Overtraining. When I first started on my health journey, this issue plagued me.
At first, everything was fine – I hit the gym regularly, jogged every other day, and had just integrated a full-fledged weight training routine.
After a few weeks, I noticed a worsening workout injury and flagging enthusiasm.
Soon enough, I was back to my old ways, binging on chips while watching sappy Netflix rom-coms. Sound familiar?
If so, overtraining might be the culprit.
Below, we’ll walk you through all the symptoms of overtraining and teach you how to correct it.
With a little care, it’s easy to get back on track.
What is Overtraining?
Overtraining occurs whenever you work out without allowing proper recovery time between sessions.
Contrary to popular misconception, too much exercise can be seriously harmful to your health.
In fact, overtraining is linked with lower fitness levels, workout injury, and performance hits.
It’s a universal problem common in every sport and physical activity.
Persistently going beyond your body’s capabilities even has its own name: Overtraining Syndrome, or OTS.
Though the condition is rare, it can result in long-term distress on your neurological, endocrinologist, and immunological systems.
Top-level athletes have to take great care to avoid the accumulation of inflammation that occurs after high-intensity workouts.
OTS is characterized by body-wide inflammation that’s associated with chronic pain, depressed mood, and fatigue that doesn’t go away with sleep.
Recognizing the tell-tale symptoms is the first step to correcting overtraining.
What Are the Symptoms of Overtraining?
There are a few common signs associated with overtraining. During and after your workout, always make sure to pay attention to how your body and mind feel.
Unusual Fatigue
Do you feel more tired than normal? Alternatively, do you find it difficult to muster up the energy to complete day-to-day tasks?
Overtraining stresses your body to the limit. Even after adequate rest, you may still feel bodily or mental drowsiness.
This particular fatigue is characterized by an elevated resting heart rate and the sensation of heaviness in the limbs.
Workout Injury
Overtraining injuries occur as a result of training too intensely for a sustained period.
Instead of gaining strength, your muscles aren’t given sufficient time to recover and your overall performance weakens.
Common overtraining injuries include tendonitis and shin splints; however, they can affect any muscle group in the body.
Workout injury may manifest as the gradual onset of pain at the beginning of the exercise, which fades away as the workout progresses.
The pain will then return (or even worsen) at the end of the activity.
Of course, workout injury can also affect those that aren’t using the proper form.
For instance, runners use gait analysis to check if the sole of their foot properly absorbs the shock caused by running.
Overtraining may be the culprit when other factors are accounted for. If your form is proper, allow the muscle group enough time to recover between sessions.
Mood Changes
The body and the mind are deeply interconnected. If your body condition feels poor, your mental state will suffer – and this sentiment is just as true the other way around!
Studies show that overtraining significantly changes your stress hormones, affecting neurotransmitters like cortisol and epinephrine, commonly known as adrenaline.
Do you feel agitated or stressed recently? Are you lashing out at your family or romantic partner?
Can’t cope with work stressors the same way you used to? The cause might be a hormonal imbalance triggered by overtraining.
Mood changes can manifest in many ways, meaning that agitation isn’t the only symptom – you may find yourself unable to concentrate.
You may even feel depressed. Everyone’s body is different, meaning that you may be affected uniquely by overtraining.
Overtraining can even trigger a chronic dependence on exercising, causing you to hit the gym more than you know you should.
Some athletes live for grueling workouts and competition, and an inability to train could cause negative mood changes.
Lack of Appetite
Have you noticed a change in appetite recently? Do you binge or, conversely, not eat enough?
The hormonal imbalance incurred by overtraining can even affect your hunger and levels of satiation.
While exercising normally stimulates the appetite, overtraining can suppress your appetite.
Pay attention to your caloric intake and how it changes directly after a workout.
Changes in appetite tend to manifest more slowly, making it difficult to notice that your consumption is decreasing over time.
It might be helpful to keep an eating journal to see if you notice any changes in appetite.
Metabolic Imbalance
In the short term, regular exercise depletes your body’s nutritional reserves. Normally, your body’s metabolism bounces back after a meal.
However, persistent overtraining may lead to long-term deficiencies, especially if you aren’t allowing for appropriate recovery time between workouts.
Overtraining is known to result in iron deficiency and anemia.
Classic signs of metabolic imbalance include excess fatigue, dizziness, and orthostatic hypotension.
Women may notice that their periods are less frequent or have stopped altogether.
Metabolic imbalance relates to virtually every system in the body, affecting your cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and nervous systems.
Sleep Problems
For athletes, sleep is vital because it gives the body time to rest and repair itself after a grueling workout.
However, the overproduction of stress hormones and increased inflammation brought on by overtraining may inhibit the normal sleep process.
Sleep problems can manifest in many ways. Some find that they sleep too much, while others suffer from insomnia.
Others may not find it possible to completely relax during down-time, making their sleep much less restorative than normal.
Poor sleep can compound the other issues caused by overtraining, resulting in chronic fatigue, moodiness, hormonal imbalance, and appetite changes.
The result is a vicious cycle that worsens the symptoms of overtraining.
How to Prevent Overtraining
Luckily, there are many ways to recalibrate your routine to prevent overtraining.
Below, we’ll touch on the most tried-and-true methods to get your body back in balance.
Adjust Your Routine
One of the most effective ways to prevent overtraining is to adjust your routine so that the affected muscle groups have enough time to recover.
Select specific days to work out your core, legs, and arms.
When you’re first starting a new exercise, give your body time to rest more.
Training every day is not the best way to stack performance gains – it can lead to workout injury and burnout.
Incorporate rest days into your weekly plan.
After a workout, take time to cool down and stretch. Choose stretches that enhance the range of motion of the area you just used.
Work on tight areas and keep moving throughout the day as you complete daily tasks.
Athletes also suggest periodizing your workout based on the time of year: Your body isn’t designed to train at a high intensity all year long.
Peak your performance in time for races and gradually decrease intensity for sustained rest.
Log Your Workouts
Many find it helpful to keep an exercise diary. Not only does it allow you to reflect on the day, but it can also help you keep track of how you feel before, during, and after a workout.
Note how you slept, your food intake, and record your heart rate throughout the session.
Document as many variables as necessary to look out for common patterns of overtraining.
In particular, I suggest monitoring how your heart rate varies throughout the day.
Overtraining is characterized by an irregular heart rate, which may cause your resting heart rate to gradually climb upwards over time as your body floods with stress hormones.
Give Yourself Adequate Recovery Time
Perhaps the most important way to avoid overtraining is by allowing for appropriate periods of rest between workouts.
Though working out every day is enticing, it’s not for everyone.
Taking one day off a week is the best way to avoid fatigue and fitness plateaus.
On average, it takes your muscles 24 to 48 hours to repair themselves after a high-intensity session.
“Your ability to move is dictated by your flexibility, alignment, mobility, strength, and your ability to control and coordinate these factors,” Amy Wunsch, head physical therapist as Results Fitness stated.
It should go without saying that working out too frequently will degrade your performance.
Monitor for the Symptoms of OTS
Nearly every athlete experiences overtraining at some point, yet an unlucky few actually develop OTS.
Still, all athletes should watch out for the symptoms particular to OTS.
The most common concerns to look out for include:
- Mild to severe fatigue
- Sudden decline in performance
- Precipitous drop in strength
- Headache or migraine
- Illness due to decrease in the immune system’s ability to function properly
- Decrease in weight or declining appetite
- Lack of enthusiasm for things you once enjoyed (including training)
- Sudden decrease in workout intensity or capacity
- Changes in your heart rate variability
Symptoms manifest at any time of day, during or after a workout.
Not only can OTS decrease your performance, it can impact every area of health and increase overall risk of workout injury.
Make sure to listen to your body and not ignore the early signs of OTS.
If you notice these symptoms, reach out to your health care provider in order to discuss treatment options.
Limit Life Stressors
While exercising can help reduce stress, overtraining during a training season can increase it.
If you’re persistently stressed, it can worsen the symptoms of overtraining and make it come on faster.
Anxiety and stress are incredibly common in the United States, affecting over 70 percent of adults daily.
Make sure to keep your diet balanced, spend time with people that lift you up, and do things (other than the workout) that take your mind off of stressors.
Stress is a complex issue that can be caused by many things. Many find it beneficial to reduce their caffeine intake, quit smoking, and avoid procrastinating on work.
As always, see what works for you.
Adjust Your Nutrition
To perform at the highest level, your body needs adequate nutrition to grow.
The common maxims apply here: avoid processed foods, limit sugar, and add more protein to your diet.
Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, provided by avocado, fish, and eggs, are especially beneficial.
Without a good diet, it’s much easier to overtrain. Along those lines, always make sure to stay hydrated before, during, and after a workout.
Dehydrated tissue is both less flexible and more prone to workout injury. Try to avoid drinks that contain sugar or artificial ingredients.
Many high-level athletes find it helpful to take supplements.
Protein powders, multivitamins, BCAAs (branded-chain amino acids), and magnesium make it easier to create a well-rounded diet and minimize fatigue.
How Often Should I Exercise?
The average person should aim to complete at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. Of course, that figure varies depending on your goals and timeline.
For athletes concerned about overtraining, experts recommend working out four to five days out of the week.
Three days of rest gives overworked muscles the time they need to recover themselves and grow.
If you absolutely need to work out every day of the week, then staggering the muscle groups you target is a must.
Alternative high-intensity days with moderate days for a more well-rounded exercise routine.
For periods of higher intensity, adjust both your diet and sleep. Take supplements, increase your caloric intake, and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Final Thoughts
With a little bit of forethought, overtraining is completely preventable.
Ultimately, you need to pay attention to your body to avoid the most crippling symptoms overtraining.
Look out for the most common symptoms of overtraining, which include poor sleep, appetite changes, workout injury, persistent fatigue, and declining performance.
Modulate your workout to allow your muscles enough time to recover.
