so i’ve lost over 50 lbs since last march and feel great training for triathlons, but my rhr has suddenly ramped from high 48-50 to 60-64. i train from 12-17 hours a week sbr, but have no injuries, feel great but a little tired and relish being lean and fit instead of morbidly obese. i’m sure some of you guys do 12-17 per day so go easy! one of my coaches says he trains 40 hours++!
i’ve learned that rhr is a good indicator on overtraining so i took 2 days off this week with complete rest to see if it would lower my rhr but it didn’t, so i went back to my 2-4 hour daily routine and again still feel great but a little tired. isn’t being a little tired an obvious part of training hard? after a recent full cholesterol/blood check, my doctor commended me on my new triathlon training regime and told me i have no risk of a heart attack.
so my questions is if i’m having fun, feel really no downside results, why is “overtraining” and elevated rhr so serious? or maybe it’s not…
i did notice, however, that it probably effects performance as my half-marathon time went from a 1:29 to a recent 1:31.
Could be your immune system trying to fight something. I notice a 10 bpm increase in my rhr when I’m fighting a cold.
BTW, I think your half marathon time going from 1:29 to 1:31 is just noise. If it went from 1:29 to 2:00 and you had to walk several times I would be worried.
How is your training program? Any rest WEEKS versus rest DAYS? I usually practice a periodization routine, where every 4th week I have a rest week, where I do the same type of workouts, but not as much. These rest weeks put sleep and recovery at first priority. The last thing I want to do when going into the next 3 weeks of training after a rest week is to be anything BUT well-rested.
Just like when I lifted weights back in high-school, every couple months required a couple weeks OFF from lifting to give the muscles some rest. Otherwards, performance tends to plateau.
Good Luck. I also feel that 1:29 to 1:31 is nothing to worry about, but if you ARE overtraining, maybe that race could have been a 1:20-1:25.
just because you don’t feel BAD doesn’t mean you couldn’t feel BETTER or perform BETTER. Something to think about.
There is a difference between being overtrained and overreached.
With the first, the condition is usually not intentional and can sneak up on you. If truely overtrained you would need some serious rest and recovery to avoid more significant problems. In the second case, it may be a desired result of training focus and produce some form of supercompensation. Examples would be the results of a bike focus or run focus or maybe an Epic Camp. Being overreached, you may be able to recover with just a few days off or an adjusted schedule. Your question doesn’t ask “am I overtrained” so I won’t offer my opinion. Just this – if you think you are overtrained you probably are.
The risks of remaining overtrained are a loss of consistency due to injury, illness or burn-out. Most motivated athletes can push through chronic fatigue for a few weeks, but unless some change is made to allow for appropriate recovery there may be a price to pay.
Unless you have significant experience and better than average self control it’s best to find balance, build in some recovery each week with five to seven day blocks of recovery each month. This is a generalization – not specific to anyone. A guideline.
ok, I did a thesis on overtraining about ten years ago. At that time, in over 40 studies that I looked at, there was no one marker for overtraining that stood out. The only thing that would correlate with overtraining was psychological markers. If you’re feeling great, don’t worry.
one of my coaches says he trains 40 hours++!