Session 4: Insights into overtraining

Introduction

Leading strength and conditioning coach Gambetta suggests in this quote that being acutely aware of how much training stress you are creating in a session is vital. Moreover, to what extent does a coach appreciate how much training stress you have experienced?

Figure 1 Obtaining clarity and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation

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A large brown magnifying glass rests on top of a white football.

Figure 1 Obtaining clarity and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation

You will find two themes running throughout this session on overtraining: one is recovery, whilst the other is the balance between individual characteristics (e.g. an athlete’s personality) and situational influences (e.g. their environment).

In this session you will gain insights into overtraining through stories, examples and recovery research, including discussion of how athlete overtraining might be better understood and how athletes might be monitored. These insights feature a world champion, a range of sports medicine organisations and a novel phone app.

By the end of this session, you should be able to:

• recognise both individual and situational influences when evaluating overtraining and burnout
• discuss the lessons from five insights into overtraining and underrecovery. These insights will support your learning of the issues surrounding overtraining: prevention, associated disorders, and how assessment and monitoring might successfully be used.