that more and more work will result in more and more results.  This is not always the case.

It is important to keep in mind that this drive towards improving must be kept in a delicate balance, between working to much and not working enough. If the required time  needed to allow the body to repair the damage done to it is not given, the body will not perform as asked the next time training occurs.

Over training doesn’t allow the muscle to rebuild, so athletes and people who are over training are breaking down muscle that isn’t even fully recovered.  This means they are making no progress, in fact they will usually start to lose muscle.

Athletes often exercise longer and harder so they can improve. But without adequate rest and recovery, these training regimens can have that counter effect, and actually diminish the athletes performance.  That is why it is key to structure a exercise routine that has rest built into it in order to avoid over training.

Signs of over training:

• include tiredness
• reduced skeletal and muscular coordination
• soreness
• decreased immune system
• drop of performance
• decrease reaction times
• headaches
• fatigue
• insomnia
• slower reflexes
• decrease in muscle and stamina
• emotional (depression)
• oreness in joints
• increased risk of injury

Measuring Over training:

Orthostatic Heart Test: Used to measure recovery in athletes

How to:

1. Once a day at the same time lay down and rest for 10 minutes
2. Once the 10 minutes are completed record your heart rate in beats per minute
3. Now stand up and after 15 seconds re-measure your heart rate
4. Once another 90 seconds has passed re-measure your heart rate
5. Once another 120 seconds has passed re-measure your heart rate

An athlete that is properly recovering will show a consistent heart rate between each measurement they take.  If there is an increase that is greater than 10 beats per minute or more after the 120 second measurement it may be a sign of overtraining.  Use this test to examine and evaluate your training strategies to ensure you are not over training. It is important to note that someone who is under high stress may show an irregular pattern of heart beats.

Treatment: It is important to recognize the signs of over training, and treatment is key if you have come to the point of over training.  Treatment it is as simple as resting.  Usually the amount of rest that is needed once over training has occurred will take 1-2 full weeks off from all types of training.  This is especially the case if you have been doing intensive athletics work such as a camp or end of a season. That time will allow the body to fully recover every muscle and let the neurological system return to balance. Along with time off an increase in sleep, proper nutrients, plenty of fluids, and some sort of therapy (ex. massage, ice) will help the body recover from the damage done.