Raise the Bar
  • Home
    • SEASON KICKOFF!!
    • New to Triathlon?
    • About >
      • Contact
      • Mission
      • History
      • Staff
    • Blog
    • Sponsors
    • Privacy Policy
  • Members Only
    • Log in
    • Team Directory >
      • Directory Guide
      • Manage your Directory Listing
    • RTB Member Login
    • Andy Potts Racing & Coaching >
      • AP Coaching Options
      • 70.3 Training Groups
      • More at AP
    • Discounts >
      • Andy Potts Benefits
      • Multisport & RTB Lite Members' Sponsor Benefits
      • Multisport Members' Event Discounts
      • Swim Member Sponsor Benefits
      • Swim Members' Event & Training Discounts
    • Forum
    • Team Calendar
    • Race Plans
    • Helping Teammates
  • Team
    • About the Team
    • Sign Up!
    • Andy Potts & RTB
    • Where we are >
      • RTB South
    • Benefits
    • Team Sponsors
    • Team FAQs
  • Training
    • Andy Potts Racing & Coaching >
      • AP Coaching Options >
        • Compare Plans
      • 70.3 Race Groups
      • More with Andy
    • Swim >
      • Winter Weather Swims
      • Coached Pool Workouts
      • Open Water Wednesdays
      • Swim Workout Library
    • Bike
    • Run >
      • Monday Night Track
    • Swim Clinic for Aspiring Triathletes
    • Bike and Run Safety
  • Events
    • Volunteer Here!
    • Event Services >
      • Pricing
  • Store

3 Signs You Are Overtraining (they’re not what you think)

6/12/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Holly Pennington, PT, DPT/Outpatient Physical Therapy

      Does the combination of seventy-five degrees, race season and seventeen hours of daylight per day conjure up visions of more training time than you’ve had all year? How will you know if you are doing too much of a good thing?
    Triathletes are especially susceptible to overtraining syndrome (OTS), a condition that affects up to 30% of non-elite swimmers, cyclists and runners. A complex condition involving multiple body systems, OTS is not easily identified by predictable physical symptoms such as muscle pain or fatigue. Here are three common signs to keep in mind as you log more minutes and miles this summer:

  • Changes in mood: Psychological symptoms are numerous and common in athletes suffering from OTS. Lack of motivation, anxiety, depression and irritability are just a few of the commonly reported signs. Characteristics of clinical depression overlap with those of overtraining syndrome, including biochemical markers such as decreased blood cortisol levels. Just as stressful life events can lead to depression, stress is linked to increased rates of OTS. If you ramp up your training and experience a psychological backlash, consider reevaluating the frequency, intensity and recovery time of your workouts.
  • Changes in sleep patterns. While aerobic exercise is generally associated with improved sleep, an unexpected sign overtraining is disturbed sleep. If you experience difficulty falling asleep, resulting in later and later bedtimes, or notice more nightly sleep interruptions, you could be training too much. OTS is also linked to a reduction in both REM sleep and total hours of sleep. So, before you blame your lack of sleep on the kids, work stress or getting old, take a look at recent changes in your training schedule and consider the possibility of OTS.
  • Comfort food cravings.  As in, your comfort food. From caffeine to sugar to salty snacks, cravings of seemingly uncontrollable proportions have been reported by athletes experiencing OTS. Abnormal hunger and cravings are one of the body’s responses to exhaustion, so if your thoughts about food start to resemble those of a starved castaway, think OTS.
    While overtraining syndrome is not easy to diagnose, it may be even harder to prevent. Zeroing in on the optimal intensity and frequency of training, as well as recovery periods between workouts, could take years, experts and thousands of dollars. Countless theories, formulas and coaches are at your Googling fingertips. High-quality training programs and exercise dosing information are out there, but you must ultimately pay attention to what you know best: you. If you increase your training efforts and experience any of these three signs combined with decreasing performance, overtraining syndrome may be the culprit.

Questions about your summer training program? Call the OPT clinic near you: www.outpatientpt.com. (7 convenient locations including Covington, Kent, Maple Valley, Auburn and Puyallup)

References:
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Citation/1991/02000/Overtraining__A_Review_of_the_Signs,_Symptoms_and.6.aspx
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-csmr/Fulltext/2015/05000/Overtraining_Syndrome.7.aspx
http://www.exercisemed.org/research-blog/overtraining-its-effects-on.html
​


0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Raise the Bar

    Race reports, upcoming events, news, and more, from RTB.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

Picture
Picture
Picture
Home
Calendar
Contact Us
​About
Team
   Join
   Sponsors
​   FAQ
RTB Events
   Lake Meridian Tri
   Black Diamond Tri
Training
   Swim Workouts
​   Classes & Clinics
  
​
Event Services
   Timing
​   Equipment Rental
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
    • SEASON KICKOFF!!
    • New to Triathlon?
    • About >
      • Contact
      • Mission
      • History
      • Staff
    • Blog
    • Sponsors
    • Privacy Policy
  • Members Only
    • Log in
    • Team Directory >
      • Directory Guide
      • Manage your Directory Listing
    • RTB Member Login
    • Andy Potts Racing & Coaching >
      • AP Coaching Options
      • 70.3 Training Groups
      • More at AP
    • Discounts >
      • Andy Potts Benefits
      • Multisport & RTB Lite Members' Sponsor Benefits
      • Multisport Members' Event Discounts
      • Swim Member Sponsor Benefits
      • Swim Members' Event & Training Discounts
    • Forum
    • Team Calendar
    • Race Plans
    • Helping Teammates
  • Team
    • About the Team
    • Sign Up!
    • Andy Potts & RTB
    • Where we are >
      • RTB South
    • Benefits
    • Team Sponsors
    • Team FAQs
  • Training
    • Andy Potts Racing & Coaching >
      • AP Coaching Options >
        • Compare Plans
      • 70.3 Race Groups
      • More with Andy
    • Swim >
      • Winter Weather Swims
      • Coached Pool Workouts
      • Open Water Wednesdays
      • Swim Workout Library
    • Bike
    • Run >
      • Monday Night Track
    • Swim Clinic for Aspiring Triathletes
    • Bike and Run Safety
  • Events
    • Volunteer Here!
    • Event Services >
      • Pricing
  • Store