Question about overtraining here. I know that the conventional wisdom is that the easiest way to tell whether you are overtraining is to keep an eye out for psychological symptoms like anxiety, depression, insomnia etc.
What about for those of us who already have those conditions chronically? I, for one, have OCD and, to make a long story short, for me, and I think for the large minority of triathletes who have anxiety or depression-related disorders, using mental symptoms as a barometer is very difficult because you could be having them for any one of a million reasons unrelated to overtraining.
So my question is, what are some of the more physical signs of overtraining one can look out for (aside from feeling dead-tired - I think the point of watching out for overtraining is to catch it before you feel like a sack of bricks!)?
despite some reason naysayers, many still feel that morning/waking resting heart rate is a good indicator. I’ve been doing it for 5 years and it shows when you’re peaking, tapering, getting sick, absorbing training, etc. I absolutely and wholeheartedly endorse the practice and wouldn’t work with athletes refusing to use this measure.
david
Unfortunately, if you’re feeling that you are at risk for OT, now isn’t a good time to begin heart rate data. However, if you do happen to train with power (is it possible to post on ST if one doesn’t?), you can continue to compare heart rate to power data.
Or, you can take a day or two off, just to be safe?
Look at your power (bike) or pace (run and swim). If your perceived exertion is very high to maintain the same power or pace then you are tired. If this goes on despite rest or if it is very difficult or impossible to maintain higher power or paces (relative to what you normally can train at) then your may be “over reaching”/ “overtraining”.
Other physical signs are very individual. Personally, I often get a cold sore or a slight cough before I notice anything else.
Keep a log/ training diary so you learn from what you experience.
despite some reason naysayers, many still feel that morning/waking resting heart rate is a good indicator. I’ve been doing it for 5 years and it shows when you’re peaking, tapering, getting sick, absorbing training, etc. I absolutely and wholeheartedly endorse the practice and wouldn’t work with athletes refusing to use this measure.
david
x2. When my blood pressure started to go up a few years ago, I bought a blood pressure meter and got in the habit of recording my BP/pulse every morning. I have since gone back and correlated my waking pulse to my workout log, and noticed a strong correlation between feeling overtrained and having a higher-than-normal waking pulse.
While I agree with those who have posted that the symptoms are very individual, like Seth I find cold sores to be a leading indicator for me. I also crave sweet foods when I am deep in the training abyss, even when I am not hungry and know that I should not be snacking. Additionally, while I am a solid sleeper, if I can’t remember actually going to bed, that is a bad sign with respect to where I am. Finally, a lack of enthusiasm for training, whether it is getting going or holding intensity during a workout, is a sure sign that something is up.
I’m a night owl, so I always have a hard time sleeping so I can’t use that as a sign. I look at my heartrate when training. I just started an interval workout on the bike and after 30 minutes of warm up and 5 minutes of an interval my heartrate wouldn’t go over 105 so I got off. Normally 24-48 hours of rest, good sleep (8-10 hrs a night) and some good healthy meals and I’m much better.
Typically, a physical sign of overtraining or long term fatigue is a lower than normal Heart Rate during workouts for the same Perceived Effort, or the inability to raise your HR to your workout zone. I too have experienced this in my training, and simply turned around and called it the day to allow rest & recovery. Why push it and risk the potential for injury or sickness? Here is a quick article from Chris Carmicheal Training Systems about this topic: http://www.trainright.com/articles.asp?uid=1967. I’ve found a higher than normal heart rate during training for the same PE, indicates other stressors such as extreme heat or dehydration.
