As winter sports are kicking off and seasons are starting, athletes begin to prepare for the long practices ahead. Through the practices, some athletes are making sure to go to the gym along with other extracurricular activities that help them get stronger. Pushing your body to its limit constantly can result in overtraining which has been defined as “overtraining that occurs when a person exceeds his or her body’s ability to recover from strenuous exercise. Overtraining can be described as a point where a person may have a decrease in performance and plateauing.” This creates the following questions: How can over-training impact an athlete’s body and is it worth it? 

A difficult part of overtraining is that athletes cannot always tell the difference between regular training and a normal amount of fatigue and soreness. To help tell the difference, some of the symptoms of overtraining include, persistent fatigue, exhaustion, or low levels of energy, poor sleep or insomnia caused by not being able to relax, decreased motivation or self-esteem, signs of depression such as loss of enjoyment in activities or moodiness, and increased feelings of anger or confusion. Overtraining won’t just take a toll on your muscles, it can take a toll on your overall well-being causing more issues than what was originally started with. 

Keeping your body safe to prevent damage is getting the proper amount of rest, eating well, and taking breaks when they are needed. Pushing yourself too hard and getting upset when your body can’t handle the amount of stress that you are putting on yourself is going to cause bigger problems in the long run. Dr. Phil Maffetone talks about how to prevent your body from these damages. He says “While its recognition is not always obvious, identifying it presents the opportunity to prevent further serious physical, biochemical and mental-emotional problems, including injuries, and performance decrements”. Though overtraining can be overlooked, understanding that your body will take a toll and can be permanently damaged, ignoring these signs will only set back your athletic career

The only way that is known to recover from overtraining is rest, taking a break from whatever is causing your body to strain. It is not an overnight fix; you would have to rest for up to four weeks for your body to recover and reset from the damage that has been done. Be kind to your body, get the right amount of sleep, watch out for signs, and most importantly, listen to your body no matter what.