Identifying/Recovering From Overtraining

[jrynb]

Hi all,

I recently started training more frequently these past 2-3 months, although I am currently worried that I'm slightly overtrained. I think my training volume and ramp rate is less at fault than my recovery (or lack thereof), particularly with sleep. That being said, the only thing I've noticed is a lack of heart rate variability (HRV) and generally suppressed heart rate when riding. As far as I can tell, all of my other metrics have remained the same, so I'm not quite sure if I am overtrained.

Does anyone have any tips as to helping with identifying overtraining and recovering from it? Experience appreciated as well. I'm happy to provide any potentially helpful data if needed, such as training history, rides, power data, heart rate, etc. Thanks.

[Louis]

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that an otherwise unexplained increase in resting HR measured right after you wake up in the morning is one sign of overtraining.

[John H.]

The remedy is usually sleep, food and letting up on the intensity.
But the bigger question is "why is this happening?"
Usually the answer lies in too much intensity, pushing too hard on endurance and easier days, and/or training zones set too high.

[jrynb]

Originally Posted by Louis

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that an otherwise unexplained increase in resting HR measured right after you wake up in the morning is one sign of overtraining.

I can't believe I never checked this. This does seem to have been happening for a while, thank you for mentioning it.

[HenryA]

As hard as it will be, a week off (or just super easy rides) will help you a lot.

[Tandem Rider]

You can only train as hard as you recover. We don't get stronger when we train hard, we get stronger when we recover from hard training through adaptation. That being said, every individual is different, monitoring and recording your waking heart rate, resting heart rate, weight, etc is a good start. I found that personally, my enthusiasm is a great benchmark for overtraining, when the prospect of a ride was "meh" I needed more recovery.

Don't forget the stresses of daily life will also contribute, young kids, new or stressful job, marital issues, loved one sick, these sorts of things can also contribute to overtraining.

[45K10]

Here is a good video about overtraining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQrlEWW8WvE

[AngryScientist]

The obvious question in my mind is "what are you training for?"

If you have targeted a big race or event that's on the calendar, you may need to alter your training plan now to account for some overtraining and still hit your targets for that race/event.

If the goal is broader, general fitness, that's much easier, just dial it way back for a week and let your body recover and then get back into it.

I'm in the middle of a training cycle right now and take this aspect very seriously. Overtraining itself is not good and less productive than a properly balanced training plan, but that's the least of the potential problems. Chronic overtraining is a recipe for injury, which can easily tank a season and also overtraining can compromise your immune systems functions and you can get sick easier, which [obviously] can further hurt conditioning.

Be smart and get it sorted early. Best of luck!

[ripvanrando]

I doubt you have overtrained in 2 months, probably just overreached a bit. Overtraining hoses your HPA and recovery isn't fun or quick. Since you are concerned about potentially having overtrained yourself, caution might be warranted.

As a quick test, stop riding for 4-7 days. If you are chomping at the bit to ride during that window, you just overreached meaning you trained while tired. I bet in 3-4 days you are just itching to ride. If so, look at how you monitor your readiness for additional training load.

How to avoid? Monitor your heart, sleep, and mood in relation to your training load. HRV in the morning can pinpoint something is going awry. HR response after the warmup is another tip your body has not assimilated the previous training. If you are not getting stronger, you are getting weaker.

(ISM suggestion to do labs periodically sounds good, but I have never found a GP willing to support me on that and in my state, labs must be prescribed by a licensed MD in my state, so, that option isn't viable for me)

[Upcountry]

Originally Posted by ripvanrando

I doubt you have overtrained in 2 months, probably just overreached a bit.

This was my first thought... True overtraining is a deep hole that takes a long while to get into, and just as long to get out of. I'd simply dial it back a bit, reassess the big picture, and start back near square one.

Several years ago I dug myself a hole by starting my prep for the following season in October, as I usually do. But I had only taken two weeks off from the prior season, which was 8 months long, and was in relatively good overall fitness. I was "testing" a naive theory/technique of bypassing some of the early off-season base miles with a Vo2 jump start period, given that I had already built a base from the previous season. Looking back, obviously this isn't really possible... It felt great for a few weeks, and my top end was quickly back in place... However, come December, during a little getaway training camp, it all came apart. There were signs leading up to it, but I largely ignored them as general fatigue from volume and intensity. I was struggling to hold 75% of FTP on climbs, and couldn't get anywhere near my max HR. In the end, it was about July before I started feeling good again, and my numbers were back on track.

[glepore]

The other thing to consider is life stress. I put myself into an overtraining hole by doing fast group rides 3x wk plus "training" BUT what I didn't factor in was the death of my father and a major move/home sale.
What does overtraining feel like? I fell off the back of every ride I had formerly hung with, and usually right out of the gate. It was perplexing and distressing. What you are describing sounds like lack of recovery, but if its on top of some crazy life stress of any kind, I would treat it differently and with caution, and back way off.
Stress is stress, whether brought on by workouts or life.

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by jrynb

Hi all,

I recently started training more frequently these past 2-3 months, although I am currently worried that I'm slightly overtrained. I think my training volume and ramp rate is less at fault than my recovery (or lack thereof), particularly with sleep. That being said, the only thing I've noticed is a lack of heart rate variability (HRV) and generally suppressed heart rate when riding. As far as I can tell, all of my other metrics have remained the same, so I'm not quite sure if I am overtrained.

Does anyone have any tips as to helping with identifying overtraining and recovering from it? Experience appreciated as well. I'm happy to provide any potentially helpful data if needed, such as training history, rides, power data, heart rate, etc. Thanks.

If you're worried that you're "slightly" overtraining, then, it doesn't sound like overtraining to me. Especially if all you've observed is lower HRV and suppressed heart rate.

The more you train (and pay attention to your data), the more you'll get a handle on unusual changes versus usual changes. Heart rate, as you may know, can be a bit tricky because lower HR can be a sign of the aerobic and CV systems not responding to effort in a timely way, or they can be a sign of those systems adapting and not having to work as hard to meet the need of the effort.

If you're new to more frequent training, then you may be getting used to the feeling (and the data signals) of carrying some fatigue. Having heavy legs that last for a while, starting a new ride or workout before you're completely recovered from the prior one - this is a fairly normal level of carrying some baseline level of fatigue.

For me, overtraining felt like: feeling bad even on rides that are supposed to feel good (recco spins, etc). Not being able to hit numbers I know I can do without too much difficulty, or feeling awful during it. Having physical fatigue start to show up in my emotional state. Ordinary recovery methods just not working. Not feeling better after a week of backing off intensity, but needing a more involved rest: some time off the bike and some re-set to focus on different systems/zones.

Personally, I would risk overtraining when I would carry a strong negative TSB for ~6 weeks, especially when there was a heavy racing block, or a lot of focus on superthreshold work - I'd often need a rest and a reset with some more endurance and tempo to balance things out and shift the load.

[John H.]

You speak of ramp rate. There is no "usual" ramp rate. Everyone is different and different athletes top out at different levels. Has to do with training history, physical ability, and ability to recover. So your ramp rate could be too high and therefore you are generating too much CTL//ATL.

Another thing to consider is power levels and also IF.
If FTP is set too high, you tend to chase numbers that are too high.
A question to ask is "Can I actually hold this FTP level for a long period?" Like 45-60 minutes. If you can't, it is above your FTP.
A second thing to know about FTP is that different athletes run at different %'s of FTP. Particularly athletes with more fast twitch muscle fiber. These athletes can leverage their anaerobic power, but FTP can be off more that 5% from a 20 minute test.
Last thing to consider is IF. Particularly on endurance and easy rides. If you are always in the .65-.68 or even higher, you could be riding too hard. Many experts are coming around to the belief that endurance rides can be as easy as .55 and still have benefit.
But for IF to matter, FTP needs to be accurate.

[jrynb]

Sorry I didn't get back to any of these earlier, I didn't expect so many responses.

I do agree that it's probably just a period of overreach without proper recovery. I'm not the most seasoned cyclist, but my volume wasn't so insane that I think it could have become an issue this quickly. Life stressors probably play a big part as well; being a college student isn't exactly forgiving.

I took two days off earlier this week and have just been doing super easy spins for an hour the past two days. I was considering a race ride tomorrow if I was feeling more back to normal, but I'm still observing suppressed HR so I think I'll nix that and either do some more spinning or just take the time off.

I think fatigue is likely a part of this. Although I haven't felt particularly uncomfortable or bad on the bike, the biggest giveaways for me were my legs tiring out far before my cardiovascular and aerobic systems did, as well as struggling to hit higher HR values.

I certainly haven't lost a desire to ride. As with most things that get in the way of my training, I've been more annoyed to not be able to do workouts or hard efforts, which I think is a good sign. I think I'll try to work on getting good sleep and recovering better for a week, then see how I feel. I do have races periodically for most of the season, so unfortunately I'd rather not take big chunks of time off. I do really appreciate all of the input, and more advice is always welcome. Thanks all!

[HenryA]

How many and what quality of miles are you riding per week?