Overtraining

pb21

Overtraining is bad, but so is not doing enough training. So how do you know when it is a good idea to take an extra rest day, or continue with your plan.

I ask because at the moment I am trianing for some hill climbs in a little under three weeks time and am trying to get in as much high intensity work as possible. Today i had planned an interval session but decided against it as I was feeling slighlty 'jaded' probably after the previous weeks training, my resting HR was a little high but not much.

So was I right to ditch the workout in favour of more rest or should I have trianed and see how I felt tommorrow, what would have had most positive impact.

I am cautious to avoid any overtraining (been there before), hence the reason to take an easy day.

How do you know if you should train or not?

Also as I am doing a particularly intense couple of weeks does anyone have any tips to aid recovery?

HarryB

Try this.

Jack Raglin, Ph.D, developed a questionnaire to prevent overtraining. Take this quiz once a week--or once a day during periods of hard training. A score of 40 or more means you should rest more and run (train) less. A score of 15 or less suggests you're balancing your training and recovery well. A score that falls in the middle isn't of immediate concern, but should be monitored.. "Look for rapid changes," Raglin says. "If your score suddenly skyrockets, it's time to take a break."

1. How is your mood today?
Very, very good (-2 points)
Very good (-1 point)
Good (0 points)
Average (1 point)
Bad (3 points)
Very bad (5 points)
Very, very bad (7 points)

2. How many hours did you sleep last night?
More than nine (-1 point)
Eight or Nine (0 points)
Seven (1 point)
Five to six (3 points)
Less than five (5 points)

3. Last night I slept:
Same as normal (0 points)
One hour more than normal (1 point)
Two or more hours more than normal (3 points)
One hour less than normal (1 point)
Two hours les than normal (3 points)
Three or more hours more than normal (5 points)

4.Have you been sick the past week?
Yes (5 points)
No (0 points)

5. How would you rate yesterday's workout?
Very, very easy (-3 points)
Very east (-1 point)
Easy (0 points)
Average (1 point)
Hard (3 points)
Very hard (5 points)
Very, very hard (7 points)

6. How do your muscles feel?
Very, very good (-3 points)
Very good (-1 point)
Good (0 Point)
Tender, but not sore (1 point)
Sore (3 points)
Very sore (5 points)
Very, very sore (7 points)

7. Do your legs feel "heavy?"
No (0 points)
A little (1 point)
Somewhat (3 points)
Very (7 points)

pb21

Thanks for that although i only scored 5.5 nowhere near overtraining. My scores
3 (Not unusual!)
0 (Normal amount)
1 (I gave my self a point here as I felt like I had more deep sleep last night)
2.5 (Half score as I had a very very slight cold last week)
-3 (I rested yesterday after the weekend of training and racing)
1 (1 point as although they are not sore they are slightly heavy)
1 (proabably counted the heavy legs twice)

Alex_Simmons/RST

Along with all the markers already identified in this thread, managing and optimising training loads is one of the greatest uses of a power meter. Yeah -yeah - I know, not everyone wants to use one . But the tracking (and planning) of your chronic (long term) and acute (recent) training loads can be readily quantified with the use of a PM (taking into account duration, intensity and variability of that intensity) and it is really good at making sure your training loads are optimised.

Typically when people start with a PM, they soon find out they are not training hard enough but in some cases, it helps to dial it back to a more sustainable level.

Ric_Stern/RST

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

Along with all the markers already identified in this thread, managing and optimising training loads is one of the greatest uses of a power meter. Yeah -yeah - I know, not everyone wants to use one . But the tracking (and planning) of your chronic (long term) and acute (recent) training loads can be readily quantified with the use of a PM (taking into account duration, intensity and variability of that intensity) and it is really good at making sure your training loads are optimised.

Typically when people start with a PM, they soon find out they are not training hard enough but in some cases, it helps to dial it back to a more sustainable level.

OMG Alex, you mentioned the words that should never be mentioned. :shock:

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

The list above was good, but missed out the most important (and easily test) pointer:

Lack of libido.

If your favourite sexual partner gives you a suggestive wink and you just can't be bothered. Then you're overtrained. Or you need a new partner...

Cheers, Andy

Edwin

Um, what if you are single? Obviously why I'm overtrained then!

Seriously, I've been told by my boss to train less as it's apparently affecting my job (people have commented that I seem really tired all the time and it takes ages for me to get anything done). I've read up on the subject and honestly think I have a bit of a problem, and not wishing to lose my job I've got to sort it out.

One book I've got lists the following to diagnose overtraining:

Morning weight down more than 3%
Hours of sleep down more than 10%
Resting heart rate increased more than 10%
Mood changes including fatigue, loss of enthusiam and depression

Not sure if any of that's useful or not...

ut_och_cykla

Tips to aid recovery - eat carbs (and a little protein) after training to make sure you're topped up for next session.
Get plenty of sleep/rest in between sessions.

flattythehurdler

Alec and ric, Can I ask you which power meter you recommend. Are ther any that are light, reliable and easily transferable irrespective of cost?

Ric_Stern/RST

flattythehurdler wrote:

Alec and ric, Can I ask you which power meter you recommend. Are ther any that are light, reliable and easily transferable irrespective of cost?

There's three power meters that are available (at present) that are worth purchasing. They all have pros and cons to them.

These are the Power Tap, SRM, and Ergomo.

The Power Tap 2.4 is light. very transferable, and reliable. Downside is the wheel issue.

The SRM Pro is light, slightly less transferable and reliable. Downside is you *have* to calibrate it and it's pricey. Upside is any wheels

The Ergomo is light and has the best computer. It isn't transferable (unless you want to face and chase your bottom bracket shell). You can use any wheels, but you are limited with chainset choice (which may or may not be an issue for you). I don't know how reliable these are yet, as i've only had mine a few months.

We sell all three power meters. I've used all 3 power meters (plus others), but those 3 are the only ones i'm happy to sell (at present).

Ric

Mike Willcox1

In a way you need to either get close or even overtrain to get to know one's limits. The body of course will be giving out some pretty obvious signals to that effect, so you've got be a dedicated athlete to even get to that stage.

The main reason for overtraining is having too many consecutive speed sessions too soon. There has to be a building process; slowly and surely. Build a base with one or two interval sessions a week and then reduce the mileage as you do more and more speed work ( sometimes 2 or 3 times a day). Intersperse the speed work with easy or or no riding when looking to peak for an event.

scherrit

Erm, the quark PM is coming too, looks pretty promising.

If you're not going to run a PM, and all the other stuff to help you calibrate your training, then the quiz above can work well, once you calibrated it. By that I mean you need a bit of history so you can see what's unusual for you. My strength coach who works mostly in professional rugby says that the NZ and Oz clubs and teams all run quiz systems..... some with only two questions, and have been getting really good results..... YMMV- these are very disciplined and determined athletes in a situation where their income depends on performance.

Edwin, when you work for a boss, acting is right up there as a vital skill.... work on it! Seriously I've been there, you need to cover it well..... certainly don't complain at work about how hard you're training!!!!! Try sleeping more?
S.