Markers of Overtraining

[ryancostill]

What are peoples thoughts on simple methods to monitor overtraining in athletes? Not necessarily bodybuilders: lets say speed and power athletes: sprinters, weightlifters, throwers etc?

Stone 2007 suggests that the simplest way to monitor over-training is to look at body weight and resting HR.

If bodyweight is tending to decrease while at the same time RHR is increasing then this is likely an indicator of overtraining?

Anybody have any thoughts on other methods to monitor athletic condition with reference to possible overtraining?

I have a couple and will share later if people are interested in this topic.

[richnewton]

If sex drive decreases even slightly you know you're over training. For me that's an immediate indication. I'm not quite sure over training is a cause in itself though. I think if the ratio between rest, food intake, and training gets out of whack, that's when the symptoms kick in. If you sleep/eat enough its very hard to over train.

[Stian]

If you notice the weight's you normally use are getting a lot heavier

[Fahsy]

Interesting topic. I know it is time to take a break when I don't have my normal 'drive' in the gym. Kind of hard to explain that, but it almsot like a sense I have developed from years of trainng.

[Adam Knowlden]

Yep, I agree with Fahsy. A lot of it is instictive. Also, I know I'm probably overtrained if I experience joint soreness. It's a sign, howbeit not a good one. For one, who wants to wait until they are injured to know they are overtrained? Also, injuries could have devleloped from bad form or an activity outside of the gym. It can be hard to rule out all the variables and confirm an injury is the result of overtraining.

Bodybuilding is odd because we don't generally work up to a peak state, we just continue to destroy ourselves day after day. Unfortunately, outside of instinct or experiencing an injury, I'm not sure what the best way is to forsee when overtraining is about to occur. I know when I embark on a new program and don't ease into it, I end up overtraining.

I'm definietly open to your recommendations Ryan!

[lifting5]

I have to agree with the instinctive approach as well. When I become tired and lose my drive to workout, it's pretty apparent that I have overtrained. Also, not necessarily DOMS, but just overall body fatigue is a factor. However, due to my training style being HIT, any signs of overtraining are typically due to lack of sleep.

[LeoDeSol]

While I agree that I can tell about myself based workouts, as most long time lifters should be able too, I would never tell a newbie to trust his instincts in this area because the only reason I know is because it happened to me a few times. I suspect this is true of many of us who have lifted for several years.

This being said, if I was a trainer, I would ask these questions:

-How has your sleep been lately, and have you noticed any changes? Trouble sleeping, early waking, trouble getting up in AM where it used to be easier?

-How are your workouts feeling lately? Do you keep a log of your lifting, if so has your weight and reps been pretty constant? Any pain or motivation issues where there used to be none?

-Have you had any mood swings lately? nervousness or anxiety? any depression?


I would ask these, because these are the things I would look for in myself that might lead me to examine my workout habits as a possible culprit.

[Dzoni]

I agree with a lot of what's been mentioned above. Two sides to a story, wouldn't let a newbie trust his instincts but then again, it is the individual sport so nobody can tell you how you feel at the moment.

Those are great guidelines LDS, I also find loss of appetite comes in to play as well. Means get out of gym, get plenty of rest, drop a meal (to get the hunger back) and twiddle your thumbs until it's gym time again [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[bigbear6708]

i agree with the 'instinctive' approach...sometimes i just get all tired and have no energy in the gym...take a week off...come back better than ever..thats how i know

[bloodworks]

I know the soviets monitored resting HR upon waking routinely for this purpose. Early AM cortisol peaks, and if too high HR is elevated I assume. I agree with the posts saying instinctively we know, but that is with experience...it's good to have an objective measurement also.