How do you know if you are overtraining?
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1318 days
Anton posted 2 years ago.
I think you already know you are overtraining...
You're tired...probably a deep tiredness.
You don't seem to be recovering...
Workouts are becoming a chore and you aren't looking forward to them.
You're not happy.
Take a few days off...relax, see a movie better yet, sleep!
Forget about training. You could take a week off and not really lose much in the way of fitness.
when you come back from your break...remember not every workout has to be a hammer fest.
With a break ,in my humble opinion, you will see even more improvement...
Seeing a Dr. is not a bad idea...it rules out anything serious.
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" - Vincent Van Gogh
My Blog: http://agingsuperhero.blogspot.com
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1118 days
dr_rios_ec posted 2 years ago.
I totally agree with Anton, I think you know that you are burned out and need to take some time off....
Overtrainning can be very deleterious to someone´s health....you inmune system goes deep down....cold, flu and stuff like that start to present....and the hardest part...the constant tiredness, the senssation of being sad....
Take some time off....you really need to....if you can not sit still and wait for a few days....try some active rest..like a really...but REALLY easy run...try another sport....for recreation.....and on top of everything...get plenty of sleep
By the way...the only easy way to check for anemia...and/or low iron...will be a visit to your primary care and a little blood work
I do hope you get better soon...
-Santiago
"Man!! Defeat is worse than dying, cause´you have to live with it" -My Dad
"It ain´t about how hard you can hit...it is how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"-Rocky Balboa
131
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1147 days
bigdogtwo posted 2 years ago.
Are you married? Ask your spouse. They always know when you have been overtraining.
Take 3 whole days off. It won't really affect your fitness, and at the end of three days you'll be itching to get back to working out and you'll be over your overtraining syndrome.
17
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932 days
runmargierun posted 2 years ago.
I'm at the same point in training; dwindles and not enjoying it. I know I have over-trained (became obvious when I looked at the quality and quantity of workouts over the past 3 months) but iron deficiency is always in the back of my mind...Definitely take a week off (really! you won't lose any fitness), sleep well, eat nutritiously. Are you getting enough iron - as a male (you sounded "male") you may not be losing it in any obvious way, but with harder run-workouts one can have micro haemorrhages from the gut. Are you taking any anti-inflammatory drugs - ibuprofen or aspirin types - regularly or irregularly? That often leads to some blood loss through the gut, even though it may not be obvious, and would worsen the blood loss from hard run-workouts. If you are female, heavier periods can sneak up on you over the years, and with a move away from redmeat eating, there are probably many of us iron defiicient... Make sure your doctor does a ferritin level (which reflects the total body iron stores, and is more relevant than blood iron levels) and you don't necessarily have to be anemic to be iron deficient, ie haemoglobin and red cells may be normal; perhaps do a TSHin case you are hypothyroid. I've had both in the past. Believe me, I bounced back (felt 200% better) in 3 days after an iron infusion (iv) which is the only way to get iron levels back up quickly (ie in hours, not months) with no side effects from painful im injections or constipation from iron pills. My haematologist husband does it often for women with bleeding disorders and they realise they have been iron-deficient for years without realising it - lack of concentration, poor memory, poor sleep, low energy levels, no oomph (despite being superfit, I felt air-starved and very fatigued in my thighs after climbing one flight of stairs!). Iron is essential for so many metabolic and biochemical pathways in our body and brains!! It's too easy to overtrain too - there are many programs out there that advocate volume over quality training so keep listening to your body; just don't leave it till it's screaming at you!! ;) Good luck sorting it out. If you suspect you may be iron deficient, start having a steak and spinach salad at lunch each day till the tests results come back!!
126
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1236 days
rob6118 posted 2 years ago.
I'm definitely thinking I'm overtraining but I'm also curious about the iron deficiency. My muscles get tired after very little exercise like walking up a set of stairs (or putting a transmission up into a car). Just a few reps and my muscles feel like weights, even though I'm doing some pretty good workouts. I've heard that heavy run workouts can cause iron defeciency from all the muscles tears created.... and this is definitely the most running I have ever done. I hate doctors and would like to avoid a blood test even though I know that is the simplest solution. Is the DV really suffecient for a heavy runner/ triathlete??? Would trying iron pills be a quick way to see if this is the problem.
Another question I have is I hear a lot of people talking about the use of heart rate monitors in their training. Well I finally broke down and bought one but everything I read about training in certain zones didn't seem to be applicable. I ran a very very easy run (like a 9 min pace) and my heart rate was 150-160 the whole way. If I run an easy but decent pace (8 min pace or so) my HR starts at 155 and normally after the first 2 miles or so is closer to 170. On the bike its runs from 155-165. Well everything I hear says it should really stay below 150. What am I to do if my absolute easiest pace puts me at a HR of 155-160 and only for the first 1-2 miles. Am I supposed to speed walk, or not run more then 2 miles? Its neat to be able to see my HR and listen to the buzzer as it warns me that its too high. But could someone educate me on what this means and how to use it?
So in summary I know I may be overtraining, but I also see the training amount as neccessary to become competitive. IE I don't want to reduce the number of workouts I'm doing. What I am more suspicious of is maybe I'm letting my ego cause me to push myself too hard on every workout, hence, me buying a HR monitor. Either that or the possibility that I might still be having some dietary issues that are contributing to the fatigue. I would think that if it was overtraining alone, (muscles not getting enough down time) three days of forced rest due to work would be suffecient to make my muscles as good as new, but it hasn't.
I'd appreciate if someone could point me towards how to use the HR monitor and how to solve the HR issues at such a slow pace. If nothing else I'll bite the bullet and go get a blood screen from the doc to check iron levels.
Rob
126
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1236 days
rob6118 posted 2 years ago.
PS I'm a 20yr old Male going for my first Half Ironman. Oh and in my meal shakes that I use to get lots of calories I'm getting 9 mg of iron a serving (50% DV) and since I usually have at least 2 a day, that pretty much is an iron supplement right there, so does that eliminate that potential problem?
Off to get some of that recovery rest before a 6 mile run tomorrow.
Rob
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1134 days
CAcyclingFAN posted 2 years ago.
Rob - I wouldn't recommend taking iron pills w/o a blood test. Men are less likely than women to be iron deficient and most men, unless they have funky diets, should be fine on their iron. That is not to say that you couldn't be outside the 'norm', however, taking in too much iron can be very dangerous.
And dude - the little pin prick feeling of getting some blood removed hurts a lot less than the pain you should be feeling on race day.
If you really don't want to go to the doc, you are better off ramping up your red meat intake for a few weeks and seeing how you feel than taking pills. I would also make sure you are taking a vitamin supplement and eating healthy. Lacking in those two areas can cause fatigue as well.
When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived. - Thoreau
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932 days
runmargierun posted 2 years ago.
I agree about not taking iron pills w/o blood testing. With a medical background I am biassed, but Rob I think you need to see a doctor, especially if you are not going to take a week off. GOOD QUALITY sleep and REST for overtrained muscles is very important, but if there is any other reason for your muscle fatigue, better to find out earlier than later. Your symptoms will probably not get better by doing more of the same........I know 2 very high level (world class) athletes in tri and cycling, both trained as sports physiotherapists and they say overtraining (eg high volume, or too many hard or moderately hard workouts) is why many people don't perform to their best ability or "crash". Just a comment on the muscle micorhaemorrhages - they won't make you iron deficient because the iron from the internal muscle tear is recycled in your body to make new blood cells - to be iron def you need to be either i) not getting enough in the diet, or ii) not absorbing it from the gut (eg pernicious anemia) or iii) losing it from the gut (ulcer/gastritis etc or as I said before, microhaemorrhage from the gut when runners jog their intestines up and down for hours!! )
Another thought - are you eating (carb and protein mix) within 20-30 mins of exercise? Replenishing muscle glycogen stores happens best in that time period.
Here are some sites that may be helpful for you...
Fatigue/overtraining:
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/ultrafit/cnsdescription.asp
http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/1092-overtraining.htm
http://www.timinvermont.com/fitness/overtr.htm
HR monitor use: http://www.tri-ecoach.com/art2.htm (Getting your V02 max measured is the most accurate way to determine your ranges).
126
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1236 days
rob6118 posted 2 years ago.
I hear you guys on the iron intake. I kind of doubt it now that that is the problem. I guess I'll just try to take some more time off as opposed to just 2-3 days. Why rush things right? And if its not fun its not worth doing.
Oh and yes I'm loading with carbs and protein right after the workout, I think my nutrition is pretty strong. Spent a little time working on it and it made a huge difference in the distances and speeds I can accomplish. But that was ironed out about 2-3 months ago, and it was more recently I have started to not enjoy things. LIke I said I think I'm just going to take a solid 3-5 days off and the time I normally train in I am going to sleep and see how that goes.
Rob
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940 days
nhaussietri posted 2 years ago.
Last year, I actually had a very similar problem. My gf had mono so I figured I must of contracted it from her (tired all the time sick etc...) and instead of my blood test coming back being mono it was that I was very low on iron. Somethings the doctor suggested... lots of rest, red meat... and green veggies (spinach). They also told me to try and avoid alcohol as much as possible. Within two weeks I was back to my normal self, and since, I havnt had this problem. I also try and make sure I have one day of rest (do absolutley NOTHING) once a week, and my body thanks me.
I'm starting to get kinda unhappy about working out, which isn't the way it should be. I normally really look foward to my workouts, but over the last couple of weeks it seems I just don't have really any energy left. For example, this week I was slammed with work. So I had a recovery day with no workout scheduled, and then I had to skip a swim day. The third day I did a 50 mile bike ride and set a PR on top speed, avg speed, and distance. But my legs felt shot after the first 8 miles or so, I just hung in there. I rested yesterday (skipping an 11 mile run) due to work and lack of sleep from said work. Today I did the scheduled 26 mile bike and once again my legs felt shot after the first couple of miles.
I'm used to overtraining being working out excessively for your level of fitness to the point of injuring yourself. But recently I've become really unhappy with just about all of my workouts, because only the first 5 minutes are fun, and the next 1-2 hours are a slug fest in 'survival mode'. I'm just trying to plug the miles.
I'm trying to figure out if this chronic lack of energy despite rest days is because of overtraining, maybe the lack of sleep (even though that has only been the last week whereas I've been feeling this way for the last two or so), or maybe diet such as lack of iron?
I'm getting 100% of my DV but wouldn't low iron cause this tiredness. Is there an easy way to test this?
I'd welcome some thoughts, just would like my workouts to be fun again. Like I said its not an injury thing. My body can take the mileage working out every day now, it just isn't fun to do the whole workout in that slow survival 'just have to make it to the finish' mode.
This month's mileage is 228 bike, 38.5 run, 8 swim.
Rob
PS my bike avg pace has been steadily increasing over the last two months with the exception of this last ride where I just had no energy. My run pace has held steady and varied depending on the type of run.