Sportspeople and gym goers train hard and many with the mindset that the harder you train the better you’ll do, but can you overtrain, how would you know if you’re doing to much and what can you do to fix it?
To start, Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) occurs as a result of a sportsperson training to excess without appropriate recovery. This can lead to extended periods of diminished capacity to recover, increased injury & illness risk and decreased overall performance levels.
Finding the space between working hard and avoiding overtraining, will put you in the idea spot to get the most out of your efforts.
Here are some steps to minimise your risk of developing overtraining syndrome:
1. Optimise Your Recovery Methods
Ensure your daily nutritional intake is sufficient so that you are appropriately fuelled to complete daily tasks as well as your training session if planned. Couple this with 8+ hours of quality sleep per night, rest days and low-intensity aerobic exercise like swimming, walking or casual cycling for 20-30 minutes at most 3 days per week.
2. Be Aware of the Warning Signs
Symptoms of OTS can range from extended periods of fatigue, decreased appetite, increased duration of soreness and pain, agitated or irritated changes in mood, regular bouts of illness and restless sleep. If you are experiencing these symptoms, speak to someone qualified to deal with these issues.
3. Monitor Your Heart Rate
Record your resting heart rate (RHR) at the start of each morning, using either a heart rate capturing device or manually counting your pulse over 1 minute. If your RHR has increased by more than 5-7 beats per minute over a 2-3 week period, this may be a sign that you’re experiencing OTS.
4. Decrease Training Intensity
If you’re feeling tired prior to training, complete the same volume of training as intended but decrease the intensity and/or load by roughly 50%. Therefore if you were planning on performing 60kg Squats for 3 sets of 10 repetitions, use 30kg instead. Doing so will maintain a level of performance whilst you recover.
This post on overtraining was inspired by our colleagues at high performance training centre Precision Athletica, if you would like more information about what they do, please visit their website: www.precisionathletica.com.au
How Do I Book An Appointment with Precision Physio for Help?
We’re taking the health of our clients, members and staff very seriously and our preference would be for you to call to book an appointment so that we can make sure to explain our approach to keeping you safe. You can call any of these numbers to schedule a session:
- Customer Support Centre: 02 8607 4000
- Precision Physio Concord: 02 9736 3950
- Precision Physio St Marys: 02 9623 2220
Online Consultations
Evolving with the current environment, we are also now offering online appointments, meaning that we can support anyone who is unable to leave their home. Sessions are done via our state of the art Telehealth system and as long as you have a laptop or tablet with an inbuilt camera, or a phone with camera, we can help! Online consultations would be especially effective for discussing and planning your new year’s resolutions.
To learn more about online consultations, please call us on any of the numbers listed above.
