5 SIGNS OF OVERTRAINING
Sport specific training is not the simplest of tasks, yet so many attempt to train and to write training programs without really having a clue of what training process is. As a result, there are too many overtrained athletes in danger of being permanently injured.
It is necessary for every athlete to be aware of these important signs of being overtrained.
- BIO-MOTOR: LOSS OF COORDINATION - The most classical and usually the first of signs of overtraining. Unfortunately, this #1 sign is commonly overlooked. Instead the focus is on heart rate and other physiological signs, which are also important, but loss of coordination comes first. As a matter of fact, it comes first when we get sick, too.
Interestingly enough, the injuries that happen because of the loss of coordination, actually help prevent serious overtraining. It's your body's way of saying "STOP". So always pay attention to your coordination ability, it's the first sign of things starting to head in the wrong direction.
- PHYSIOLOGICAL: HEARTRATE DEVIATIONS FROM AVERAGES - As you know there is "resting", "working" and "recovering" heart rate. Special attention needs to be paid to changes in your "resting" heart rate. Some degrees of deviation ( ± 3 bpm) are acceptable, but some (± 6-9 or higher) are a bright sign of you entering the danger zone.
- PHYSIOLOGICAL: LOSS OF MUSCLES' ABILITY TO RELAX - Muscles' normal function is to contract and expand, tense and relax. The loss of the ability to relax means your muscles stay in a constant state of tension. Not good, not how it is supposed to be.
- PSYCHOLOGICAL: ONSET OF IRRITABILITY, DISSATISFACTION AND CONSTANT FATIGUE. If your girl/boy-friend dumped you it's one thing, but if you've been "training hard" preparing for your big race and all over sudden you feel annoyed, always tired, never happy with what you're doing or what's going on - it is almost a guarantee that you're overtrained. Sport activities are meant to bring you pleasure, satisfaction, things of that nature. So if you're feeling the opposite, maybe it's time to change what you're doing... wouldn't you say?
- RADICAL DROP IN TRAINING AND RACING PERFORMANCE This one sneaks up on you. People don't see it coming and then don't know what hit them. But the more they try to train "harder and better" the deeper they are digging themselves in. It is a short distance from here to a "point of no return", so you better STOP NOW.
What is not commonly known, is the fact that your training and racing performace will be ok for a while after you start going "downhill". You will continue to perform ok under an illusion that you are simply dealing with one of your "down/off/up/good/so-so" days (whatever you want to call it). Until one day everything starts going steadily downhill, and you can't seem to get out of it...
So, don't get yourself to that point, be smarter and listen to your body. Treated with care it will flawlessly serve you for years...
Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov
