Physical Overtraining

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Classifications If overtraining occurs, there is not sufficient recovery time between workouts; progress is hampered. Overtraining is often thought of as absolute, or a black and white phenomenon. Overtraining should be viewed as a continuum, or in shades of gray. An exerciser or athlete may be slightly overtrained and make progress, just not as much as if they were not overtrained.   Specific General Acute muscle worked to exhaustion traumatic orthopedic injury body exhausted after bout glycogen depleted sympathetic response elevated cortisol levels increase Chronic muscle becomes weaker over time orthopedic overuse injury body becomes weaker over time glycogen depleted over time Parasympathetic response Increased cortisol levels Signs of Overtraining Stone, M.H., Keith, R.E., Kearney, J.T., Fleck, S.J., Wilson, G.D. and Triplett, N.T. Overtraining: A Review of the Signs, Symptoms and Possible Causes. The Journal of Applied Sports Science Research 5:35-50, 1991. Sympathetic Parasympathetic Increased resting heart rate Increased resting blood pressure Decreased maximal power output Decreased sports performance Decreased maximal blood lactate concentrations Slower recovery after exercise Weight loss Decreased appetite Decreased desire to exercise Increased irritability and depression Increased incidence of injury Increased incidence of infection Decreased resting heart rate Faster return of heart rate to resting value after exercise Decreased sports performance Decreased blood lactate concentrations during submaximal and maximal exercise Unemotional behavior Monitoring Example Take your pulse upon wakening before getting out of bed for several days to establish a baseline. Have a easy or short workout if your morning heart rate is greater than 5% of your baseline. Take the day off of training if your morning heart rate is greater than 10% above baseline. Prevalence in Athletes 10-20% of athletes who train intensely experience overtraining which results in chronic decreases in performance and impared ability to train. Raglin J, Barzdukas (1999). Overtraining in athletes: The challenge of prevention. ACSM. Health Fitness J. 3:27-31. Overreaching & Tapering Overreaching is characterized by a sharp increase in training volume. Overreaching is thought to be an early stage of overtraining which can result in increased fatigue and performance decrements. However, an increase in performance above baseline can occur, if an overreaching phase of approximately 1 week is followed by an immediate return to normal training. A taper following normal training can result in additional performance increases. Stone MH, Pierce KC, Sands WA, Stone ME (2006). Weightlifting: Program Design. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 28 (2), 10-17. Hormonal Fluctuation Model A higher testosterone to cortisol ratio correlates with increases of maximal strength performance Hakkinen KA, Pskarinen A, Alen M, Kau hanen H, Komi PV (1987). Relationships between training volume, physical performance capacity, and serum hormone concentrations during prolonged training in elite weight lifters. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 8 (suppli): 61-65. 30% drop in Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio is proposed to be too extreme for effective recovery of performance after training Changes of less that 10% in Testosterone/Cortisol Ratio is proposed to be too small and lead to lesser performance improvements Performance should be optimal if period of training can be adjusted to lower T/C ratio between 10-30% that is followed by a period of recovery. Glutamine/Glutamate Ratio and Overtraining GN/GT ratio >5.88 = Normal GN/GT ratio >3.58 <5.88 = Adaptation GN/GT ratio <3.58 for <2 weeks = Over Reaching GN/GT ratio <3.58 for >2 weeks = Over Training Lon Kilgore, Ph.D., Midwestern State University, Exercise Science Laboratories and USA Weightlifting Regional Development Center, Wichita Falls, Texas. Intervention Period of recovery Injury Administer first aid Diagnosis (Physician) Implement Rehabilitation (Physical Therapist) Lack of progress or other overtraining symptom Plan recovery days Resume Training Determine cause of overtraining too much, too fast, too soon Weight training example Split Program Design Flaws Cardio example Frequency and Duration on Running: Incidence of Injury See Causes of Injury Also examine contributors of overtraining occurring outside of training Change program accordingly Reassess and reajdust program indefinitely Some authorities mistakenly misattribute injury to a specific movement, when if fact other factors, such as overtraining was to blame. See Over Generalizations and Adaptation Criteria.