Overtraining vs Overreaching.

One thing shared by athletes of all levels, of all sports is the necessity to push their limits in order to see improvements in their performance. Following a structured training plan, where those limits are progressively and strategically pushed, followed by periods of rest and recovery, is the route to success. However the boundary of that sweet spot is easily crossed, and when the training demands on the body exceed its adaptation capacity, overreaching or overtraining occurs.

These terms have long since been used interchangeably, except they aren’t synonymous with one another, and it’s important for coaches and athletes to be able to distinguish between the two.

Overreaching is generally considered to be less severe than overtraining, but in no way should be taken lightly. It may first present as suffering DOMS above what you do normally, often associated with several consecutive days of intense training with a lack of recovery in between, general fatigue and other similar symptoms. It should be noted here that overreaching is separated into functional and non-functional overreaching, because it can actually play an important role in performance progression.

The process of training and the subsequent adaptation of the body naturally induces fatigue that may last a couple of hours up to a couple of days. With functional overreaching, progressively increasing level of training difficulty, be that overall volume, frequency or intensity, over the course of a training cycle is structured with the intention of seeing a small decline in performance. This is followed by a period of rest and recovery, after which an individual can then rebound stronger from it. This phenomenon is known as supercompensation, and is a fundamental component of the polarised training method.

Over a longer period of time, and multiple training cycles, the effect is much the same: with several days of DOMS and other minor functional capacity declines, followed by removal of the exercise stimulus, the bounce back to above pre-training values can average around 3%. Looking at that through the lens of completing multiple training cycles in a year, that adds up to an impressive performance improvement over the course of 12 months.

On the other hand, non-functional overreaching is when the post-recovery rebound doesn’t occur, and you spend weeks trying to claw your way back up to where your performance was before. The balance between training and recovering is insufficient, so you see either a plateau, or worse, a performance decline. This emphasises the importance of working with a coach specialising in your given discipline – they have the knowledge base to create a programme of progressive overload in a controlled way to ensure the progress expected is achieved.

So what about overtraining, and how is it different? Overtraining (OT) is difficult to define, as it’s actually a syndrome, and so there are multiple ways in which you could find yourself suffering from it. However, no matter the cause(s) of it, it is significantly harder to recover from that overreaching due to the prolonged and cumulative impact that it has. It does not occur over just a few weeks or a single training cycle, so the effects of it cannot be undone over such a short period either.

One of the most commonly known ways in which overtraining syndrome occurs is when overreaching alongside performance decline goes unaddressed over an extended period of time. Recovery becomes more and more difficult, and despite the indicators of decreasing performance, an athlete continues to train. It’s not uncommon to see athletes really ramp up sessions and training in this period, they aren’t seeing the results they want, and wrongly think that it’s because their training is insufficient.

Below you can see a table of just a small selection of the signs and symptoms that characterise OT:

The less common, but not infrequent, type of situation that overtraining syndrome can occur isn’t due to an unsustainable level of training, but due to other elements of life that compounds the impact of a training plan. This could be a virus or illness, psychological stress or work demands. Therefore it is crucial that these elements are taken into account when recovering from overtraining too.

An athlete’s route into overtraining will be unique to them, and so is their recovery route out of it. It’s critical that they work with a professional who can ensure their mental, physical and psychological needs can be met, and a sustainable plan put in place. Though not the case for everyone, this may involve a complete cessation of their sport, or a drastic reduction in training volume, which is undeniably tough for most athletes. It’s important to remember that humans are not machines, and to get the most out of yourself and your body as an athlete you have to work with it, not against it.

If this sounds familiar to you, and you’re feeling burnt out by your current training set up, working with one of our talented coaches will make this a thing of the past. We provide bespoke training plans based on the individual athlete’s goals, needs and experience, whilst giving you the support to train smarter, not just harder.