About Workouts Shop Blog

Are You Training Hard or Doing Too Much? The Signs of Overtraining

By Sabina Skala

Overtraining is a term used most often by… the weekend warriors, who very seldom (if at all) experience a true overtraining.

Overtraining is a result of imbalance of three factors:

  1. Training
  2. Recovery
  3. Nutrition

If you train fighters or are a combat athlete yourself, you know how hard it is especially in this sport to keep a healthy relationship between all the three above. It is not unusual for a fighter to train 3 x a day 6 – 7 days a week, at the same time keep a part time job and due to lack of time not be able to get enough calories during the day to support recovery. Sleep also suffers as the dinner is pushed to a later hour due to an evening training, all that plus the work, family responsibilities, commuting (which is a huge factor if you live in a big city such as London) etc are not very “recovery friendly”.

Being able to recognize the symptoms that tell you to go lighter for a couple of days/weeks is crucial for any athlete serious about performance gains. All that said - acute overtraining as such is actually very rare and a lot of folk confuse the overtraining with overreaching.

Lets look at the difference between the two.

Overreaching is a PLANNED, LONG TERM OVERLOAD, when you INTENTIONALLY stress your body intensely and then take a period off for recovery. Think about the last weeks before a fight, when you increase the training frequency and intensity, but then have a taper week that allows you to recover. You are focused on the fight, eat clean, make sure you get enough hours of sleep, etc. This is overreaching. The goal is to come back with higher fitness levels. Overreaching takes a couple of days or max 2 weeks to recover and come back BETTER. If the athlete’s strength / fitness levels don’t improve after recovery – overreaching was not planned and/or applied correctly. Important: The GOAL of overreaching is IMPROVEMENT in performance.

However if you make a mistake in periodizing the training applying overreaching too often or train /are an athlete with type A personality, who when the performance suffers due to fatigue session after session, will not only want to add more volume but also more intensity and will want to train even harder. Type A personality athletes are very emotional about the training, they see the fatigue and a crap performance a challenge they need to overcome and their natural reaction will be to train more, where in reality they need to train less and focus more on recovery in order to get better. I know this problem very well, as I used to be every coaches nightmare – type A athlete, who can be stopped only by injury. Couple of years and injuries later I finally admit that as Mark Twight once said to me when I was visiting his facility in SLC – “Sometimes it takes more balls not to train than to go to gym”. Same applies to coaches, sometimes we need to build the fighter back up not to break him/her down further.

True overtraining parallels with the symptoms of clinical depression, meaning low testosterone vs cortisol levels (reduced testosterone to cortisol ratio), trouble sleeping (poor sleeping patterns), lower body temperature upon waking. An athlete may also notice chronic fatigue and headaches, moodiness, irritability and loss of enthusiasm for the sport. Colds, sore throat, respiratory problems – due to the immune system not coping , excessive thirst, elevated resting heart rate (greater than 5 beats per minute over normal) for a longer period than it would be in case of overreaching, what also comes is increase in soft tissue injuries, muscle or joint pains, and for female athletes absent or irregular periods.

Monitoring the RHR is a good way to avoid overtraining, however there can be a trap there.  If the athlete remains in the state of overtraining for a long time the resting heart rate may actually decrease, which in this case is a very bad sign. If your RHR decreases but so does your sport performance, and all that is paired with unemotional behavior – there is a chance you took the training too far. Another sign is decreased blood lactate concentrations during sub maximal and maximal exercise, however not everyone has got an ability to have it tested.

All in all – Overtraining is bad, it takes months or even years to overcome and unlike overreaching it results in severe DECREASE in performance and also health.  It is not worth going there, the cost is too big, especially for pro-athletes.

I am a strong believer in not attaching any emotions to the training process. Numbers don’t lie and if they are not getting better, then it is a sign that something needs to change in the training process. If taking a couple of days off or taking it easy for a week or 2 means that you are going to come back stronger, faster and more powerful – then it is a thing to do.

Training = Load & Recover

Recovery is a part of your training and is as important as loading.

If your training is well planned, the sleep and nutrition sound, here are our top 5 supplements that we use ourselves to aid the recovery and get better quality sessions

  1. Magnesium oil (this is my favorite supplement) - the brand we use is Mike Mahler's Aggressive Strength Recovery Oil - great for recovery, reduces muscle soreness and improves sleep quality.
  2. Krauterhof horse balm - we use both heating, extra strong and also cooling gel. Both are great for recovery and reducing muscle soreness. In winter, we also use the extra strong heating gel to warm up the muscles before the training and for sports massage.
  3. Kräuterhof horse cooling ointment 500ml - This preparation, which has fast refreshing and affects blood circulation, accelerate the process of recovery.
  4. Systemic Enzymes - excellent for lowering inflammation and dealing with aches and pains.
  5. BCAAs - very useful for muscle recovery, especially with high volume of training. We use a variety of brands.

As a former competitive athlete Sabina believes that each is truly responsible for the performance potential and that we all are capable of limitless possibilities when we put our mind and hard work to it. Contact info: [email protected] or via contact form www.cjscombat.com

Weekly Tips for Physical Dominance!

Yes, I Want to be More Athletic!
Weekly Tips for You!

Blog Categories

All Categories #athleticism #athleticmastery #athleticperformance #athletictraining #boxingtraining #dancebenefits #danceinsports #fighterconditioning #gymnasticsdrills #mma #sportstraining #tailoredtraining #warmup 4th of july absolute strength accommodating resistance aches and pains action action over words active kids active lifestyle active recovery active recovery techniques adaptability adapting techniques adapting to competition adaptive fitness adult development advanced recovery techniques aerobic base aerobic capacity aerobic exercise aerobic exercise benefits aesthetics affordable eating for athletes affordable gym essentials age and bjj age-defying workouts ageless fitness aggressive athletes agility agility drills agility training agility workouts aging athletes aging athletes workout aging combat athletes aging gracefully aging grapplers aging in martial arts aging martial artist alactic conditioning alactic power alcohol alcohol and sports alcohol reduction alcohol's impact on fitness alternative cardio altitude chamber anaerobic swimming anaerobic training ancient warriors andrew bustamante animal movements anti-aging fitness anti-inflammatory diet anxiety anxiety management apple watch apple watch sleep tracking aspiring boxers assessment athlete athlete brain health athlete conditioning athlete development athlete diet athlete growth athlete guidance athlete health athlete lifestyle athlete lifestyle habits athlete mental health athlete mental training athlete mindset athlete nutrition athlete pain relief athlete performance athlete productivity athlete readiness athlete recovery athlete recovery methods athlete rest athlete resting heart rate guide athlete support athlete time management athlete training athlete training tips athlete well-being athlete wellness athlete's guide athlete's health athlete's journey athlete's shoulder athlete's well-being athletes athletic coach athletic coaching athletic conditioning athletic development athletic genetics athletic greatness athletic health athletic improvement athletic meal planning athletic mindset athletic performance athletic performance science athletic performance supplements athletic potential athletic power athletic preparedness athletic progress athletic prowess athletic recovery athletic recovery techniques athletic results athletic rotation athletic siblings athletic skill athletic success athletic supplements athletic testing athletic training athletic training myths athletic upbringing athleticism athletics athltic performance autonomic balance avoid comfort avoid surgery avoiding fighter fatigue avoiding injuries back pain back pain relief balance balance and stability balanced diet balanced training balancing act balancing health and family bar speed technology barefoot barefoot training battling ropes beginner guide behavioral change benefits of sauna after exercise benefits of supplements best boxing movies best diet for fighters best fitness presents best fitness trackers for mma best supplements for mma beta-alanine better training outcomes bfr big fight big toe bilateral exercises bilateral strength biological necessity biomechanics biomechanics of punching bjj bjj cardio bjj competition tips bjj conditioning bjj grip training bjj kettlebell bjj strength and conditioning bjj strength exercises bjj strength training bjj strength training workout bjj training bjj training questions bjj training tips bjj workout bjj workouts blood flow restriction training blood work blue zone diets blue zones blue-collar strength body preparation bodybuilding bodybuilding for fighters bodybuilding for grapplers bodybuilding pros and cons bodybuilding supplements bodyweight bodyweight exercises bodyweight training bodyweight workouts bottled water bottom-up exercises boxers boxing boxing cardio boxing coaching boxing conditioning boxing conditioning workouts boxing diet boxing endurance boxing fitness boxing fitness wearables boxing footwork boxing for beginners boxing history boxing legends boxing lessons boxing mistakes boxing movies boxing myths boxing performance boxing power boxing recovery boxing rising stars boxing rules boxing science boxing skills boxing sparring boxing strategy boxing strength boxing strength training boxing styles boxing technique boxing techniques boxing tips boxing training boxing workout boxing workouts bracing techniques brain health brazilian jiu jitsu brazilian jiu-jitsu brazilian jiu-jitsu conditioning breath breath control breathing breathing for performance breathing techniques budget-friendly nutrition budget-friendly workout gear building momentum building muscle after 40 building resilience burnout prevention business ideas busy dad workout plan caffeine cage combat calisthenics calisthenics training camaraderie carbohydrate repletion carbohydrate restriction carbohydrates cardio cardio and conditioning cardio and muscle cardio assessment cardio for boxers cardio for combat athletes cardio myths cardio training cardio workouts cardiovascular endurance cardiovascular health cardiovascular training career transitions chain wrestling challenges challenges in jiu jitsu champion mindset champion's journey champion's mindset championship success charity child development child fitness christmas fitness gifts chronic inflammation chronic pain circuit training for mma clarity clean and jerk climbing rope climbing techniques coach coordination coach interviews coach recovery strategies coaching coaching techniques coaching tips coiling cold exposure cold plunge benefits cold prevention cold therapy cold therapy in sports college wrestling collegiate wrestling combat athlete conditioning combat athlete endurance combat athlete fitness combat athlete nutrition combat athlete tips combat athlete training combat athletes combat coaching combat gyms combat sports combat sports athletes combat sports conditioning combat sports evolution combat sports fitness combat sports mastery combat sports news combat sports nutrition combat sports performance combat sports prodigies combat sports psychology combat sports rules combat sports sleep tips combat sports supplements combat sports training combat sports wellness combat strategy combat training combined training strategies comebacks communication community comparison competition competition prep competition preparation competition readiness competitive advantage competitive boxing competitive edge competitive grappling competitive training for seniors complex training compression therapy concurrent training concurrent training for fighters concussion concussion protocols concussion recovery tips concussion side effects concussions conditioning conditioning for athletes conditioning for bjj conditioning for fighters conditioning for grapplers conditioning for mma conditioning guidelines conditioning workouts confidence building in children conjugate training consistency consistency for athletes consistency in sports consistent training continuous improvement contrast therapy in sports convenience drawbacks convenient healthy meals cool down exercises coordination coping mechanisms coping strategies coping with defeat core core exercises for boxers core stability core strength core training cortisol crawling crawling exercises crawling patterns creatine creatine cognitive benefits creatine for concussions creatine monohydrate cross-disciplinary combat sports cross-training cross-training for fighters cryotherapy and athletic performance cultural influence on sports culture curcumin cutting weight cutting weight for bjj cvac cvac machines dad workout tips daily fitness tips daily improvement daily routines dan gable dan koe dance and athleticism dance and coordination data-driven recovery dealing with distractions debunked myths dedication defensive athletes dehydration determination detrimental habits diet diet and fitness diet and testosterone diet for bjj dietary supplements digestion digital age digital detox digital distraction discipline discipline in fighting discipline in sports disease prevention distractions diverse play diy fitness tests documentaries dominance doping drawbacks of supplements drills durability dvrt dynamic stretches dynamic stretching dynamic work dynamic workouts eating habits eating well in a busy world eccentric training education effective communication in sports efficient recovery effort in training ego in gym electrolyte replenishment electrolytes elevate performance elite athlete habits elite performance elite wrestlers emotional balance emotional challenges emotional intelligence emotional resilience emotional stress emotional support endurance endurance activities endurance building endurance sports endurance training energy energy drinks energy improvement energy systems in sports enhancing athletic performance enhancing grappling performance equipment everyday life execution exercise exercise burnout exercise consistency exercise equipment exercise equipment under $500 exercise for aging athletes exercise for seniors exercise guide exercise integration exercise intensity exercise limitations exercise optimization exercise order exercise physiologist exercise physiology exercise programming exercise progressions exercise recovery exercise science exercise science for seniors exercise science in martial arts exercise science insights exercise variables exercises exercises for jiu jitsu explosive advantage explosive bursts explosive power explosive strength extraordinary strength eye training fall and winter health fame fame and media family fitness family influence on sports farm life fast healthy eating fast-twitch muscle fasting for athletes fatigue fatigue management feamle athletes feet female fighters training female martial artists fight fight analysis fight camp mistakes fight conditioning fight for america fight nights to remember fight nutrition fight performance fight preparation fight ready fight simulations fight speed fight styles fight training fight training evolution fight training workout fight week fight week nutrition fight weight fighter assessments fighter burnout fighter cardio fighter conditioning fighter development fighter diet fighter diet plan fighter discipline fighter endurance fighter mindset fighter nutrition fighter performance fighter preparation fighter recovery fighter safety fighter tips fighter training fighter workout plan fighter's fitness fighter's guide fighter's mind fighters fighting fighting finesse fighting performance fighting styles fighting technique fighting techniques fighting training finances fitness fitness adaptations fitness after break fitness benefits fitness buff fitness coach fitness comeback fitness community fitness diversity fitness enthusiast fitness enthusiasts fitness equipment for small spaces fitness for athletes fitness for busy dads fitness for combat sports fitness for dads fitness for fighters fitness for older adults fitness for older athletes fitness for wrestlers fitness goals fitness habits fitness history fitness improvement fitness influencers fitness journey fitness marketing fitness mindset fitness misconceptions fitness monitoring fitness motivation fitness myths fitness regimen fitness sabotage fitness strategies fitness technology fitness tips fitness tips for aging fitness tips for boxers fitness tracking fitness training fitness trends flexibility flexibility exercises flexibility in education flexibility training flow state flu prevention fluidity of motion flywheel resistance flywheel resistance training flywheel training foam rollers foam rolling myths focus focus in sports focus strategies focus techniques food and nutrition foot foot and ankles foot arches foot exercises foot function foot health foot strength footwear footwork footwork drills footwork training force-velocity curve foundational movement foundational movements foundationofstrength french contrast training fueling strategy full-body strength fun workout games functional fitness functional range conditioning functional strength functional training future champions gains garmin general physical preparedness genetic predisposition genetics genetics in sports georges st-pierre sprint training getting back in shape getting sick getting strong for bjj gift ideas for fitness enthusiasts giving back global dance impact global perspective global wrestling glute activation goal achievement goal setting goal-setting gpp gpp workouts grappler conditioning grappler endurance grappler flexibility grappler preparation grappler strength grappler training grapplers grappling grappling cardio grappling competition tips grappling endurance grappling fitness grappling for older athletes grappling legacy grappling myths grappling recovery grappling strength grappling strength training grappling techniques grappling training grappling workouts gratitude for athletes grip grip exercises grip improvement grip strength grip strength exercises grit group training benefits growth hormone growth mindset guard mobility gut health gym community gym culture gym diet gym discipline gym efficiency gym environment gym habits gym mistakes gym progress gym routine for regular guys gym training gym vs social media gym workouts gymnastic training tips gymnastics for children gymnastics progressions gymnastics strength habit formation habits hand exercises hand health hand protection hand strength hand strength assessment hand strength exercises hard training hardcore gym head injuries healing health health and fitness health and wellness health benefits health data health discipline health metrics health preservation health technology healthcare professionals healthy aging healthy competition prep healthy eating healthy eating for combat sports healthy feet healthy habits healthy holidays healthy lifestyle healthy lifestyle for dads healthy living healthy movement healthy sleep habits healthyeating heart rate heart rate monitors heart rate zones heat acclimation with sauna heat therapy for muscle recovery heavy bag workouts heavy lifting help others hidden sugars high altitude chambers high intensity training high mileage high school sports high-intensity swimming high-intensity training high-intensity workouts high-performance training hiit for fighters hilly terrain hip exercises hip strength historical feats history history of combat sports history of supplements holiday eating holiday fitness shopping list holiday fitness tips holiday health holiday indulgences holiday nutrition holiday season holiday stress holiday wellness holidays holistic development holistic fitness holistic health holistic nutrition home gym equipment home post home workouts homeschool vs public school homeschooling for athletes homeschooling pros and cons homeschooling resources hormonal balance hormone balance hormone health how to prepare for a fight human strength hybrid training hydration hydration benefits hydration strategies hydrogen water ice bath benefits ice bath recovery time ice bath temperature for athletes ice baths ice baths and immune system ice baths for athletes iconic fights immune support immune system immune-boosting foods impact of supplements improve athleticism improve jumping improve running improve technique improving bjj endurance increase strength incredible strength individualized workouts infant development inflammation information overload injury injury management injury prevention injury prevention for grapplers injury recovery injury risk inmate strength inner critic inspiration inspirational boxing movies inspirational stories intensity intensity and volume intent in workouts intentional effort intentional training intermittent fasting international wrestler interval training interval workouts isometric exercises isometric methods isometrics benefits jiu jitsu jiu jitsu exercises jiu jitsu workout jiu-jitsu jiu-jitsu conditioning jiu-jitsu diet jiu-jitsu for kids jiu-jitsu masters jiu-jitsu performance tracking jiu-jitsu recovery jiu-jitsu strategies jiu-jitsu strength training jiu-jitsu techniques jiu-jitsu training jiu-jitsu warm-up jiu-jitsu young athletes joe louis joint flexibility joint health joint mobility judo judo fitness tips jump rope training jumping jumping drills jumping exercises karate kayla harrison kettlebell kettlebell benefits kettlebell exercises kettlebell training kettlebell workouts kettlebells kickboxing kickboxing legends kids exercise kids fitness kinetic chain knee health knee injuries knockout power knockout punch labor-intensive work laborer strength training lactic conditioning landmine exercises landmine university lat pull-down leading by example for kids lean muscle learning styles leg strength leg strength for boxers legendary fighters legends level terrain life balance lifelong strength lifelong success lifestyle changes lifestyle for athletes lifestyle habits lift speed lightning-fast kicks load management loaded carries long-term athletic development long-term athletic success long-term benefits long-term success longevity longevity exercises losing weight low impact training low intensity training low testosterone