Signs and causes of overtraining

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2012-08-30

Let me say right away that overtraining does not threaten couch potatoes, and to a lesser extent, it poses a risk for women who are casual exercisers compared to men. Well, it's clear with the former – they are simply too lazy to train vigorously. As for women (not considering professional athletes), they usually do not train as dedicatedly as men, and they tend to be more resilient than men.

The reason for overtraining is simple – the body just doesn't have time to recover from workout to workout. This fatigue accumulates, and when it reaches a certain threshold, it becomes known as overtraining.

However, there are many reasons why the body fails to recover. And, as a rule, in each individual case, we deal not with one cause but with a whole complex of factors. These can include:

1. Too frequent or too intense workouts
2. Heavy physical labor at work day after day
3. Insufficient nutrition
4. Lack of sleep
5. Chronic nervous strain

These are the most common causes. As you can guess, it’s almost always about not just the workouts themselves, but also your lifestyle. Generally, if you have a simple job, plenty of sleep and food, your body can handle quite significant loads in training. But if you're working like a dog, coming home late, waking up early, and not eating properly, even relatively light workouts can be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Signs of Overtraining

1. It usually starts with poor sleep. Due to accumulated fatigue, your blood pressure rises. Increased pressure makes it harder for you to fall asleep. You start sleeping poorly, and as a result, your recovery worsens even further.

2. Loss of appetite. After a workout, you don’t feel like eating. Although, theoretically, you should be ravenous. Why this happens – I can't say for sure.

3. Reluctance to go to training. It’s obvious that if you feel energetic and strong, you will want to train. Otherwise, the body’s protective reaction kicks in as fatigue, which prevents you from fully engaging in training, thereby saving your body from further overexertion.

4. Apathy. This is a state where you don’t feel like going to training, and you don’t feel like doing anything at all. The mechanism here is the same. It’s not just physiological fatigue but psychological fatigue as well. Training and hard work drain mental resources too.

5. Irritability.

6. Decrease in physical performance during workouts. This includes reduced strength, muscle mass, and endurance. It’s clear that in a state of chronic fatigue, the body cannot maintain all these indicators at previous levels. The appearance of any one of these signs does not yet indicate overtraining. However, the presence of three or more does indicate it with certainty.

More prudent and foresighted individuals recognize these signs quickly and significantly reduce their training load to recover from this state. Stubborn individuals continue training as fiercely as ever, regardless of the consequences. As a result, they drive themselves into a more desperate situation. Eventually, injuries start piling up, leading them to give up training for a considerable period.

Overtraining, like a bad situation, creeps up unnoticed!

Just yesterday you felt like a powerhouse, and today you’re dealing with poor sleep, no appetite, and no desire to train. The only way out is to reduce the frequency and intensity of workouts for a week, two, or even a month. And it’s advisable to address the underlying issue that prevents you from recovering adequately. Because if you continue to work 16 hours a day or barely eat, you will repeatedly find yourself in this state.

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