Overtraining Signs & Symptoms

There is a great deal of information available from credible and non credible sources regarding the optimal amount of exercise to avoid overtraining, and how to identify symptoms. It is important to find reliable advice from trained professionals who understand both human physiology and exercise science.

To maximise what you get from your exercise regime - it’s important recognise the common signs that suggest you are doing too much 

1.         Elevated Heart Rate upon waking. This is easy to check if you have a smartwatch or Fitness tracker device (and may already be something you have data available for regularly). If you don’t – it’s still relatively simple if you can either feel your pulse on your wrist or even feel your heartbeat through your chest.

Count the number of beats in 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to get a number beats/min. Normal resting heart rate values are 60-100, but to know if your waking heart rate is actually higher than your usual - check your heart rate after sitting down relaxed for 5-10 minutes in the middle of the day (+/- at night) to determine your normal.

When in a state of overtraining and suffering from significant fatigue - often the heart rate can be felt more strongly as a faster, bounding pulse when waking - as well as when recovering from physically active tasks.

2.         Remaining tired for hours after waking up. Sometimes this lasts all day and you never feel like you’re well rested enough despite getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Alternatively, you may find yourself slowly waking up, only to be fatigued and ready for bed immediately as soon as the sun goes down (or earlier).

Either way, this is a hallmark finding in people with disrupted sleep as well those who have accumulated a large ‘sleep debt’ from prolonged sleep deprivation. The reason this occurs is due to stress hormones remaining elevated in the body in response to poor recovery.  

This causes difficulty for the brain to fall into the most restorative phases of the sleep cycle, and shortens the total time spent with peak brainwave activity required to maximise physical and mental recovery.

3.         Abnormal soreness that doesn’t match a change in exercise. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS is not a bad thing, in fact for a lot of people it’s a good thing. The research doesn’t seem to show that muscle soreness has much to do with muscle damage or the effectiveness of a workout - but it is a normal response to a change in exercise habits (like trying a new workout program or attempting a new exercise).

It’s also specifically expected in the when doing eccentric training or emphasising the ‘slow lowering’ of weights during an exercise or when doing very high repetitions (due to build-up of metabolic stress hormones/by-products) if it’s not what you’re used to.

If you’re not doing any of these things and you find yourself getting muscle soreness or staying sore longer than 24-72 hours after exercising, it may be a sign your body isn’t adequately recovering. Usually DOMS resolves in 

4.         Newfound Lack of motivation to pursue your exercise routine. Exercise can be hard at the best of times - but usually it is something that we pursue with a purpose, whether it be for the health benefits we see immediately, those we are waiting for as we age, for social interaction or simply to follow a routine.

Regardless of our “whys”, having strategies to keep engaged and excited is important to enjoy a physically active lifestyle. More importantly, being unmotivated and struggling to engage with physical activities you usually enjoy can be a sign of being excessively fatigued or overtrained.

Once again, elevated stress hormones can alter chemicals responsible for mood regulation. This can prevent our bodies from completely winding down from the stress of our exercise program which leaves us with an accumulation of mental and emotional fatigue.  

5.         More frequent general sickness/seasonal symptoms. Stress hormones and altered recovery can decrease levels of white blood cells in the body called lymphocytes. These white blood cells are responsible for fighting of infection and a host of immune responses that are important for staying healthy.

With recent changes in our activity habits due to COVID19 - most people are more hygienic than ever and because of this, we are seeing considerably fewer people getting unwell from the common cold and flu. However, if you feel you’re getting sick more frequently than usual or have low grade symptoms more often than not - there’s a chance overtraining type fatigue plays a role.

Of course if you have any symptoms of fever, headaches, sore throat, shortness of breath or other chest symptoms -  please consult your doctor or COVID19 Screening facility ASAP. From a long term perspective The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology suggests that signs of a possible immune deficiency in adults include any of the following in a one year period:

•            > 4 ear infections 

•            2 or more episodes of developing of Pneumonia 

•            3 or more exacerbations of chronic sinusitis

•            Needing > 2 courses of antibiotics 

 All of the above symptoms may be masked by or even caused by certain medications (blood pressure/cardiovascular medication, antidepressants and stronger pain medications) in addition to many other non-exercise related conditions. It’s important to consult a healthcare professional if you are prescribed any medications and have concerns about exercise or present with these symptoms without changes in your exercise habits.

If you’d like more information on any of the information above or would like to get a better understanding of how movement can be used as medicine for you, keep an eye out for more content like this or get in touch today.