Overtraining or not

badly_dubbed

So, lately I've been feeling a bit crap, tired alot and just feeling heavy and sluggish..rides have been in my eyes not my best and I feel like I'm
Not getting anywhere.. I'm thinking maybe this is a knock on of overtraining but I dunno?

What do you guys think...

This week from last rest day:

Saturday - 45min rollers med intensity with 6-8intense sprints
Sunday - flat out XC Mtb race at Aberfoyle SXC
Monday - 10mile lunch road bike run hard and 30mile road bike solo @ 18.5mph avg few hills at night
Tuesday- 5mile xc run (on foot) with 8 30sec sprints 45min weight training full body after
Wed - 30mile mtb 3hill challenge (3local peaks ridden to the summit)
Thurs - rest
Friday (today) 7miles hard road bike this morning then a planned 30/40mile road cycle prob around 18mph avg
Sat - group training 50miles plus circa 20mph avg
Sunday - long group run 60-70miles circa 18-20mph avg

I walk to work daily which is 3miles all in and now and then do a 10mile road bike run at lunch, I lift slabs all day as I work in a builders yard.

One of the things I have noticed is that I'm failing to drop body fat which I've been told is a sign of over exertion...?

Any help would be great cheers![/img]

twotyred

That's a hell of a week to do on only one rest day. If that's typical then I'd say you are over training especially with your job. I'm not surprised you're not getting anywhere as with all that hard riding and no rest your body isn't getting a chance to adapt. Rest is part of training. What exactly are you training for? Have you any races or events targeted for this year? Reason I'm asking is there doesn't appear to be any structure to your training. There's a lot more to training than just riding hard.

You appear to be pretty serious about your biking from the amount of time you are putting in so I'd suggest you work out some target races or events to work towards and seek out the services of a coach. If you do I reckon you'll find yourself training less and your results will be better

turnerjohn

you use a heart rate monitor ? can show up over training easily as you wont be able to lift your heart rate up when trying to beast it .
Sound like over training to me. Your doing lots of riding and with a physical job like you have your bodies just going to give up !
Have a few days off the bike then try a shotish or long slow ride after a few days...if your feeling much better you know you've been over training.
Get a Heart rate monitor for riding and keep an eye on your efforts; if you find your pushing hard but your heart rate is low (wont go up to normal levels) ease off the training / total rest...its your bodies way of saying its had enough !

badly_dubbed

Yea my garmin 800 has HRM

What I found was I felt like I was working like a Trojan but heart rate was still very low, legs gave up first and I couldnt "get moving" (this was the 3hill mtb run on wed)

So this has already happened

danowat

badly_dubbed wrote:

What I found was I felt like I was working like a Trojan but heart rate was still very low, legs gave up first and I couldnt "get moving" (this was the 3hill mtb run on wed)

So this has already happened

Classic sign of fatigue

amaferanga

Sounds to me like you're battering yourself with no purpose. If you want to improve as a cyclist you need to train a lot smarter.

turnerjohn

badly_dubbed wrote:

Yea my garmin 800 has HRM

What I found was I felt like I was working like a Trojan but heart rate was still very low, legs gave up first and I couldnt "get moving" (this was the 3hill mtb run on wed)

So this has already happened

If your Garmin does the same as my 705 it shows different HR zones ? so you can monitor easier.
Classic signs of well over training your showing.
Best thing to do is rest am affriad....tho if your anything like me you cant do that !
Active recovery can work well but you have to keep the intensity really low (top end zone 2 really) and just resist the urge to knock it up a gear or two !

what are you training for ? if its for a forthcoming event you really do need to rest up and take it easy !

badly_dubbed

Just training cos I like it!

Want to be the best I can be basically tho I do race mtb once a month

I can't rest I just feel lazy however I will tonight and go mega easy tomorrow

twotyred

Its going to take more than a couple of easy days to sort you out.

What you're doing is riding to train not training to ride. You'll never be the best you can be unless you start doing the latter. Structured training with a purpose is a lot different than just going out and battering yourself like you've been doing.

Herbsman

The effects of overtraining can last weeks, even months. I can't actually believe you do all that in one week.

badly_dubbed

I considered that a kinda easy week, cos I felt tired, normally a Tuesday would not
Be a run but another group training session of about 40m+ of which the start is
12 miles from where I live

twotyred

I considered that a kinda easy week,

:shock:

I hope you believe now that you're doing too much. I'm surprised you haven't injured yourself.

I really hope you act on the advice you've had here.

amaferanga

Quality over quantity....

badly_dubbed

twotyred wrote:

That's a hell of a week to do on only one rest day. If that's typical then I'd say you are over training especially with your job. I'm not surprised you're not getting anywhere as with all that hard riding and no rest your body isn't getting a chance to adapt. Rest is part of training. What exactly are you training for? Have you any races or events targeted for this year? Reason I'm asking is there doesn't appear to be any structure to your training. There's a lot more to training than just riding hard.

You appear to be pretty serious about your biking from the amount of time you are putting in so I'd suggest you work out some target races or events to work towards and seek out the services of a coach. If you do I reckon you'll find yourself training less and your results will be better

What sort of structure should I be doing here then? :S

twotyred

I don't know I'm not a coach but I do know it will be completely different to what you are doing now. It will depend on what your goals are, what your strengths and weaknesses are and how much time you have available. That's why I recommended you find a coach. Believe me as someone who has just started working with a coach this year you will be amazed at the difference it can make. I decent coach will cost about £40 a month with an initial longer consultation and test to start with.

If you are concerned about the cost just think if you'd bought a basic HRM instead of that Garmin 800 the difference would have easily paid for 6 months coaching.

jocksyboy

It's not necessarily too much just as long as your body can take the intensity. However you do need to rest. Take a couple of days off then do a Z2 ride and see if you feel any better.

Also important to sleep well and for long enough and to eat well. If you are not replacing the calories and other vitamins etc the body has used you will be feeling it.

psiturbo

This is very easy, take a full week off with no cycling at all.

Try to do everything else the same, good rest, eating well, prevent stressful situations.

Dedicate the week to relax, rent some movies, maybe a masage or the chiropractor, I am almost sure you will feel much better.

Please post readings of HRM five minutes from when you wake up.

rock_hopper

I can see a few people have offered good advice already but the first thing that struck (and shocked) me was that you didn't have a rest or recovery day after your mtb race. I race mtb and find it take 1-2 days of rest or veeeery easy riding to recover from. It completely batters your whole body. You need recovery after very hard efforts, especially a flat out mtb race.

Sun: MTB Race
Mon: Rest
Tue: 10 miles low intensity, if you feel ok do a 2 hour endurance ride but no serious effort.

That would be my recommendation.

badly_dubbed

Ok so I took thurs and Friday last week off,

From then I have done

Sat - 1hr easy spin 16miles around town 15mph avg no effort
Sunday - 3hr+ group ride slow pace 16.5mph avg over 60miles
Monday - weight training 45 min
Tuesday - hard group race training 45miles 21mph avg, multiple turns at front felt great
Wed - 3hr MTB few lung openers but nothing too hardcore
Thurs (today) feel ok, was gonna do sone weights n have a run?
Fri - rest

Thoughts?

Zoomer37

Its quite simple really.

If your knackered all the time, your sleeping patterns are all over the place, you feel lethargic and your muscles are sore then your more than likely doing to much and your just griding your body and brain into the ground.

However if your floating round like Mary Poppins with a big grin on your chops and feeling strong then your probably cool to keep up your weekly training.

yenrod

badly_dubbed wrote:

Yea my garmin 800 has HRM

What I found was I felt like I was working like a Trojan but heart rate was still very low, legs gave up first and I couldnt "get moving" (this was the 3hill mtb run on wed)

So this has already happened

You've answered your own question: YOU ARE OVER-TRAINING!

Garz

Answer to OP question: Overtraining

I would also check your nutritional intake if your pushing yourself so hard ALL week with one rest day. I would think a couple of 'hard' days accompanied with two soft days to stretch and get the mileage would be adequate. Your rest days and walking will keep you in check.

twotyred

Thoughts?

I have to ask again. Why are you doing this training? What are your goals? How are you measuring progress? How do you know if what you are doing is working or not? Seems to me you are "training" for the sake of it just now.

badly_dubbed

Ok so goals:

Be a good road racer - entering events very soon

Be the best mtb racer I can and get a podium - my best so far is 4th place

Join the scratch group on club runs, I'm one group down ATM and would like to bump up soon and then eventually finish the sprint top 3