Oh, Is There Such a Thing as Overtraining Syndrome?

Most running enthusiasts love running because of the feeling of high after a run. They say that running has improved their overall disposition and that is one of the major reasons why they are hooked up with running. But what if one day, you just suddenly lose all your enthusiasm for running and you feel lethargic all day?

Have you heard of Overtraining Syndrome?

It is essential that all runners have a knowledge of this syndrome because if caught early, a simple rest of 24-48 hours would completely reverse this. However, if this is ignored, then you may have to forego running for 6-12 weeks to recover completely. Can you afford that?

Here, I share with you the symptoms of overtraining as lifted from my favorite book Running for Fitness.

But in order to diagnose overtraining, it is important to have a training log which includes the following information: your weight, the number of hours you sleep, and your pulse rate when you wake up and when you get out of bed.

Symptoms of overtraining:

• increased resting heart rate
• increase in difference between heart rate before and after getting out of bed
• susceptibility to infections, allergies, headaches; swollen glands;
• sharp reduction in training performance; sluggishness;
• lethargy; loss of enthusiasm, energy or drive;
• irritability, loss of concentration;
• insomnia;
• loss of appetite;
• lack of sexual energy and loss of libido;
• rapid weight loss;
• diarrhea and runners' trots.

Author Owen Barder emphasized on the heart rate as a good early warning indicator. If the gap between the heart rate before and after getting out of bed is 5 beats per minute or more when you get up, then you should not train on that day. Remember, haste makes waste.