overtraining question

[watchman]

I have been very faithful to my training schedule the past 5 months. I have seen steady improvement.
Running 5 times per week, bike twice per week, swim 2-3 times per week.

This past week is the first time I have felt worse. The soreness seemed to linger. I actually took an unplanned day off. The reason? I just felt wiped out.

I know there are times to just "do it anyway".

What are the signs of overtraining?

When do you take a day off?
a week off?

I have heard listen to your body. Listen for what?

My long run reached 16 miles this week. I felt good during it. The rest of the week I felt worn out.

One other factor. A new baby and 2 days before and 2 days since of a lack of sleep.

any thoughts?

mike

[Aussie Rob]

Here's a good article i read a while back you might find useful. Scroll down to the 'measures' part.

www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/coachcorn/overtraining.html#Anchor-MEASURES-52226

On a personal note, i take sundays off, and i've discovered that if i feel like i need an additional day off during the week then that's a sign i need to scale things back. Fortunately, after hitting things too hard last fall, i seem to have found the sweet spot in terms of base training since the new year started. By Saturday im totally ready for my day off, but never feel like i need to break from my schedule.

[Charlie]

I take one mandatory day off. After that I listen to my body.
It sounds as thou you heard your body loud and clear.

[Matt Luck]

That baby might have something to do with it.

Not that I know much about how kids will change your life.

Father of four speaking

One day off a week or ten days

Modify training while adjusting to new baby

[watchman]

I am still wondering what some spcific signs of overtraining everyone else has experienced.

Any examples?

and what you did about it?

mike

[traciezamiska]

i try very hard to REALLY listen to what my body is telling me. when i say 'listen' i mean pay attention to how it is performing, not just during training. if i step things up training wise and it is too much it spills over into everyday life. i'm just generally not as sharp as i normally am. i'm a bit grumpy due to fatigue and i notice little things bother me more. i normally take a day or two off then. this past fall i trained or worked out every day for about 7 weeks straight. i was working with a trainer and working out hard every day. it got to the point that i felt like i wasn't enjoying it anymore so i stopped for about a week to a week and a half and felt great and got back into things.

i generally enjoy all of my training time, even when it is hard. it is at those specific moments where i'm not performing like usual or normal training seems difficult that i evaluate my regime and switch things up. i've only dealt with any kind of injury once (now) but my normal sign of 'too much' is fatigue. if my muscles feel tired and i'm exhausted i sleep and rest. sometimes i cut down my training time and up the rest (i.e. relaxing in bed with a book or napping) sometimes i just up the rest and relaxation time. (btw, this is easy for me to say, i don't have any children )

there are many other factors that play into how you feel, not just training but stress (good or bad), nutrition, hydration and how much rest you're getting. all that can effect how you feel during and after training. so pay attention to those factors as well.

good luck with the new baby!!!

[Aussie Rob]

watchman said:

I am still wondering what some spcific signs of overtraining everyone else has experienced.

Any examples?

and what you did about it?

mike

Getting sick more than usual because your immune system is shot. Not being able to perform on the level you're used to for 3 or more consecutive days. Higher resting HR than usual. Generally feeling more tired than usual.

The problem is i think it hits different people differently. For me, i got sick four or five times from Aug - Dec last year....i completely killed my immune system. Little fiddly sore throats/head colds i would normally not get, or fight off in 3 or 4 days would hang around for 7-10 days....and i got hit with them one after the other.

When people say listen to your body, it means listen and look for negative things out of the ordinary. If you're feeling something, and you don't have another explanation other than a high volume of training....chances are it might be too much training.