Let’s start by defining what overtraining is, because it may be your current problem, or a genuine concern that you do not know how to navigate. Overtraining is when you are in a state of excessive exercise which surpasses the body’s capacity to recover, leading to a handful of physical and mental challenges.
We have to rule out that just because you are sore after an intense bout of exercise does not mean you are overtraining. Overtraining is an imbalance that affects your body’s ability to adapt and recover. It builds up over time through unusually high training volumes, ignoring recovery, flexibility and mobility training, poor nutrition, sleep, stress, underlying health conditions and a lack of awareness around your current lifestyle needs.
Undertraining is when you have a lack of consistency, workouts that are too easy or not challenging enough, an incomplete routine, and neglecting certain muscle groups or components of your routine. If we want to achieve a lean, fit lifestyle, we must know where the boundaries are.
When you are hitting plateaus in your routine, it’s important to take a step back and think about what’s going on in your life. Are you not making the time? Are there unmet emotional needs, distractions, partying, video games or priorities that have gotten out of whack? What about a fatigue that makes you tired, drains your energy and leaves you unmotivated? Was there an injury or set back that was not met with a moderated routine or new approach, or adjustment? Are you tossing and turning at night, leaving you tired during the day?
If you want to be intelligent, you must understand complexities, and if you want to innovate, you must be able to identify problems. So think about this... if you want to be intelligent and innovate in your life, it requires understanding complexities and identifying problems. It’s not glorious sounding, but this is the path to get back on track. Fitness, strength development and staying focused in life requires the ability to adapt to all sorts of challenges that come your way.
As a fitness coach and trainer to high performance athletes, military, business executives, and those in positions of power, I’ve witnessed firsthand the importance of tackling issues head on, without holding back. It’s not easy to say you’re stupid, when you want to be smart. It’s not easy to say you’re fat, when you want to be in shape. I’ve seen time and time again, the people who radically transform their lives, whether they go from rags to riches, lose 100 lbs, or achieve greatness in their field of work, go through a process of overtraining to compensate, in order to find where the boundaries are. It’s the only path forward, and you must be able to adapt.
It’s beyond muscle aches and plateaus - hormone issues, immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular and reproductive issues all are side effects that can be damaging. The good news is, you can reverse overtraining, get back into flow and move in the right direction. A few ways to keep the machine well oiled and the engine running is to dial back the intensity and volume, and make the metric of success the consistency, not the peak performance output. Another consideration is prioritizing sleep, staying hydrated and focusing on breathwork. Lastly, you can reach out to a coach or trainer who you trust and tap into a recovery plan which helps aid in doing some of the heavy thinking.
It’s important as you navigate this element of fitness that you listen to your body, track your progress, and potentially seek a new avenue of activity. I encourage many of my fitness clients to play pickup basketball, hike in nature, go for a bike ride, play pickleball, and find new ways to stay active and have fun. This approach always lightens the mood around the idea of fitness, which is more multidimensional than most think of it to be.
Remember that peak performance and an active lifestyle are two ways to stay active. They have different demands and requirements, and there are always setbacks and bumps along the way. As a lifelong athlete who has experienced playing competitive sports, dealing with injuries, off seasons and various nuances of the active lifestyle, I encourage you to take a deep breath, address these challenges head on, and don’t skip any steps. You’re right where you need to be. I got you, and without a doubt I’ve been exactly where you’ve been. You’re not alone. Let your strength and your resilience and all your hard work shine through.
