Overtraining Syndrome, as the name implies, is the process of repetitively training beyond your body’s ability to recover.

“Recover” is actually the word you need to pay the most attention to.

Most of us are trying to juggle our training around work and family commitments, which leaves very little time for recovery. Some types of workouts and training will make you more susceptible to overtraining, but the underlying cause is always a lack of recovery.

The signs and symptoms of overtraining syndrome are not black and white. It is possible to get some advanced physiological function tests such as catecholamine excretion and neuromuscular patterns to help determine if you are overtraining, but short of these tests, it can be very difficult to determine if you’re just tired from training or going over the edge.

One of the first noticeable signs that could be a warning signal that you are overtraining is a decrease in performance.

Unfortunately, the most common way that runners deal with poor race results, is to train harder, which sends them even further down the overtraining spiral.

Common Warning Signs and Symptoms

If you have a number of the following symptoms, and other medical conditions have been eliminated, then it is possible that you may be in the overtraining syndrome spiral.

  • Consistent feeling of tiredness and lack of energy
  • Pain in muscles and joints
  • Drop in performance
  • Decrease in training capacity (especially ability to recover from sessions)
  • Insomnia (found in 90% of cases)
  • Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
  • Decrease in training capacity/intensity
  • Moodiness, anxiety and irritability
  • Depression
  • Decreased appetite and weight loss
  • Increased incidence of injuries
  • Elevated resting heart rate

One of the most objective and measurable of these symptoms is resting heart rate. You should start recording your heart rate first thing in the morning before you get out of bed, and track the results over the weeks and months.

If your resting heart rate is typically 60 bpm for example, and you are in a phase of hard training for a race, you might see that your resting heart rate starts creeping up in the mornings. This is an early warning that you are not getting enough recovery. If you catch this early, a day or two of recovery will be all you need. If your resting heart rate gradually creeps up over a period of weeks, then it can take months of recovery for it to return to normal.

[NB: Your heart rate can be effected my numerous factors. Stress, hydration and caffeine for example. Don’t get too worried about small fluctuations, instead look for ongoing trends.]

Another very interesting heart rate statistic to track is your resting heart rate after an “A” race. The longer the race, the longer it usually takes for your resting heart rate to return to normal. It typically takes 4 -5 weeks for a runners heart rate to return to normal after a 100km race. Once you you have recorded and understood your own heart rate stats, you will be able to use them as a guide for when it is appropriate to start another block of harder training.

Who is most likely to suffer from Overtraining Syndrome?

Research has shown that runners who undertake prolonged periods of high volume and repetitive training are most at risk. It would seem that lack of variety and lack of recovery are the two biggest risk factors – this is a great reason to mix up your training and keep things fresh.

Periodisation in the training program is therefore vital.

This basically means that your training schedule must have periods of hard training with planned phases of recovery allowing your body to repair and adapt. Read this article about how to create an annual training plan to help you avoid the pitfall of a lack of variability in your training.

Another common cause of overtraining is not giving your body enough rest between training cycles. A lot of runners want to jump from one training cycle to the next with little or no rest between. Many runners tend to finish a tough training segment where they pushed their bodies to new limits and raced well and immediately jump back into hard training for the next goal. In doing so, these runners never give their bodies a chance to fully recover and absorb all the training from the last segment. They carry the fatigue with them and drastically increase the chance of overtraining.

Remedies for Overtraining Syndrome

Too much training for one person might be too little for someone else. We are all different. Therefore you can’t follow a prescriptive recipe on how to recover from overtraining. You need to learn to listen to your body and act on the feedback it gives you.

If you are constantly tired and struggling to get through your training, then back off, cut down your volume and give your body some extra recovery time. If you have already tried cutting back, but you are still experiencing a number of the symptoms listed above, then you should cut back even further and seek the help of a recommended sports physician.

These are some general recommendations you should follow if you feel like you might be either in, or heading towards, the Overtraining Syndrome spiral.

  • Decrease your training volume by 50-70%
  • Stop all anaerobic training sessions and races
  • Diet and nutrition are important factors in the overtraining syndrome.
  • Try to get at least seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

For anyone who would like to learn more, here is an interesting review article on Overtraining Syndrome published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.