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O is for Overtraining
By Dr. Aimee Kimball//Sport Psychologist
Physical exhaustion, sore muscles, mental fatigue, moodiness
– what swimmer hasn’t experienced this before? While
most swimmers are accustomed to wearing themselves out, too much
exertion with not enough rest can lead to what’s often
referred to as “overtraining.” This is a very common
problem with swimmers and the physical and mental aspects need to
be understood in order to prevent overtraining and ultimately to
avoid burning out from your sport.
What is overtraining?
Basically, overtraining occurs when athletes train to their
maximum without getting the physical and mental rest their body and
mind need to recover. While athletes should be training to their
utmost capacity, the importance of appropriate rest cannot be
stressed enough. Overtraining is often more about the amount
rest/recovery than about the training itself. If you’re going
full speed ahead for weeks (or in some cases just days) and you
don’t train at lower levels, eventually you are going to run
out of energy. Overtraining can technically be both positive (when
athletes are able to adapt and increase their training threshold)
and negative. For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus
more on the negative aspects.
How do I know if I’m overtraining?
There’s a fine line between working hard and pushing it too
much. The symptoms of overtraining are similar to what you
would experience after a long, exhausting practice. However,
overtraining tends to occur after a period of time where you
consistently have symptoms such as physical exhaustion, moodiness,
apathy and trouble sleeping. If you start experiencing excessive
weight loss, a higher than normal resting heart rate, consistent
illness or injury, or chronically sore muscles, you may be
experiencing what is called “overtraining syndrome.” If
you hit this phase, it’s likely time to take a day off or
have a very light training day because your body is telling you
it’s time to slow down or it’s going to have to shut
off. If you continue at the current training level and don’t
give yourself adequate rest, you’re susceptible to burnout.
Athletes who hit the burnout phase usually have to take more time
off from their sport because they end up lacking motivation and
just don’t want to be near a pool for awhile.
How is overtraining related to tapering?
Before big meets, many coaches will push their swimmers to their
limits with the intention of giving them significant rest before
the competition. In this case, “overloading” the
athletes is intentional and is often a planned part of training so
they can peak at the right time. Coaches who use periodization
strategies often consider a variety of physiological factors to
ensure their athletes are maxing out but also able to recover.
How is overtraining related to mental
training?
Just like every athlete has a different capacity to endure
physical challenges, individuals’ mentality can also impact
their likelihood of experiencing overtraining or burnout. Your
ability to cope with stress and to handle the pressure you place on
yourself (or that others place on you) can affect how you interpret
the difficult training you are going through. Constantly focusing
on how hard training is, doubting the training is going to make a
difference, worrying about what the coach will have you do in
practice, and even experiencing stress unrelated to swimming can
all increase the likelihood that you will burnout.
Mental Tips for Hard Training
- Have a positive attitude and take time to manage your sport and
life stress.
- Ask the coaches for their rationale behind the training. This
will allow you to be more confident in their plan and help you to
trust that the fatigue will be worth it.
- If you have some life stressors going on outside of swimming,
talk to your coaches. Individual stress is something they need to
consider to make sure they are training you hard but not
overtraining you.
- Do some relaxation exercises before practice. You’ll find
that by starting out in a more relaxed state you’ll be able
to endure higher levels of training.
- Set goals for training. It’s easy to focus on pain and
just surviving tough practices, but if you focus more on what
you’re working to accomplish you’ll find the training
much less exhausting.
Make it Great!
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