Overtraining Syndrome

Hi All,

I have identified a small number of you who are suffering from overtraining syndrome and as such, I would just like to brief you on what overtraing syndrome is and what you can do about it. Even if you are A-OKAY, print this out anyway and file it for future reference because believe me, ALL competitive swimmers get it from time to time and if not properly managed it can be totally debilitating and really mess with your times.

What is Overtraining Syndrome?

You will remember that Penny mentioned this in her talk last year and a couple of you wanted to know how to identify it. Well, there is no quick answer for it so many of you probably still don't know. If Penny had answered THAT question fully, she would have been there for another hour.

Because overtraining is something I see all the time in runners I have coached in the past, I have become 'super-tuned-in' to it. And now, I am picking up the same signals from some of you, specifically those of you who competed in the Sub-Saharan gala and as such, trained hard and intensively throughout the school holidays without a break and then straight away went into some hard training and racing in the 5th league gala two weeks later.

So, what are the symptoms of overtraining? There are quite a few of them and if you recognise yourself in a few of these questions below, you are definitely overtrained and are treading a very thin line . Your body has a built-in warning and alarm system (I am sure you have all heard various coaches and doctors say, "Listen to your body!") If you ignore these warning signals, you are setting yourself up (guaranteed) for an illness or an injury. Believe me, I have been there - ignored the warning signals which eventually became so loud that my body was almost screaming at me and still I ignored them. I thought I was invincible. What happened? Body broke down completely one week before a major race and I had to withdraw. My sponsors were NOT amused, I can tell you! Nor was I - I cried for a week. But I never again ignored my body when it was trying to tell me something!

So, here goes....Go through the list below. If you can answer a resounding YES to four or more of the questions below, you are 'in the red zone' and are starting to show signs of overtraining syndrome and probably need to reduce the intensity of your training. If you can answer YES to all of them, COME AND SEE ME NOW!

· Are you waking up tired and going to bed even more tired? Finding it harder than usual to get out of bed in the morning?

· Does your normally comfortable swimming pace now leave you breathless? Inability to hold your normal training pace is one of the first signs of 'going stale'

· Do you have a persistent lack of appetite? Any swimmer who doesn't eat everything that isn't nailed down, is definitely in trouble!

· Are you moody, irritable and cranky (more than usual, that is)? Are you losing your temper at the smallest things? (Like someone in the pool on Wednesday who lost it completely - no names mentioned, but if you were there, you will know exactly what I mean!)

· Do you find it especially hard to climb up steps or lift things?

· Do you find that your arms and legs feel heavy and sluggish for far longer than usual after a hard workout or race? Are your arms and legs feeling heavy and sluggish even during the warm-up session?

· Do you dread the thought of training? A loss of enthusiasm and motivation for training and competition is usually a HUGE flashing neon warning sign that you are overtrained

· Do you have an increased fluid intake, particularly in the evening?

· Do you have an increase in waking pulse rate of 5-10 beats per minute (This is one of the best ways to easily monitor whether you have hit 'the plods" - check your walking pulse rate each morning before getting out of bed. If it suddenly rises by 5-10 beats per minute, this is often an indication of overtraining or alternatively, an illness or infection on the way)

· Are you more susceptible to colds, 'flu, headaches or infections? Another dead giveaway.

If you feel that you ARE in the danger zone or, in fact, are even in full-blown overtraining syndrome, come and talk to me so that I can modify your programme accordingly. And before you ALL rush to join the queue, let me just add that through my own observations these last two weeks, I have a pretty good idea of who is in the danger zone and who isn't. As far as I can see, there is NOBODY with any problems in the junior squad (sorry, guys!). In fact, the vast majority of the junior squad are very well rested after the long holiday break and as such, there is absolutely no way any of you are suffering from over training - in fact, quite the opposite - you guys are just burning up that pool and getting better with every session. (Ralph is the only one that trained intensely throughout the holidays and then competed in the SubS but he is certainly showing no signs of overtraining at this stage)

In the senior squad, I have definitely identified a few of you that are showing definite signs of staleness. I am not going to mention names but if the questionnaire above left you ticking most or every question in the affirmative, you had better come and chat to me. Otherwise you can kiss goodbye any good performance in the Zimbabwe Invitational or in the 6th league gala. Let's sort it out now before it gets worse.

Regards,

Terry Mackintosh