Overtraining

Now that spring is here and summer is coming I am planning to get out and ride as often as I can.

My usual ride is pretty intense – 2 hours / 15 miles of moorland with masses of climbing (sat nav estimates approx 1600ft).

Usually come back pretty knackered.

Last year I rode up to 5 times a week.

Silly question, but at what point does it become over-training / detrimental to fitness and strength development?

Do you race?

If not, ride as much as you enjoy.

If you start having problems sleeping that can sometimes be a singnal of overtraining. Well, it was for me but I didn’t heed the warning signs and carried on, right up until I had a brain seziure 😯

MTFU ?

for me, restless legs at night and trouble sleeping was my signs..so suppose if you reach that point you’ll find out

Agree that unless you’re getting health problems, or are racing, I’d not worry. That’s not a huge amount of riding to be honest. No offence!

If you’re serious about getting fit – RESEARCH IT PROPERLY, not on here..

There’s a lot of folk who dont know what they are talking about it when it comes to getting fit.

I used to just thrash myself as often as I could but I never really became that fit.

I then started training properly with a Coach..& wow..what a difference..in every aspect..

The intensity was different, the volume, the frequency everything.

If you’re serious about getting fit – RESEARCH IT PROPERLY, not on here..

There’s a lot of folk who dont know what they are talking about it when it comes to getting fit.

I used to just thrash myself as often as I could but I never really became that fit.

I then started training properly with a Coach..& wow..what a difference..in every aspect..

The intensity was different, the volume, the frequency everything.

far too sensible. ride at 100% till you puke and don’t bother with active recovery/rest.

If you’re serious about getting fit – RESEARCH IT PROPERLY, not on here..

There’s a lot of folk who dont know what they are talking about it when it comes to getting fit.

I used to just thrash myself as often as I could but I never really became that fit.

I then started training properly with a Coach..& wow..what a difference..in every aspect..

The intensity was different, the volume, the frequency everything

Sounds sensible. I don’t race, get restless legs, have trouble sleeping and am serious about getting fit 😀

Can you recommend any good online resources / advice?

Probably a good idea to vary your training too if you don’t already. If you just do cycling, it’s pretty easy to overtrain those muscles while neglecting the opposing ones – I was suffering with a painful lower back from riding, now I swim, run, do gym work and climbing to balance different muscle groups. It also keeps me more motivated, a bit of variety and all that…

You’d know about if you were over training, flu like symtoms, depression, loss of appetite. 2 hours is quite a short ride, see how you feel after doubling it. Hydration, nutrition and rest is key.

and stretching

Why not get a GPS heart rate monitor, then you can compare rides like for like.
I did an easy SS ride on the Quantocks today, stopped to talk to my neighbour for a while and still did 12.8 miles, and 1500 ft of climbing in just under an hour and a half (I’m not as fast as I used to be and I’ll be 55 in May).

Same ride same intensity is not training.

I train with Torq. I went from being mid-pack at best to getting top 10 finishes in my age group. I’ll admit I had the time to make the difference but the methodology is sound. I heartily recommend them.

Regarding the definition of overtraining. Overtraining is essentially the law of diminishing returns. You arent getting as fit as youd like so you put more effort in. You still aren’t getting the results you like, so you put MORE effort in. Somehow you seem to be getting slower, not faster..THAT’S overtraining.

Getting a bug etc is just the risk you run when you push your body hard as your immune system is being rundown by the effort you’re making. It’s easily confused with over-training as the 2 can overlap if not done properly. This is where it gets a litte complex & timing becomes emportant. You want to tire the body to get the physical adaptation required but NOT overtrain it. This is where a good coach is worth their weight in gold.

I enjoy the torq articles in st, I also got a lot out of John metcalfe’s mtb fitness book.

Thanks for all the comments.

I would like to train every day. Is there benefit is cross-training – running or swimming on my days off cycling? Or would I be better off doing a gentle ride every other day?

jwmlee – I am an exercise physiologist and endurance coach and so I might be able to help you out a little with your training – however, I am out *working* in Spain at the moment and I am about to head out on a training ride with some clients so I don’t have time to get into a long conversation on here right now – if you are interested, drop me an email and I will get back to you later. Cheers, Jon

This is a subject where a sticky thread with some really good ponters from people who actually know what they are talking about and with some links to good on line resources might be nice to have.

Thanks LabMonkey.

Agree stevewhyte!

Had a look on You Tube last night and there was an interesting video by a kiwi guy Dr Tony Page: Over training and good training

If anyone has some good links please post.

Cheers

As stevewhyte says, a sticky with good links& advise would be a good idea.

This is a subject where a sticky thread with some really good ponters from people who actually know what they are talking about and with some links to good on line resources might be nice to have.

I know what you mean but it’s a tricky one for a public forum. And even informed opinions on how best to train effectively will vary a lot, even before you factor in the variance in the “trainees”.