Recovering From Non-Functional Overreaching (Overtraining)

If you are experiencing any signs of overtraining, it is important to stop what you are doing and take action to prevent further damage. If you find yourself in a state of overtraining, it is often a bit to late and it will require some rest & recovery to get your training back on track. It is ideal to not let symptoms progress too far, which is why it is vital to monitor subtle symptoms and back off your training before it is too late.

I mentioned many of the signs of overtraining in my previous post, and if you have not read it I would recommend checking it out to get an understanding of what overtraining it, and what the associated signs & symptoms are. The symptoms may very between individuals, so it is important to learn how your body tells you it has had enough.

If you are in an overtrained state, your body is no longer coping with the stress you are throwing at it. While it seems obvious that continuing to stress your body will only make things worse, sometimes athletes are too reluctant to stop training due to the fear of losing fitness or not reaching their goals. This mark is an important turning point though, as the courage and decision to rest in the short term will support your fitness and goals in the long term.

When you are overtrained, your central nervous system, endocrine system, and muscular system all need time to rest, recover, and rebuild. Allowing the body some time to be anabolic will assist in the repair process.

Here are some steps that you can take if you find yourself a little over-cooked, tired, unmotivated, and unable to execute your training sessions like normal.

1.) PUT DOWN THE SHOVEL. The sooner you stop training, the sooner you will be back on track to your goals. If you question whether or not a workout is going to help you get back on track, or if it is going to dig you deeper into the hole, you should probably not do it.

2.) REMOVE ALL ANAEROBIC EXERCISE. Anaerobic training is anything above your aerobic threshold (zone 2), and releases many more stress hormones than aerobic training does. Since we want the body to be in a state of repair (anabolic), exposure to these catabolic stress hormones is only going to make things worse.

3.) REMOVE ALL STRENGTH TRAINING. Strength training falls into the anaerobic training bucket, so it too must be removed while you recover. Strength training is also a highly catabolic activity, which leads to further breakdown while we are trying to recover.

4.) TAKE 1-3 DAYS COMPLETELY OFF. This may be the hardest step of recovering from overtraining. You are going to have to put your training on hold while you allow your body to recover. Find different ways other than training to keep busy and take care of yourself.

5.) IF YOU ARE TO REMAIN ACTIVE START WITH WALKING. While taking days off is the fastest way to recovery, it is often a good idea for athletes to remain active in some way. 20-60mins of walking is the best place to start as it keeps your body in motion with as little stress as possible.

6.) STRETCHING IS OKAY. It is okay for your training to take the form of walking, stretching, sauna, and or yoga during this period. This may help you retain some form of routine and self care.

7.) FOCUS ON OTHER TASKS. Take the time away from training to work on things that you have been neglecting or falling behind on due to the time you normally spend training. Hang out with friends or family, catch up on work projects, or learn more about something you’re curious about. Stop stressing about training for a bit because at the end of the day, training will do you no good at this time.

8.) FOCUS ON QUALITY REST AND SLEEP. In a culture that values productivity over anything, I want you to view rest as a productive activity you can do to get you back training at your best. Chilling out, sitting down, laying down, and making sure you are getting as much sleep as you can (7-9+ hours) is going to greatly assist your recovery.

9.) EAT ENOUGH. Our bodies get the building blocks it needs to recover from food, so recovering from overtraining is no time to skimp on calories or nutrients. Having a sufficient calorie intake will ensure your body has the resources to be in an anabolic state and repair itself. Honor your hunger and fullness cues during this time, and energy surplus may be what your body needs to recover.

10.) EAT QUALITY. When recovering from overtraining, it is key to include fruits and vegetables in your diet. Do not focus on being 100% clean, as sufficient calorie intake will only help the process. Including antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, water, and other phytochemicals ensures your body has everything it needs to fight inflammation and repair itself. It is also a good time to get a variety of quality protein in the form of fish, poultry, diary (if tolerable), and lean beef into your diet.

11.) WHEN YOU DO RETURN, TAKE IT EASY. You will want to monitor how you are feeling throughout this period of recovery. You should be looking for your motivation, mood, libido, sleep patterns, and appetite to all return to normal levels. Start with easy short sessions to make sure the symptoms have cleared before you progress into harder training.

12.) KEEP YOUR TRAINING LOW STRESS. We often don’t realize that there are things other than the training itself that are stressful. For your first few rides back it is a good idea to cut back on long commutes, aggressive techy trails, congested high-traffic roads, or social group rides. All of these increase the amount of stress you experience in a given workout, so the goal is to keep things as low stress as possible in the beginning.

13.) WHEN YOU START TRAINING HARD AGAIN, SLOWLY RAMP YOURSELF BACK UP. Do not smash yourself with an interval session your first hard day back to training. Respect that you are already on the edge having to take time off to recover from too much stress in the first place. It is a good idea to start with zone 2, work to tempo, then sweet spot, threshold, VO2, and so on. Er on the side of caution when you re-introduce anaerobic training back into your training. You may feel refreshed and excited to get back to training hard when you return to training, and this is a good sign that you are recovering well. However, do not undo all the recovery you just did and put yourself right back into the hole you just worked so hard to get out of.

14.) MONITOR SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS THROUGHOUT YOUR RECOVERY. The key symptoms to monitor throughout your recovery are motivation, mood, appetite, soreness, fatigue, libido, and sleep quality. Progression in these markers is the key thing you are looking for with recovery. Slowly move through the steps back to training, and only progress onward if these markers are improving.

In summary, it can take a solid week (5-7 days) to recover from short-term overtraining if you have caught it in the early stages (considered non-functional overreaching). If things are left unchecked, recovery from overtraining can take weeks to months, so it is best to practice prevention versus responding.

An example 7 day protocol might look something like this:

1: Day off

2: Day off - short walk (20-30min)

3: Day off - medium / long walk (30-120min)

4: Easy ride (60min)

5: Aerobic threshold (zone 2)

6: Easy ride (60-120min)

7: Tempo (zone 3)