How much training is overtraining? How much is acceptable?

Introduction:

Beginners often like to imagine themselves training all day every day, or at least training for an extreme amount of time or intensity. While always working as hard as possible when training is ideal, any and all expectations should be kept realistic. Overtraining exists. Sometimes it’s hard to identify whether or not someone’s overtraining, but typically there are clear symptoms that can be identified. There are several ways to prevent overtraining. Let’s break it down.

Symptoms/signs of overtraining:

Muscle soreness and aching are typically present after a hard training session, and sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish between overtraining and just typical post-training fatigue. Here’s a list of a few signs of overtraining:

1. Unable to perform previous workouts done before

2. Muscle soreness persists long after workouts

3. Lacking the ability to recover properly

Additionally, these are other signs of overtraining occurring specifically in non-training scenarios:

1. Poor sleep quality

2. Lack of motivation and burnt-out feeling

3. Unable to find joy/happiness in certain aspects of life.

In the case of muscle soreness persisting after workouts, it’s a bit difficult to tell what’s considered “too long”, but typically soreness only lasts 1-3 days after a workout. If it continues after 3 days and after significant est, then overtraining has likely occurred. Being unable to find joy is another symptom, and can be seen if you do not experience the pleasure of hobbies or other activities previously considered fun.

How to recover from overtraining:

As one might imagine, the only way to reverse the effects of overtraining is to undertrain—or simply take it easy. There are multiple ways to go around this, but the rest is the most important and effective way. Getting plenty of sleep and keeping up with your nutrition are terrific ways to get to recovery. Lowering the intensity of your workouts and training can also be beneficial.

How to prevent overtraining:

Overtraining can prove difficult to avoid, as we don’t know how much is too much until we’ve already passed that threshold. In addition to this, everyone’s bodies are different, meaning too much training for one may be just enough for another. The following are a couple of generally accepted ways to avoid overtraining:

1. Progressing workouts with the 10% rule

2. Working out different muscles/muscle groups

The 10% rule states that you should increase the intensity of your training by only 10% each week. This typically works for most people and is just enough to progress properly with training.

Working out different muscle groups can prove advantageous, as you can continue to work whilst allowing muscle groups you previously worked to recover for a certain amount of time, that way you do not overtrain one singular muscle or muscle group.

Conclusion:

Overtraining is a big problem. However, because it’s such a prevalent issue amongst athletes, there are plenty of ways to deal with it. With proper training progression, a healthy diet, and plenty of rest and recovery, overtraining is something that can be conquered or completely avoided in the long-term.

Sources:

“Overtraining: What It Is, Symptoms, and Recovery.” Hospital for Special Surgery, www.hss.edu/article_overtraining.asp. Accessed 22 June 2024.

Moeadmin. “15 Ways to Avoid Overtraining.” Ronald McDonald House of Providence Running Club, 10 May 2024, rmhprovidencerc.org/coaches-corner/15-ways-to-avoid-overtraining/#:~:text=The%20general%20rule%20of%20thumb,of%20rest%20days%20you%20take.