Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining

Wendy R. LeBolt, PhD.
Exercise Physiologist

Signs and Symptoms of Overtraining include:

• Increase in Resting Heart rate (taken before getting out of bed in the morning for at least 10 consecutive days).
• Persistent muscle soreness. 
• Fatigue. Reluctance to train.  Body is tired and heavy.  Pattern of skipping practices or games.
• Sleeplessness: trouble falling asleep, wake during the night.
• Decrease in appetite.  Weight loss.  Irregular menstruation in females.
• More frequent colds, upper respiratory infections. 
• Boredom.  Lack of motivation. May have falling grades.
• Decrease in self-esteem.  Unhappiness that pervades other activities.
• Cynicism.  Negative outlook. Moodiness. Inappropriate response to usual stresses.
• Frequent minor injuries.  Injuries which are slow to heal or recur.

What Can I do to Prevent Overtraining Injuries?

• Tune into your body.  Don?t ignore pain ?especially sharp or join pain.
• Start training at least 6-8 weeks before your season starts.  Be sure and allow 10-14 days for heat acclimatization.
• Do not increase training more than 10%/week.
• Get 8 hours of sleep.
• Don?t skip meals.  Include 1500 mg/day of Calcium. Drink recommended volume of fluids.
• Include regular stretching before and after training.
• Take an ?off-season.? (maybe just making your primary sport secondary for a season)
• 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.

Wendy R. LeBolt
http://www.Fit2Finish.com
wlebolt@Fit2Finish.com
703-298-2280