CLUES TO OVERTRAINING

How do YOU know when you are in danger of OT? The following are clues which might suggest that an extra day or two of rest is in order.

Personality/Disposition - While your personal demeanor is difficult to quantify, it appears to be the most sensitive and earliest indicator of overtraining. Anger, depression, and a decrease in your sense of wellbeing and vigor have all been reported as signs of OT. You won't need a psychologist to help you with this one. Your family and significant others are usually the first to point these symptoms out to you.

Resting heart rate - A resting pulse rate is taken on awakening in the morning before getting out of bed. An increase of 10% or 10 beats per minute for several days in a row is accepted by most coaches as a sign to slow down, or alternatively that you are coming down with something. Remember, it is the trend of your resting heart rate, taken over a period of days, that is important, not a single day's reading.

Performance - A short, standardized route every week is another helpful monitoring tool, and the changes will usually be in minutes, not seconds. If you see a deterioration, take some time off or consider switching to another aerobic activity (being careful to keep your exercising heart rate below 70% of maximum). A drop of 10 beats per minute while riding your normal route of your maximum heart rate has also been used as an indicator of overtraining.

General fatigue - Ongoing daily lethargy is a clue that it's time to slow down.

General physical complaints - Sore throat, sore muscles, and chronic diarrhea all may indicate the chronic stress of overtraining. An increase in minor illnesses has been reported as well.

Disruption of the normal sleep cycle - Falling asleep easily, awakening abruptly, and then feeling like you need a nap at 10 AM can reflect a change in your normal sleep cycle associated with overtraining.

But when it comes right down to it, you are how you feel, so to speak. Your sense of well being, sense of fatigue throughout the day, and sense of perceived effort as you take that weekly ride over your regular route all appear to be more sensitive than the most sophisticated laboratory study in identifying early overtraining.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

In a nutshell, overtraining is the result of "doing too much, too quickly". The body likes regular, moderate changes, not upheaval, in a training program. So don't increase your mileage or training time by more than 10% per week.

Take rest days, sometimes 2-3 days in a row of doing nothing, you’ll be surprised at the results.  You will feel totally refreshed when getting onto your bike.