# Overtraining Article



## Sully

Overtraining: is it real?

It's a quick read and there's a link to a further article that discusses it a little more. Interesting.

There is much written about overtraining and it is a frequent topic of conversation amongst coaches, trainers and athletes. Although everyone probably has some idea what overtraining is, when you start to ask questions, it becomes clear pretty quickly that people have different ideas about overtraining, what causes it, how it is monitored and prevented, and even whether it is a good thing or not.

There are a lot of publications on the topic and even books dedicated to it. I will post a number of articles on the topic, discussing symptoms as well as possible preventative measures, but first we must all be very clear on what we mean by the term overtraining.

The term overtraining is used in a variety of ways and the most common way is as a verb indicating “performing too much training”. “I am overtrained“, when used in this context, means “I have trained too much”. However, this is not the most common definition used by scientists. Overtraining here is often used to indicate a situation where the athletes suffers from underperformance  and there is no obvious reason to explain this. Usually the athlete has tried to recover more with no success and/or to train harder with no success. The underperformance is accompanied by a host of symptoms. These symptoms are diverse and highly individual, meaning that different athletes may show completely different symptoms.  Because of the complex nature of the clinical symptoms the term "overtraining syndrome" is often used. In a review article with the title “Does overtraining exist?” that Dr Shona Halson  and I wrote several years ago we discussed the defined overtraining or the overtraining syndrome not on the basis of the performance decrement or the symptoms but the duration of the recovery.

Performance decrements are common, but this can simply be due to fatigue. Or it can be because of extreme fatigue, often referred to as overreaching, which is observed usually after a block of hard training or a training camp.  Athletes who come back from a training camp usually perform worse at first, but after sufficient recovery typically see a major jump in their performance as the reward for the hard work during the camp. Overreaching had therefore been described as functional overreaching. (The term functional overreaching was described in a consensus paper by Professor Romain Meeusen from the Free University in Brussels and colleagues from various Universities all over the world). Athletes go through a phase like this because it is necessary to improve.

Thus overtraining seems to be at the far end of a spectrum of different forms of “fatigue”. On one side of the spectrum we find fatigue: a performance decrement which can be reversed with a few hours of rest. Severe fatigue may take 24 or 48 hours to recover from. When this fatigue gets really severe, usually after several days or weeks of training and it may take weeks to recover, we refer to this as overreaching. Typically this is a functional form of overreaching because athletes embark on such a program to cause extreme fatigue with the end goal to improve their performance. On the other end of the spectrum we have the overtraining syndrome that is very difficult to recover from, has a large range of symptoms and is not functional but rather pathological. The overtraining syndrome could mean the end of a season or even the career of an athlete.

From a scientific point of view as we move from left to right on this spectrum we have less and less data to support any theory. There is a large amount of information about the causes of fatigue, at the muscle level as well as the level of the brain. It is clear that fatigue is a multifaceted phenomenon and although there still is a lot of debate about the different factors and which factors play the most important role, we have a lot of data to tap into. This is not the case with overreaching. There are only a few controlled studies. Many of the studies that have investigated periods of hard training did not measure performance and can therefore not draw any conclusions about overreaching where decreased performance is the key symptom.  The well controlled studies can probably be counted on two hands. When we get to overtraining, there really isn’t any solid data. There are some case reports and a lot of anecdotal information. Above all there are a lot of theories. But the nature of the syndrome makes it impossible to study it systematically.

When athletes are asked if they have been overtrained during their career, most athletes  will probably say that they have been overtrained at some point in their careers, but was this really overtraining as we defined it here?  This is why the title of the paper we wrote was “Does overtraining exist?”. It may exist, but there is little data to go by.

Halson & Jeukendrup Sports Med. 2004;34(14):967-81
Meeusen et al MSSE 2013 45(1):186-205


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## IRONFIST

good read. thanks for posting.


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## Sandpig

I don't believe in over training 

If it was true, every marathon rubber and Olympic Athlete would not be able to train the way they do etc.

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## psych

At first when i saw the topic i almost smashed my computer. But then i read it...this is what I have been posting and saying for years!


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## ketsugo

Every one adjusts over time . I don’t bother to read anything the media says. Just listen to your body , take it slow be smart . Everything in the right way and duration. At 52 I’m in best health ever . Stronger then my 20s . Leaner . I don’t over do or abuse anything but guarantee others would discount my ways cuz I do what’s right for me.


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## Sully

ketsugo said:


> Every one adjusts over time . I don’t bother to read anything the media says. Just listen to your body , take it slow be smart . Everything in the right way and duration. At 52 I’m in best health ever . Stronger then my 20s . Leaner . I don’t over do or abuse anything but guarantee others would discount my ways cuz I do what’s right for me.



You really should read the article. It’s not saying what you think it’s saying.


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## striffe

Good article. With the right overall diet and intra nutrition recovery can be improved a lot. Staying stress free and getting enough sleep are also very important factors. Knowing when to take deload periods will also stop people overtraining. What most consider overtraining is nonsense and I believe the body is capable of much more than most think. It also adapts very quickly. But you can't go 100mph every day of every month.


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## ketsugo

Bump now that’s great info thanks Sully !!


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## ketsugo

Sully said:


> You really should read the article. It’s not saying what you think it’s saying.





Oh absolutely if I didn’t agree . I thank you awesome article sully one of most informative I’ve ever . In fact I copy pasted into a personal folder I keep . I make comments frequently to speak to beginner and novice that may be reading so wasn’t directed to you bro ! Seriously great thread ! Carry on!!


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## ketsugo

Like I try to play devils advocate, while we veterans may get it , I’m trying to reach the readers that maybe need to see another angle . I dug this article . Many young guys need to really understand. I like one guy posted about Olympic athletes- like I trained all life . Martial arts sometimes 12 hours day when I didn’t work or have school or when I was stationed over seas. I look back wonder how the hell I did . Overtraining is definitely something to monitor and intensity volume you reach over time and different for all . Great article bump bump bump


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## ketsugo

Sorry one last point lol

I also love how article imply that or maybe I projected my own thoughts - it’s hard to sometimes determine between overtraining and pushing oneself . As is it your body needs rest ? Or your mind playing tricks ?? Bodybuilding really is a journey within that never ends . Those questions and the answers to me ever changing and the article is very thought provoking which what I loved about it . All of us depend on our personal life will perceive the world different - I really think the article was quite profound since training is my life as is many you guys here. Again Sully thank you genuinely and sincerely for posting . Please consider it admirable when I quote or comment on anything you post as I’m trying to reflect differences to those that may not have the insight we have. Thanks again for many interesting threads. Over time I’ll try to realize maybe I need to present accordingly.


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## ProFIT

Overtraining can be a good thing as it makes the body adapt and create a new setting. But there also needs to be balance and recovery. Some of the bodybuilders most admired trained for 3+ hours nearly every day so it didn't go against them. Could they have looked similar with half the volume, I guess so. No one should be scared of testing their limits and finding out what overtraining is for them.


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## gdaddyg8

Depends on the person.  Some people can get away with more training volume.  Test your limits and find your happy balance!  LETS GET IT!!!!


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## jixxxer

Really  Good article! thanks


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## ASHOP

A topic that's been around for years, makes a GREAT debate!


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## Sully

ASHOP said:


> A topic that's been around for years, makes a GREAT debate!



I find it humorous that there’s even any debate about it. The research is clear that it is a real phnomenon. The problem is that what most people think overtraining is, and what the science says overtraining is, are 2 very different things. There’s a pretty fundamental misunderstanding of the the terminology.


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## DrZaius7

Thanks for sharing
I marvel at some folks who say there is no such thing as overtraining


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## Ryan1007

I believe there is a point where over training can happen I just don't believe most people push themselves to that point


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## ASHOP

Ryan1007 said:


> I believe there is a point where over training can happen I just don't believe most people push themselves to that point



Well said. I think overtraining is possible but most will never put in enough work to get to that point.


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## Viking

Ryan1007 said:


> I believe there is a point where over training can happen I just don't believe most people push themselves to that point



I agree. Although I have probably been guilty of overtraining in the past but that was due to not getting adequate sleep whilst training everyday. Some people act like if they do 3 days in a row they are overtrained when in reality our bodies can adapt very quickly.


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## URODA

Ryan1007 said:


> I believe there is a point where over training can happen I just don't believe most people push themselves to that point



On point I think many especially newbies undertrain due to fear of overtraining which is exaggerated, benching 4 times a week isn't overtraining, benching 4 times a week for singles until failure using your projected 1 rm, then doubles, then ... is but who does that?


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## ketsugo2

Sully said:


> You really should read the article. It’s not saying what you think it’s saying.





Oh I know Sully I’m just imposing my will lmao [emoji23]


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## ketsugo2

Lol now I guess I read year ago ??  Hey ya know some threads will be great info forever this one is kind of one


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## M3rlin117

excellent read


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## Xxplosive

It comes down to how well are you taking care of your kidneys/adrenals? 

Caffeine, juice, INTENSE training, overloading with protein- all shit that taxes the fuck out of your kidneys and adrenal glands.


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