overtrained question

Overtraining is a serious condition!!! So, you should definetly make sure you are fully recovered before you even think twice about carrying out intense training.

Basically, if you are in a state of overtraining your body is experiencing a maladoptive response from your past training load, which means any additional training you do is only going to decrease your overall performance capability. THEREFORE DON'T BE FOOLISH AND THINK THAT YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELF OUT OF BEING OVERTRAINED!!! The only option you have in treating overtraining is taking a LONG REST. The duration of this rest may be as long as 6 to 12 weeks or even longer. It may also be worth your while to schedule an appointment with your doctor to be screened for any underling illness that may be causing your sysmtoms.

Scott

Thanks Scott for the reply.
Now since you have mentioned illness, I hardly ever get a cold and have caught one right after my 1st hard ride from taking a full week off.
I guess I am through for awhile. My performance has declined real bad lately and alot of my biker friends have asked me about it. I will quit thinking it will go away the next day/week but it has not.
I have recently bought 4 biking books. They all warn about not to overtrain but had nothing at all about how to deal with overtraining.
Thanks again for advice.

I'm in complete agreement with Scott. You shouldn't be doing anything for at least a week. Especially if you are as overtrained as you sound. For future training listen to your body it will tell you everything you need to know. Good Luck.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scottmoroschan
Overtraining is a serious condition!!! So, you should definetly make sure you are fully recovered before you even think twice about carrying out intense training.

Basically, if you are in a state of overtraining your body is experiencing a maladoptive response from your past training load, which means any additional training you do is only going to decrease your overall performance capability. THEREFORE DON'T BE FOOLISH AND THINK THAT YOU CAN TRAIN YOURSELF OUT OF BEING OVERTRAINED!!! The only option you have in treating overtraining is taking a LONG REST. The duration of this rest may be as long as 6 to 12 weeks or even longer. It may also be worth your while to schedule an appointment with your doctor to be screened for any underling illness that may be causing your sysmtoms.

Scott

Are recovery rides counterproductive as well? If they are, they shouldn't call them that!
😄

I'd like to add that getting enough sleep and having a good diet should help, too. And if you lead an active life off the bike (i.e., you build fences as a hobby, play soccer with friends, lift weights 2x per week, and walk 4 miles to work), you might want to think about knocking some of that off for awhile, too!!!!!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Aztec
Are recovery rides counterproductive as well? If they are, they shouldn't call them that!
😄

I'd like to add that getting enough sleep and having a good diet should help, too. And if you lead an active life off the bike (i.e., you build fences as a hobby, play soccer with friends, lift weights 2x per week, and walk 4 miles to work), you might want to think about knocking some of that off for awhile, too!!!!!

Agree sleep, diet are as important as training, and that real recovery rides would also be good after a couple of days of total rest. Has to be very light though....maybe 30 minutes at a HR not exceeding 60% of max, spinning in an easy gear at slow speeds, and no hills.

But it's hard for most of us to go this easy. If you can't keep the effort very light, I'd say stay off the bike.

Thanks for everyones advice. I have stayed off the bike now for 8 days. My resting HR used to be around mid 40`s a month ago and now my heart rate has been 50-55 before I sleep and my waking HR has been 53-58.
What would be a good indication that I could posibly get back onto the bike again!
Should I wait to see if my HR gets back down into the 40`s again & or if my waking HR gets lower than my before I sleep HR?

Thanks.

A huge proportion of athletes overtrain and that includes the most experienced competitors. We all do it from time to time. This is why a common mistake many people make is trying to copy a champion's training regime (when the said champion is often on performance enhancing drugs).
Your problem sounds like your body is simply telling you to ease up for a time and lessen the intensity. Make sure you eat really well and get plenty of sleep and train at a lower intensity level till you begin to notice your former energy levels return to normality.
Sometimes overtraining can be psychological as well when an athlete gets bored by the same training routine and the mind then affects the body.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by SpandexMan
Hi,
I have a few questions about how long it takes to get through overtrained. I was doing too many max heart rate rides and am paying the price for it now. I now have been doing 2 hard efforts a week and have noticed that I can now hit my max heart rate of 185-187 again but seem to blow up alot sooner than before (probably by not putting in the miles as before) but my resting heart rate is still high by 10 beats. I have noticed 3-4 weeks ago that my max had fallen to a max of 170 and have been trying to do recovery rides and ride out in group rides only 2 times a week or a mountain bike race that I could not skip.
Should I not ride for a week or two? or should I keep my training of 2 hard efforts or do just 1 hard effort and be patient and hope that the resting heart rate returns to normal. Any recommendations will be helpful.
Thanks.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by SpandexMan
Thanks for everyones advice. I have stayed off the bike now for 8 days. My resting HR used to be around mid 40`s a month ago and now my heart rate has been 50-55 before I sleep and my waking HR has been 53-58.
What would be a good indication that I could posibly get back onto the bike again!
Should I wait to see if my HR gets back down into the 40`s again & or if my waking HR gets lower than my before I sleep HR?

Thanks.

I think everyone was pretty quick to dispense advice without knowing many details of your situation. Sure, if your resting HR has bumped up 10 points that is a pretty strong signal that something is up. However, to leap to the conclusion that you have overtrained and you need 6-12 weeks of rest - well that is more than a little extreme.

The best advice I saw is sticking with 60% HR rides for a while, if you think you can stick to it.

If you are really concerned, consider seeing your Dr, or a sport medicine expert rather than depending on us Internet Experts!

Good Luck!

You might also consider balancing waking heart rate with other signals of overtraining. Are you sick? Libido down? Attitude in the gutter? Appetite down? Lethargic? Sleeplessness, difficult or impossible to raise heart rate on the bike, etc...

If you feel good in every way, but you resting heart rate is high, you might not be overtrained. But it always pays to be extra cautious....

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Randybaker99
I think everyone was pretty quick to dispense advice without knowing many details of your situation. Sure, if your resting HR has bumped up 10 points that is a pretty strong signal that something is up. However, to leap to the conclusion that you have overtrained and you need 6-12 weeks of rest - well that is more than a little extreme.

The best advice I saw is sticking with 60% HR rides for a while, if you think you can stick to it.

If you are really concerned, consider seeing your Dr, or a sport medicine expert rather than depending on us Internet Experts!

Good Luck!

I agree with this advice.
Giving a fixed time for rest is like shooting in the dark.
My knowledge background is from other endurance sports, but as far as I am aware, length of recovery has alot to do with the length and degree of the overtraining.
Sitting infront of the TV and hoping for it to go away is probibly not the idea though.
You need to keep yourself moving. RECOVERY rides should be Very Easy!If you are serious about cycling then you need to be serious about every part of it. I disagree that is hard to keep HR down.
You just need to make the descision that you are going to allow your body the time that it needs to recover.
It will take as long as it takes.
A couple of weeks of easy training can be enough or it can take a few months. All depending on how bad the overtraining has become.

Hard sessions are not a good idea though. You want to rebuild your body whereas hard sessions by their very nature breakk your body down.

So allow it to take as long as required. Don't try and set a time scale to it and keep some form of active recovery.

Finally... it is always best to ask a professional who can give you advice specific to you personally and not just general ideas!
Good luck