Overtrained, What to do?

[big fellow]

Frankie

as JK said, just when applying a training stimulus to your body, everyone is different. therefore, it's hard to give concrete answers. other points to keep in mind:

as a rough guide - the longer you have been exercising in this over reached / trained state, the longer it will take for you to get over it

my concern would be that you try to exercise through it, which is a common mistake and which in fact increases the severity of the problem

complete rest is usually the best, though this will depend on the severity of your condition. however if you do feel like you want to do something definitely keep it low aerobic intensity ie, lower than 75%as suggested

someone else suggested using sweat as a guide to intensity - ignore that as too many variables affect this. even on it's own, it is a poor indicator of exercise intensity, eg even after 2 hours of riding at 10km an hour you will still be sweating but obviously the intensity is low

hope that helps!

[JK]

someone else suggested using sweat as a guide to intensity - ignore that as too many variables affect this.

I said "surely you can do your RPM classes without too much sweating". Offcourse, I did not mean that in a literal way: I meant being an instructor without any intense work for yourself.

[big fellow]

oops...perhaps took it wrong way

cheers

[whooztheman]

Go to a doctor.
Do a blood test, check your ferritin levels/iron, hematocrit and then apply his advice according to the results.
don't panic, it is VERY important that you thought about it, 'diagnosed' and 'accepted' it. Others never accept o/t or even o/r as a possibility!!!
thumbs up for that, needs guts.
good luck.

[Frankie - B]

Wow, You guys are a big help!

By the way: 75% of HR max is still too much for a recovery ride. Just do 60-65%, take your girlfriend with you and try to talk more to her than she does to you .

Wish I had one... so this will be hard, I think i know what you are saying. Try to keep talking during exercise and don't get into breathing hard. well, that should be easy.

Newbieweenie had a good point: If you put in a "rest week" every 4th or 5th week (or even 3rd week, depending on the intensity and volume of the training you do), there is less chance of you wearing yourself out.

This is getting you training in periods (NL= periodisering) IE building intensity per week and after that an easy week. I know I should have done this, but because off work etc, I must have thought I got too less training so I just kept training. WRONG!!!

as a rough guide - the longer you have been exercising in this over reached / trained state, the longer it will take for you to get over it.

Ok, I think I have been in this state for two weeks now. So lets say it will take me two weeks to get over it?!

my concern would be that you try to exercise through it, which is a common mistake and which in fact increases the severity of the problem
complete rest is usually the best, though this will depend on the severity of your condition. however if you do feel like you want to do something definitely keep it low aerobic intensity ie, lower than 75%as suggested

This is what most people seem to try and because of that they will get overtrained. I felt that I couldn't, I didn't recouver as quick as I normally did so the physiology alarmbells got ringing.
Today I had a leg massage to give the extra "push" in recouvery. She really hurt me! half way we could really tell the difference between the legs. Because she couldn't fix it all at once I will go back to her next week.
I'm already feeling the need to get on the bike, So i'll treat myself on a easy tarmac ride tomorrow and i'll keep the heart rate down. I'm giving a RPM class on friday morning and I will wear my polar so I can check my heart rate. I'll keep it low.

Thanks!

[Boonen]

Frankie, it seems you are on the right way with all the advise you got so far. I have also been through this and the best advise I can give you is not to rush it. Take your time to fully recover and start out with really easy basetraining in the period after that. I know it is hard, but the more and better you rest now, the better the recovery will be. It's better to start training a couple of days later than to start a day to soon. You won't lose your basic form that you build up over the years just because you don't ride your bike one or two weeks!

Good luck with it!

[Azonic]

My overtraining experience...

I had been pushing my training hard for a period of about 2-3 months, really giving it stick. Some days I would train three times, 50km in the morning before work, then jog to gym where I would do a 45 minute Spin class. My fitness was amazing, was winning local and getting Top 3 in provincial MTB races. One night, about 7 weeks ago, I was sitting in spin class in gym giving it stick as I knew I could easily do. Then without warning, I got a nosebleed. I decided to leave the spin class and cool my legs down on the regular gym bikes. I sat there light headed with a slight headache developing. From that day onwards, I was as weak as a funrider. All my power that took me 3 months of hard training to build was gone in a matter of 2 days. It's not a case of being off the bike for a while where you would expect to get unfit, you loose everything, AT ONCE. It has now been 7 weeks as mentioned and I'm slowely starting to train again, my body still not back to where it was.

If you are tired or your body feels run-down, CLIMB OFF THE BIKE and REST. Rather loose 2-3 days of training time than loose ALL your training that might have taken you weeks or months to do.

[smallfish101]

There has been a lot of sensible advice dished out here, but one area has not been addressed. That is the ultimate goal of the training schedule that pushed you into overtraining in the first place. I would second the proposal that more than a few days off is required if you have physical symptoms, as Bigfellow so well described, ( rather than just the mental dropout.) I don't know that you have to actually get off the bike - if ( a BIG IF ) you can get on and just ENJOY a spin around the block, no pressure, then that does help with the guilt feelings that come along with stopping altogether. If you have to go hard every time you ride, then stop completely.
There's always the background thought that you will dramatiocally lose whatever form you had. If you have a big race in mind, coming up soon, then a serious rest for a few weeks is good - as suggested, but if there is nothing coming up soon, fun riding - out in the sun, just there for the coffee attitude is great. You will not lose anything if you are truly overtrained - you will gain a lot.
Set your goals and plan your training well in advance. Overtraining is often due to goalless training - just doing it because "you have to". With a definite goal, there is always the stopping point - i.e. once the race has arrived or whatever. That keeps things focussed and not aimless.

Having a full week off as a routine every 4 - 5 weeks is counterproductive. If you need it, your training programme is wrong. Look at your realistic goals - are you a pro, who needs to train much more than the club racer, who likewise needs more than the guy just there for the fitness. For a pro, a rest day might be some light spinning in the morning, whereas fitness only guys may only ride 3 - 4 times per week.

Basically get back to enjoying it every time you get on your bike - and that includes the Spin class.

[Frankie - B]

It is summer on the southern hemisphere isn't it? We are in Fall right now. So no riding in the sun etc. Anyway I gave myself another week off and the only cycling i get is commuting (14km. a day) and RPM classes (three a week) After that I will get back to the training schedule. This time I won't get overtrained cause I will stick to it. I got where I am now because I didn't stick to it. My fault. There is one race this season that I might ride. I'm undecided yet.
If I get back to training i'll keep you posted. You are a great help!

[big fellow]

good for you frankie - sounds like you're being sensible about it

best of luck with it and let us know how you go!

[monkey]

Just a quick note in relation to smallfish 101's post on this topic. Having a full week off completely can be counterproductive, but the loss in actual as opposed to perceived fitness is minimal, much longer than a week and you will start to see marked degradation in fitness level.

However, having a recovery week every 4th week is vital, I believe, in a good training program. Whilst we see adaptation to training stimuli as we train, I believe we get a better adaptation to the training stimuli when we go into recovery mode and allow our body to actively rest and reap the rewards of the previous training block.

One thing that I think has also been neglected in this topic, is our Central Nervous System. Outside influences such as stress at work, home, relationships etc, can add to the burden the body is allready carrying while we are training. Resting the mind and relieving external stresses can also play a big part in recovery.

Just food for thought

[Tippster]

How's things now Frankie?

[Frankie - B]

Things improved dramaticly! I feel so much better now. I even went cycling after RPM class yesterday. Took it really easy though. The lame feeling in the body is gone. I want to say thanks to you all, you have been a great help!

Thanks!

[Tippster]

Things improved dramaticly! I feel so much better now. I even went cycling after RPM class yesterday. Took it really easy though. The lame feeling in the body is gone. I want to say thanks to you all, you have been a great help!

Thanks!

great news...!

good to hear...

[kman]

Seeing as I get all the workout symptoms from riding 1-2 days a week should I spend more quality time with my PS2?

PS2? you need to get yourself an XBOX and the new Le tour de france game

TDF GAME?!?

When? Where? How? Gimme, gimme, gimme!
Curly, where can I get it? Is it availabe in Australia? My xbox is modified so an overseas source is ok....