Warning Signs That You Are Overtraining

I wanted to title this: Don’t Be Like Mike

As a person with an addictive personality, there have been a few times since I started running that I have noticed signs that I am letting running become an addiction rather than the joy and release from addiction that running has become for me.

As amateur athletes, which is what the majority of us who run are, it is important to know the warning signs of overtraining, or as I like to call it, over-extending what our physical and mental selves have the capacity to withstand.

If I would read and then practice what I read, I wouldn’t have to continually learn this through experience.

Thus, my alternate title of Don’t Be Like Mike.

There are many running coaches, physical therapists, and exercise physiologists that could write this from an expert position. I merely can write from experience and share some of what I have learned through the years of what those warning signs look and feel like so others don’t have to go through the aches and pains of overtraining.

What is Overtraining?

As I was studying the topic of overtraining, a National Association of Sports Medicine article stood out from the many that I read. 19 Signs of Overtraining: How to Avoid Excess Fatigue and OTS is an article that covers the spectrum of training, not just the running side of physical fitness.

“In the new edition of the NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training (7th ed., Jones & Bartlett 2022), overtraining syndrome is described as ‘a condition in which an athlete or fitness client experiences fatigue, declining performance, and burnout’ (Sutton, 2022).”

An article on the website, Hospital for Special Surgery, goes just a little bit further in defining overtraining.

Overtraining: What It Is, Symptoms and Recovery puts it in two classifications: Overreaching and Overtraining. These classifications have distinct differences.

Overreaching is defined in this article as “muscle soreness above and beyond what you typically experience that occurs when you don’t sufficiently recover between workouts.”

Overtraining is when you ignore the signs of overreaching and continue to train. This is also a sign of refusing to listen to your body.

You can overreach and recover quickly. Overtraining is something that takes a little more time to recover from. Therefore, pay attention to what your body is trying to tell you before it becomes a problem.

Signs/Symptoms of Overtraining

Out of all the articles I have been reading on overtraining, the HSS article was the one that most closely identified what I have found when I overtrain.

The three areas this article identified are the areas I work hardest on understanding where I am so I don’t overtrain.

These areas are training-related, lifestyle-related, and health-related. For myself, I always see these signs in little characteristics that I have learned to check on so I don’t overtrain.

When I begin to experience “heavy legs” or muscle soreness that is unusual and persists, I know I am experiencing training-related signs of overtraining.

Moodiness, continual jitteriness, and poor sleep quality are the areas I experience lifestyle-related overtraining. Sleep is the number one area I have learned to watch for when I am overtraining. I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and then wake up for long periods during the night and have a hard time falling back asleep.

Health-related often looks like multiple trips to the bathroom and needing to find bushes mid-run for me. My stools are often runny and discolored. When I notice this, I know that it is time to reverse the trend before worse health-related symptoms can overtake me.

Recovering From Overtraining

The good news is that overtraining, if caught early, is not a recipe for a long time off training or racing.

A Training Peaks article, All About Overtraining, is a great resource for how to recover from overtraining.

Knowing that overtraining is a gradual onset, often you can simply reset the way you are going about training.

The methods I have employed successfully are to reduce the intensity, distance, and time of my runs. I typically employ six-week training blocks, but when I feel the first symptoms of overtraining coming on, I will adjust my schedule and do an easy week. I utilize both a five and six-day run week along with daily stretching and yoga sessions.

When I begin to sense overtraining coming on, I’ll use at least two and sometimes three of my run days as recovery runs. At least one of those runs becomes a walk instead of a run day. I’ll go to a local state park and just enjoy being outside instead of trying to capture miles or time on my feet.

When I have slid solidly into overtraining and running isn’t fun, I’ll take days off and go to the gym and bike or even do weights. Anything to get me off my feet for a couple of days has always worked for me.

Another big way to recover for me is to watch what I eat. Nutritional deficiencies hit athletes of every level, so it is important to pay attention to what you are putting into your body. I love bacon, potato chips, and apple pie with ice cream on top as much as the next person.

However, sometimes it is best to leave those foods for the day after a 100-miler so my body sees them more as a special one-time treat.

The best way to summarize avoiding overtraining and recovering from overtraining when you see the symptoms is to become an expert at listening to your body.