Overtraining

Just tired, or over-trained?

8 Ways to Prevent Over-Training Injuries

Everybody overdoes it occasionally. But severe burnout due to over-training can lead to injury. Here are some of the signs:

  • Fatigue, reluctance to train, body is tired and heavy
  • Persistent muscle soreness
  • Frequent minor injuries or injuries which are slow to heal or recur
  • Persistent desire to skip practices or games
  • Sleeplessness, trouble falling asleep, waking during the night
  • Increased resting heart rate (take before getting out of bed, for several consecutive days)
  • Decrease in appetite, weight loss, irregular menstruation in females
  • More frequent colds, upper respiratory infections
  • Boredom, lack of motivation, decline in academic performance
  • Decrease in self-esteem and/or unhappiness that pervades other activities
  • Cynicism, negative outlook, moodiness, inappropriate response to usual stresses

What can you do to prevent over-training injuries?

  1. Tune into your body. Don’t ignore pain – especially sharp or joint pain.
  2. Start training at least 6-8 weeks before your season starts. Be sure and allow 10-14 days for heat acclimatization.
  3. Do not increase training more than 10% per week.
  4. Get 8 hours of sleep.
  5. Don’t skip meals. Include 1500 mg/day of calcium. Drink the recommended volume of fluids.
  6. Include regular warm up before and stretching after training.
  7. Take an “off-season.” (maybe just make your primary sport secondary for a season)
  8. Have injuries evaluated and treated. Have a sports medicine professional identify strength and/or flexibility imbalances and weaknesses. These are “your weakest links.” Focus your pre-season training here.

Find more articles about over-training, over-use and burnout on the website.

Contact us for help addressing this important issue.