Overtraining
by Doug Reese TTNL
The statement, "Records are made to be broken," is so true. The unbelievable improvements in athletic performance has been brought about by athletes who have literally extended the frontiers of human performance by increasing the intensity and volume of training. Athletes are now routinely doing things that were assumed to be "beyond human capacity" just a few decades ago.

Consider these examples:
  • In 1924 Johnny Weissmuller won the Olympic 400 meter freestyle in a time of 5:04. Today although the 400 meter freestyle is not raced in the Olympics, Tom Dolan of the United States set the world record at the 2000 Sydney Games with a time of 4:11 in the 400 IM (individual medley) - 57 seconds faster than Weissmuller's freestyle record.
  • In the 1904 Olympic marathon, Tom Hicks won the race in a time of 3 hours and 28 minutes. Today Hick's time would not even qualify for the Boston Marathon, in fact the present world record is almost 83 minutes faster!
  • No one thought the four minute mile would ever be broken. Since Jim Ryun broke the "impossible barrier," the world record now stands at 3 minutes and 43 seconds.

Pushing the Edge

It is also important to remember that there is an upper limit to the amount of work even the most highly conditioned body can perform. There is a fine line between work and overwork. Athletic history is full of stories of athletes who overtrained themselves out of great careers.

Derek Clayton, the former world record holder in the marathon, and Dave Bedford of Great Britian, the former world record holder in the 10,000 meters, both ran 200 miles a week in training. Their careers were abruptly ended by injuries before either won an Olympic medal, because they did not recognize the signs of overtraining.

In a study done at McGill University in Montreal, demonstrated that if rats were stressed, then allowed to recover, the rats became stronger. Rats that were stressed again before they recovered became weaker. Rats that were not stressed did not improve.

The same signs and symptoms that were found in the study of rats, also appear in overtrained athletes.

Warning Signs of Overtraining

Listed below are the warning signs of overtraining:
In the Muscles
  • Persistent soreness and stiffness in the muscles, joints and tendons.
  • Heavy - leggedness.

Emotional Symptoms

  • Loss of interest in training.
  • Nervousness.
  • Depression.
  • "I don't care" attitude.
  • Inability to relax.
  • A drop in academic or work performance.

Body Warning Signs

  • Headaches.
  • Loss of appetite.
  • Unexplained drop in athletic performance.
  • Fatigue and sluggishness.
  • Drop in body weight.
  • Swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, groin, and armpit.
  • Constipation or diarrhea.
  • Absence of menstruation.
Overtraing can be a serious problem among all levels of athletes. Athletes who are just begin training usually do too much for their "out of shape" bodies to adequately handle the new level of stress. They become injured or fatigued, and often quit training completely. Veteran athletes who overtrain are frequently injured, and are always "dragging." The result - less than their best performance.

Test Yourself

One of the best, time tested procedures to test for overtraining is to take your resting morning pulse rate. The test is very simple to take. When you first wake-up in the morning, take your pulse for 60 seconds. If your pulse is more than seven beats per minute faster than normal, you need to take the day off from training, or cut back in the volume or intensity of the work load.
To The Next Level (c) 2000, 2001 Reprinted with permission.