Felipe Alvares
While the majority of exercisers are individuals who would describe themselves as being “pushed to exercise”, a few are what you would describe as “fitness freaks” - obsessive in their workout regimens and couldn’t care less about the limits of training. About 1 to 3% of the population experiences some degree of exercise addiction, and fall in the category of overtraining or over-exercising. Overtraining is defined as training or exercising more than the body can recover from, to the point where performance declines. This is a common problem for people who weight train, but runners and other athletes can also experience it. Many highly motivated exercisers are obsessed with training and are afraid to rest. They believe that the harder they exercise, the bigger, stronger and fitter they will become.
As a training principle, rest and recovery are widely undervalued and underused. If a training programme does not include sufficient rest, then recovery cannot occur and the exerciser’s performance will plateau. If this imbalance between excess exercise and inadequate rest persists, performance will decline. And too much overload and/or too little recovery may result in “overtraining syndrome”, which has both physical and psychological symptoms.
Exercisers who over-train will participate in physical activity even under unsafe conditions (e.g., when they are injured), and they will follow extremely regimented routines that typically don’t include recovery time. As exercisers increase their workloads, their bodies respond by adapting to the increased stress. If they then allow time for recovery before exercising again, their cardiovascular fitness, strength and skill level increase as well “ a concept that very few seasoned and professional exercisers understand and appreciate.
The symptoms that you need to look out for to recognize that a client, or even you, is overtraining are simple: muscle or joint tenderness or tightness decreased performance increased rate of overuse injuries insomnia headaches increased susceptibility to colds, sore throats and other illnesses excessive weight loss decreased appetite elevated heart rate and blood pressure changes in menstrual pattern in women decreased muscle glycogen levels
In addition to causing physical symptoms, overtraining can affect mood and stress levels. Too much exercise can reduce exercisers’ enthusiasm and desire for training, leaving them irritable and depressed, especially as the quality of their workouts declines. Thus, it is important to recognize the psychological and emotional signs of overtraining such as depression, apathy, difficulty concentrating, emotional sensitivity, and reduced self-esteem. Once you have identified an individual as guilty of overtraining, offer the following advice or make the following changes in their exercise routine:
n Reduce the volume and/or intensity of training, including frequency and duration of workouts
n Introduce cross-training programmes to keep workouts varied and interesting
n Get enough sleep: 7“8 hours per night
n Ensure adequate intake of carbohydrates and protein
n Drink plenty of fluids, such as water
Use a training log to monitor progress The key to avoiding overtraining is prevention. As a Fitness Trainer, you are responsible for the health and safety of your facility’s members and for educating them about the dangers of overtraining. It is difficult to identify over-trained exercisers, because there is no simple test or clinical diagnosis for the condition. So the best thing you can do is to teach all your members to recognize for themselves the general symptoms of overtraining and the importance of rest and recovery time.
(The writer has two decades of experience in fitness industry and is a partner at the Fitness Bar)
