The More You Train, The Better… Right?

By Amber Doyle

Exercise and physical activity can definitely help you improve your overall health and fitness. A regular exercise routine benefits your physical, mental, and overall well-being. Even though some specific fitness goals may require more rigorous training, you should also be aware that overtraining the body can lead to negative consequences and even cause long-term health issues.

What is Overtraining?

Excessive and intense exercise is not necessarily the key to a fit and healthy body. Your body is not a machine, as it requires appropriate rest after an intensive or consecutive days of vigorous training. Not allowing your body to have an adequate recovery could lead to overtraining.

Overtraining occurs when the intensity, volume and frequency of exercise exceed your body’s ability to recover. Effects of overtraining can last for weeks to months if symptoms are ignored. It is essential to listen to your body, as overtraining can lead to a more severe condition called overtraining syndrome (OTS). An imbalance between training and recovery causes OTS, resulting in long-term underperformance, which lasts from months to years, accompanied by physiological problems (e.g., hormonal imbalances, sleep disorders and depression).

Overtraining has varying causes, such as intensive training for long periods, being in too many competitions, and overexerting your body in a short period or for consecutive days.

Some athletes overtrain on purpose. Overreaching is an intentional way of overtraining the body to observe an increase in performance. Specifically, functional overreaching involves increasing exercise frequency to cause a performance decrement of days to weeks but improves performance after recovery. In addition to athletes, fitness enthusiasts can work out regularly to achieve their fitness goals. Sometimes, pursuing those goals without appropriate rest can lead to overreaching and eventually overtraining. Ultimately, overtraining can affect anyone who trains regularly without adequate rest and recovery.

Signs & Symptoms of Overtraining

Muscle stiffness or soreness is a typical result of regular training. However, constantly subjecting your body to stress without proper rest can result in detrimental effects beyond muscle soreness. A significant consequence of overtraining is the negative impact on mental health and increased risk of injuries. Sometimes individuals fail to realize they are overtraining and even ignore the symptoms until they sustain an injury. Recognizing the early signs can help speed up recovery and avoid long-term damage. Key symptoms include:

Chronic Fatigue: results from depleted energy and constant exhaustion due to inadequate rest.
Decreased Performance: noticeable drop in strength, speed, or endurance despite regular training because the muscle fibres and nervous system are not given sufficient time to repair.
Sleep Disruptions: difficulty sleeping, excessive sleep or insomnia can indicate the body is out of balance.
Appetite Changes: loss of appetite caused by elevated stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can suppress hunger, which is common in chronically fatigued individuals. Alternatively, an increased appetite can be caused by the body compensating for the energy deficit. Both the increase and loss in appetite can lead to weight fluctuations in the body and eating disorders.
Elevated Resting Heart Rate: A high resting heart rate (tachycardia), even when sedentary, can indicate that the body is under stress.
Frequent Illness: inadequate rest combined with prolonged wear and tear can suppress the immune system, making you more susceptible to colds, infections and other illnesses.
Hormonal Imbalance: can result in irregular menstruation in women, reduced testosterone levels in men, and other psychological symptoms like mood swings for any gender.
Psychological symptoms: depression, mood swings, irritability, and loss of motivation are a few of the mental impacts of overtraining.
Increased Injuries: prolonged soreness and muscle damage can lead to overuse injuries such as stress fractures, tendinitis, or muscle strains.

Importance of Rest & Ways of Recovery

Resting for 24 to 48 hours after moderate to vigorous training allows your body and mind to repair, adapt and regain balance. During recovery, your energy reserves like glycogen are restored, hormone levels (such as cortisol) return to normal, and muscle tissues can be rebuilt. Resting also helps to reduce psychological symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, and loss of motivation. Overtrained individuals need to structure their rest as it can help reverse the effects of overtraining and aid in restoring their performance. A well-structured rest includes passive and active recovery, which is embedded between training sessions:

Passive Recovery: complete rest day(s) with minimal physical exertion to promote cellular repair and muscle regeneration.
- Recommended after a hard training session(s)
- Examples include not exercising for a day and getting good quality sleep.
Active Recovery: engaging in light, low-intensity activities to promote blood flow without adding significant stress to the body.
- Examples are stretching, yoga, walking or light cycling.

Individuals with overtraining syndrome (OTS) will require more than structured rest to recover properly. While there is no set treatment for OTS, lifestyle changes and time are key to improving symptoms and associated physiological problems. Similarly, there is no single diagnostic test for OTS as the symptoms are common and similar to other conditions. A comprehensive approach is recommended to determine if OTS is present, such as:

A complete history of symptoms and training intensity, volume, and recovery patterns
Blood test to measure hormones such as cortisol
Heart rate monitoring to detect irregularities
A psychological test to evaluate mental and emotional health status.

The process of recovering from OTS can be challenging and time-consuming, but recovery often involves the following:

Periodized Training Program: strategic exercise programming involving gradual progression in training parameters and recovery over time. This allows the body to recover and prevent training beyond body capacity systematically.
Proper Nutrition: eating a well-balanced meal and following proper calorie, vitamin, and mineral intake are essential in recovery.
Sleep and Stress Management: good quality sleep every night, along with stress management techniques such as deep breathing or meditation, can assist in restoring balance in the body.
Seeking Professional Support: working with a fitness trainer, sports therapist, or psychologist may help address further issues and stress.

At the end of the day, it is crucial to listen to your body. If you are still feeling worn out, take an extra day! Rest and recovery vary for each individual. The key is to do what works best for your symptoms, training goals, and lifestyle without compromising your overall health and performance.

Conclusion

When training for specific fitness or performance goals, overtraining is not always the best option because it can have several detrimental consequences. Balance is essential; sometimes less is more, and vice versa. Allowing your body to recover properly will help you avoid injuries, maintain motivation, improve performance, gain longevity, and keep you active for life!