Overtraining

[old] Afterburner · Post by **[old] Afterburner** » October 29th, 2004, 5:42 pm

This morning after practice(on water) my coach came up to me and asked me if I thought I was overtraining. (I think she just realized last night for the first time that I do ergs 5xweek in addition to morning practices and weights) My response was I don't think so, but it got me thinking (uhoh) and I realized I have no clue how to tell if I am or not. What are some handy rules of thumb that people use to try and watch for that for those of us who don't have access to all the snazzy toys? Opinions are always appreciated. Heather Johnson F20 HWT 5'7" 2k 7:32.2 20min 5057

[old] KMurphy · Post by **[old] KMurphy** » October 29th, 2004, 7:18 pm

Hello Heather, I'm pretty new to rowing but I've been doing a lot of study and here's what I've gathered on the topic. There are a lot of symptoms of overtraining that someone should be able to point you to a web-link for. Unfortunately I don't have one bookmarked. But a good practice to have is to log your resting heart rate when you wake up each morning. You can simply look at a clock in your room and check your pulse for a minute. If you are training normally this should stay the same or even improve some. If you notice your morning HR is up say 8-10 beats higher than normal it usually indicates you haven't recovered enough yet or that you are possibly fighting off something with the immune system. Since hard training suppresses the immune system in either case the best thing is to take a break from training until your resting HR is back to normal. Unfortunately if you are already over-trained and don't know what your resting HR is you will need to maybe cut back for a few days and make sure you are recovered to get a good baseline or see if you have any of the other symptoms of overtraining. If you don't then maybe safe to take a baseline now and assume your currently not overtraining. If you do have symptoms then cut back and use the above to help keep from overtraining going forward. I hope that helps. KMurphy

[old] DIESEL · Post by **[old] DIESEL** » October 29th, 2004, 7:35 pm

If your nutrition is on point and you are getting adequate rest, you are not overtrained. How to tell if you are: You'll be sluggish during the day even after a good night's sleep. Your erg times will start to go up - this is why its' so important to track your workouts - the trends over the weeks give you the indicators to find out if you are overtraining. You just won't feel like rowing as much as you used to. The solution: Take a week or so off, to rest and recharge.

[old] ranger · Post by **[old] ranger** » October 30th, 2004, 4:23 am

Partly because of my age (53), but for other reasons, too, I always do long warm up routines (usually jumping rope) before I work hard on the erg. These warm up routines are my clue to overtraining. If my warm up routine tires me out rather than warms me up (i.e., makes me eager and ready for harder work), I know I should rest. I have found this is a very good indicator of overtraining because, while I am often tired and sluggish at the _beginning_ of my long warm up routine, I am never tired and sluggish at the end (unless I have been overtraining). So I guess this is my practice to avoid overtraining: I never row unless, after warming up extensively, I feel eager and ready to row. ranger

[old] anomad · Post by **[old] anomad** » October 30th, 2004, 2:32 pm

I agree with DIESEL. Most of my training revolves around cycling, but overtraining exibits itself to me by serious lack of enthusiasm and trouble getting to sleep at night (despite being exhausted). A few days off or just doing something else has me ready to go again. When I am training hard I plan one rest/easy day a week to avoid over doing it and keep proper variation in workouts.

[old] remador · Post by **[old] remador** » October 31st, 2004, 11:29 am

I got overtrained this week; the symptoms were as you guys said: bad erg scores, no motivation, too tired and no sleep, immune sistem down. I was following my club's programme, but it just seems not to fit in with a working life - it's good for young guys (maybe 18-23 years old). Have to do less weights and run slower, it seems. AM

[old] tow rope · Post by **[old] tow rope** » October 31st, 2004, 2:13 pm

My lack of rowing experience makes me a little nervous about jumping in the middle of this or any other topic for that matter. However as a runner who did obsessively overtrain I can speak to this. • You can’t train hard all of the time. Maximum of 6 training sessions per week with one long row (easy), one interval session, one tempo session and everything else easy. Also two or three strength session / week. • Typically you experience overtraining syndrome following long sessions. The key to avoiding this is to eat and drink early in the session. In a long training session for example I would suggest taking fluid and nutrition around the 8K mark. Within 5 to 15 minutes of completing a long session you should take nutrition. A good mix of protein and carbs with some fat is appropriate (ie. yogurt, oatmeal, nuts and raisins) • General nutrition is a very important component of this type of program. Low fat appropriate carbs and lots of vegetables. Eat at least 5 times a day. Keith Klein is a great source of information about nutrition. <a href='http://www.getleanhouston.com/weekly/keith_corner.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.getleanhouston.com/weekly/ke ... rds Tow Rope

[old] drkcgoh · Post by **[old] drkcgoh** » October 31st, 2004, 3:55 pm

One obsessive former Tennis champ just went down with a thyroid crisis last week. That is a result of persistent overtraining. The endocrine sustem just goes out of whack. It's a pity a twenty year old just about to start her working career has to suffer the hard way to learn that Sports is meant to promote health, and not everyone is built to be a champion. We already have the means to monitor training, using the heart rate monitor, and we should constantly do so to curb the obsessive compulsive side of our nature taking over with harmful effects. KC63

[old] danimal · Post by **[old] danimal** » November 1st, 2004, 5:29 pm

Hello Heather, Having been a competitive age group runner in my past life, I have more than a little experience with overtraining. One thing that has worked for me and my training partners is being diligent about incooperating rest days. This can be much easier said than done considering the nature of a competitive athlete. But suprisingly it takes very little to let the "batteries recharge". Just holding to an active rest day without giving in to the "urge" can keep the fires alive. Good Luck

[old] Tom_Pinckney · Post by **[old] Tom_Pinckney** » November 3rd, 2004, 8:27 am

I am 59 years old and have trained physically (weights, aerobically, etc) most of my life. During those times there have been times when I have had long lay-offs due to injuries. Then I have to start over again as a BEGINNER. I have found that it is just as easy (or maybe easier) to overtrain when you are out-of-shape and a beginner as it is as a competitive athlete. I've been at it (again) for several weeks now (I just purchased a C2) and find myself tired, my workouts harder with a lack of enthusiasm. These are all signs of overtraining. A day off or light resistance will take care of it. Walking on those days may be a good atlernative for you.

[old] Coach Gus · Post by **[old] Coach Gus** » November 3rd, 2004, 12:01 pm

One of the hardest things to do as a coach is to keep athletes from overtraining. I have to "force" them to take rest days and recovery days. What makes it even harder is you typically on are on the verge of or have just reach the point of overtraining when you are doing your best performances. You get all excited and decide to work even harder or go for that 3rd PB in a row. This works for a while until your body and/or mind breaks down. I recommend using a HR monitor during your erg sessions. Getting the necessary equipment to use one on the C2 is not real expensive because all you need is the C2 HR interface and a chest strap. The HR monitor itself is built into the PM. If your HR is elevated during your sessions as compared to previous comparable sessions then you are likely in need of rest or more easy erg recovery days. I think it's far better to incorporate rest and recovery days into your training program instead of having to take days, weeks or even months off because you overtrained and got sick or injured.

[old] PaulS · Post by **[old] PaulS** » November 3rd, 2004, 1:18 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (Coach Gus @ Nov 3 2004, 04:01 PM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> One of the hardest things to do as a coach is to keep athletes from overtraining.  </td></tr></table> Still don't know WHAT you coach, but there is no doubt THAT you coach! Nailed it! Excellent recommendation! - Paul Smith

[old] Coach Gus · Post by **[old] Coach Gus** » November 3rd, 2004, 2:26 pm

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'>QUOTE (PaulS @ Nov 3 2004, 09:18 AM)</td></tr><tr><td class='quote'> Still don't know WHAT you coach...  </td></tr></table> I coach/train athletes on the C2 Indoor Rower.

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