Overtraining (staleness,
overfatigue, chronic fatigue, overtraining syndrome) is a
rather usual problem among athletes. The physiological
homeostasis of an overtrained athlete's body has become
disturbed. Regulatory mechanisms of the body can not return
back to the balance during the one or two days which is a
normal recovery time.
At first the overtraining
state can be mild, and if an athlete rests, his body recovers
fast. Later it may be more severe, and an athlete will be
exhausted. The exhaustion is typical for experienced
endurance athletes, who usually react in this way.
Overtraining-like states can also be induced by mental,
social, economical and environmental stress. These factors
together with physical training cause total stress which
influences on the body.
Stress can be caused by both positive and negative
psychological factors. These may be e.g. holiday, vacation,
personal achievement, change in residence, school or job,
change in social and recreational habits, financial problems,
divorce, trouble at school, trouble with the law, death or
birth in the family.
Physiological factors cause stress as well. These kind of
factors may be e.g. travel, sleep loss, races, changes in
training, environmental changes (altitude, humidity,
temperature), illness, injury, menstrual cycle or pregnancy.
Highly motivated athletes have to keep in mind that the
balance between training, other stressors and recovery has to
be right, i.e., they have to periodisize their training in
the right way. If there is an uncompleted recovery time after
exercises, fatigue starts to accumulate and after a few days
or weeks symptoms of overtraining with a drop in performance
will arise. As a result, recovery may take weeks or months.
Symptoms and signs of overtraining vary from athlete to
athlete. The symptoms and signs are due to changes in the
function of the autonomic nervous system, hormonal status,
immunological parameters and other physiological and
musculoskeletal changes of the body. Typically, an athlete
feels tiredness and fatigue and notices a drop or stagnation
in performance despite continuous training.
Examples
of psychological and psychosomatic overtraining signs and
symptoms:
- depression, fatigue,
irritability, badmood, anxiousness, confusion,
excitement, desperation, lack of concentration.
- unwillingness to
train.
- feeling of inability
to go on training.
- sleeping problems.
- bad appetite.
- shaking hands.
- abnormal sweating.
- palpitation.
- nausea.
- dizziness.
Examples
of physiological overtraining signs and symptoms:
- increased resting and
submaximal heart rate (resting heart rate can also be
decreased in overtraining state).
- muscle soreness.
- decreased maximal
heart rate.
- menstrual
irregularities.
- decreased performance.
- loss of strength.
- increased illness and
injury frequency.
- loss of coordination.
Introduction
to the overtraining research and
Overtraining test development
Stress
as a physiological phenomenon has been investigated since the
1920's. The stress of athletes which is called overtraining
however has not been investigated for so long. The term
overtraining is familiar from the 1950's when, amongst
others, S. Israel investigated overtraining and its various
forms. His publication about the two different overtraining
forms (sympathetic and parasympathetic overtraining) has been
often quoted (Israel 1976). These forms of overtraining point
to the important role of the autonomic nervous system in the
differentiation of overtraining states. Even despite this,
the function of the autonomic nervous system has been barely
investigated in conjunction with overtraining, except for
hormonal definitions (amongst others M. Lehmann).
The
behaviour of the heart rate and the changes arising out of
physical training in loading and rest have been considerably
studied, but more precise investigations on the autonomic
function are lacking. In the 1970's a test battery was
developed for investigating the autonomic nervous system
which was based on the investigation of cardiovascular
reflexes. Since then the investigation of the function of the
autonomic nervous system has expanded to cover various
illness states (e.g. diabetes, coronary heart diseases,
Parkinson's disease).
It
is apparent that large changes take place in the function of
the autonomic nervous system when athletes go into the
overtraining state and the changes in question may be a basic
reason for all the overtraining symptoms which appear.
Therefore investigation of the autonomic nervous system in
the development of athletes' overtraining state is well
justified. This conclusion lead to the commencement of
studies in 1992 in the Research Institute for Olympic Sports.
The aim was to carry out an experimental overtraining
investigation in endurance athletes, particularly with
respect to changes in the function of the autonomic nervous
system. Heart function, blood pressure levels and hormonal
changes were studied in various interventions as well as in
pharmacological receptor blockade studies.
The
athletes have been monitored during an extremely heavy
training program and some of the athletes have come into an
overstressed state. The changes in the autonomic functions of
the overtrained athletes have been seen as changes in heart
rate levels and heart beat variations at rest as well as
during various interventions (e.g. orthostatic test). The
changes were different in different athletes, suggesting a
different type of overtraining state form as stated in
previous theories. The repeatability and intra- and
inter-individual variation of the parameters over the short
(a week) and long term (a year) has also been investigated.
This data has also been an essential support in creating the
Overtraining test.
Different
types of overtraining states
Two types of
overtraining states have been described in the literature:
sympathetic and parasympathetic overtraining. Different
symptoms and signs, which are mediated by either the
sympathetic or parasympathetic part of the autonomic nervous
system dominate in these two types.
The signs of
sympathetic overtraining are clear and mimic the signs of
strong stress reaction. Sympathetic overtraining is typical
for young athletes, power athletes and sprinters. In
parasympathetic overtraining the signs are often very mild
and unnoticeable. Bodily functions change to be slower.
Parasympathetic overtraining is typical for athletes who have
trained for many years and for endurance athletes. In
practice, the overtrained athlete has usually symptoms and
signs from both of these overtraining states.
There are also
short-term (overreaching) and long-term overtraining states.
Both of these can be of the sympathetic or parasympathetic
type and they differ by the time in which they have developed
and also by recovery time.
Usually the
athlete recovers from a heavy exercise load in one or two
days during which his/her increased heart rate level returns
back to the 'normal' level. Instead, in the overreaching and
especially in the overtraining state the heart rate levels
start rather to increase than decrease after a short resting
period (1 - 2 days) and the athlete does not feel rested.
Finally,
muscular overloading can develop after one heavy exercise or
during a longer heavy training period. It differs from
physiological (systemic) overtraining and can not be measured
in the same way. However, if training continues to be heavy
in spite of muscular overloading the physiological
overtraining starts to develop.
Heart
rate reactions in overtrained athletes
Recovery from
severe overtraining always takes from some weeks to months.
Therefore it is important to diagnose overtraining early
enough. Measurement of heart rate and heart rate variability
(R-R interval measurement) has proved to be the best way to
notice the initial state of overtraining.
The
sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the autonomic
nervous system and intrinsic heart rate determine the resting
heart rate. If sympathetic activity increases, heart rate
increases and a short-term heart rate variability decreases.
If parasympathetic activity increases, heart rate decreases
and the short-term heart rate variability increases. The
short-term heart rate variability has been reported to
reflect the activity of the sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous system and balance between these two parts. Because
the balance between and the activity of these two parts of
the autonomic nervous system change with training and
overtraining, these markers can be used to indicate training
effects (Uusitalo et al. 1996).
Heart rate
decreases and heart rate variability increases with the
positive training effect. In the overreaching and in
sympathetic overtraining state the heart rate increases and
heart rate variability decreases. In the parasympathetic
overtraining state or in exhaustion both heart rate and heart
rate variability decrease.
Overtraining
test of Polar Precision Performance Software
The
Overtraining test is planned to analyse the effects of
training in standard conditions. The analysis program is
based on the measurement of heart rate and heart rate
variability during supine rest and during the active
orthostatic test in standard conditions. The test can be
conducted only with the Polar Vantage NV Heart Rate Monitor.
The test will
tell you early enough if you have trained successfully or if
you demonstrate an impending overtraining state. You can
focus your training successfully by using the test and
following the advice the program gives after analysis. In
this way you can maintain the balance between training and
recovery.
FOR
MORE INFORMATION
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