Strategy for Not Overtraining ?

[Greg Mihalik]

Good points are made in A Strategy for Older People for Thru-Hiking about avoiding overtraining and injury. (Thank you Tom K.)

Way back when I was cycling and had a coach I filled out a log each day to assess progress and problems. The only two points I remember are 1) waking prone heart rate, and 2) fatigue.

If my waking prone heart rate was more than 10 beats above “typical” it was a flag of overtraining. (Now, a few decades later, it’s more like 5 to 7 beats.)

If my fatigue (1-low, 5-high) was 3 or more it was a flag.

I can’t remember any of the others. (There were about 6.)

What day-to-day “indicators” do you use to assess your training status to avoid over-training and/or injury?

[Tom K]

“What day-to-day “indicators” do you use to assess your training status to avoid over-training and/or injury

1.  Resting heart rate check.  Elevated more than 10 beats is a warning flag to take a rest day and back off on the intensity.
2.  Achy fatigue, particularly in the legs.    Time to take a few days off.             3.  Soft tissue monitoring.  In addition to paying close attention to pain at any level, I regularly palpate the margin of my patella and both Achilles tendons, both the belly and where they attach to the heel bones.  Anything more than a very low grade discomfort that goes away overnight tells me I’m flirting with trouble.  Time to back off and get even more religious about stretching.                                                                                                        4.  Mood.  If I start to get cranky my wife will let me know.  Again, time to back off.  There’s nothing worth causing grief to my life partner and best friend.

[MJ H]

I have problems with #2, #3, and #4 even if I’m not training.

[Rick M]

Some of the Polar HRM training watches can calculate training loads and recovery periods as well as various fitness checks. I use the V800. I think some Garmin watches can too. Good investments if you are serious about training.

[Ryan Jordan]

+1 on the Polar V800. Specifically, I’ve found the Orthostatic Test to be invaluable for assessing recovery. And, without fail, it has predicted every single oncoming cold/flu I’ve had before symptoms showed up.

It’s a measure of heart rate variability (HRV), which I first learned about in the excellent book by Johnston & House, Training for the New Alpinism.

Probably the other most valuable thing I’ve learned to not overtrain is to be patient with base training – the bigger aerobic / core / general strength base you have, the more intense you can be with your specific training (and likewise, the more cautious you have to be with recovery, because you now have the ability to load your system with a lot more stress than if your base is poor).

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I’ve been doing the “orthostatic” test for the past 30 years but never knew it by that name.

Every morning when you wake up take your carotid pulse for 30 seconds. Find your average resting heart rate over 5 or 6 days.

** If your wake-up resting pulse is higher by more than 5 beats from the average rate then you have either overtrained the previous day or are getting sick. Athletes have used this monitoring system as a matter of course. If your are between 16 and 40 and just beginning training you will likely find your resting rate gradually declining over several months.

If you know you likely overtrained he previous day then either take a rest day or ease up in that day’s training & physical work.

[Greg Mihalik]

^^^

Well, maybe half of it –

“This difference between your heart rate when you are seated (or lying)  and your standing heart rate is called you orthostatic heart rate.” (http://myathleticlife.com/2011/12/tool-training-toolkit-orthostatic-heart-rate/)

But I do agree that your waking prone pulse by itself is a good indicator.

[Tom K]

” the bigger aerobic / core / general strength base you have, the more intense you can be with your specific training (and likewise, the more cautious you have to be with recovery, because you now have the ability to load your system with a lot more stress than if your base is poor).”

 

Precisely, and this is where a lot of folks, especially those just starting out, get into soft tissue trouble.  The cardiovascular system ramps up quickly and enthusiasm fueled by the progress takes over.  Soft tissue is generally poorly supplied with blood, and takes much longer to adapt to the stresses of an increased training load.  This is when a lot of injuries occur.

[MJ H]

Yes. It turns out my heart could handle training for that second half marathon but my tendons haven’t forgiven me after four years.

[Art …]

Tom’s latest entry above gets to the true heart of the matter, over intensity training.

very few people, and I would argue NO people just starting out, ever come close to over training. that is the perview of addicted endurance athletes. novices don’t have the mental stamina to over train, and over training takes months to develop.

But over intensity training is something very common to novices, and sometimes even the very experienced. the key is simply long slow warmups and cool downs. and if we’re talking about long distance hiking never pushing above 70-80% max. I think most hiking is in the 50-60 range. distance rarely causes injuries, but intensity frequently does.

also keep in mind that rest is good. exercise breaks you down. it is rest that builds you back up stronger. most people should train 3-5 days a week depending on conditioning to insure proper rest. more than 5 days is only for very experienced athletes.

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