Are you headed down the path to overtraining?

We all have the best of intentions when it comes to training.  I have yet to meet a client admitted that they'd like to train so hard that they had to take some time off for rehabilitation of injuries, or wanted to train themselves sick (literally).  No one actually says that, but oftentimes we think that if we're not broken down that we must be doing something wrong.  After all, Ironman is a grueling event, so shouldn't I be physically and emotionally wiped out during my entire training cycle?


Judging by some of the ultra-high volume training plans out there, one would think so.


I have been blessed with a great team of athletes who are not lacking in the motivation department.  They have fought their way through Vdot and power tests when they'd much rather be relaxing on the couch, and have battled the elements on long runs because that's part of the sacrifice you make for Ironman.  

If you constantly feel like this,
you might be overtrained.

I have yet to tell someone that they need to be more diligent with their workouts.  I have, however, had to "encourage" others to remain within the parameters of their workout.  


The question always comes up about training load during an Ironman or half Iron build.  Iron Joe compares his training load with Iron Sally and the question is always the same:  "How many hours are you working out this week"?


The tenet of the average multisport coach is more duration = better results.  How much more? Nobody's really certain (neither the coach or the athlete).  


We just know that we need more!


Nice Tri Multisport Coaching does not just look at the duration of your workouts.  We also look at the frequency and intensity before deciding how much "more" to add to your schedule.  

Sadly, this is often the first sign of
overtraining for many athletes.

If your question about Ironman training is "how many hours per week will I be training?", we can provide a general idea of a time commitment, but much of that depends upon your body's ability to handle an increased workload.  If this concept sounds revolutionary (it shouldn't) or contrary to science, here is some research that proves that it's not all about duration:
"Overtraining is defined as "Training/competition to recovery imbalance." It primarily is caused by too little time for regeneration. Additional non-training stress sources, such as social, educational, occupational, nutritional, and travel factors and the monotony of training increase the risk of overtraining. Symptoms of overtraining are persistent performance incompetence, persistent high fatigue rating, altered mood state, increased rate of infections, and suppressed reproductive function."

This is the good part:

"This review considered three studies that evaluated effects on participants.

• ITV (Increase in Training Volume) consisted of daily monotonous long-distance runs with a volume increase of 100% (from 85.9 km/week to 174.6 km/week).

This is the path of least resistance for most coaches [above].  Just keep adding duration to the workouts....more, more, more!

• ITI (Increase in Training Intensity) consisted of tempo-pace and interval runs increasing by 150% along with a volume increase of 37%. However, this included a much lower training load than that of the ITV condition, one rest day per week of no training, and alternation of hard and easy training days to minimize training monotony.

• ITE (Intensive Ergometer Training Study) exposed less adapted individuals to an unaccustomed intensified training load and monotonous programming.

The ITV condition produced consistently depressed performances that persisted for a three-month period. On the other hand, the ITI study increased performances and did not produce an overtrained state. Its added rest period, greater variety of stimulation, and alternating hard and easy sessions better accommodated regeneration and the avoidance of monotony. [An opinion was offered by the authors that monotony might be just as critical in suppressing regeneration of an overtrained state as is training load.]

This is where many Ironman athletes end up:  severely overtrained and effectively "painted" into a corner or depressed performance for several months.

The ITE study confirmed what the authors had suspected, "that it seems easier to cause a performance decrease in athletes dependent on prolonged monotonous extensive training at a high training load than on intensified training of 1-2 hours per day." (pp. 9-10) In the ITE study, performances improved over the first three weeks but by week 6 performances and motivation were depressed despite the inclusion of extra regeneration weeks (microcycles).

Proposed Principle 1. An increased risk of staleness is likely after three weeks of intensified or prolonged monotonous endurance training.

Proposed Principle 2. If alternating hard and easy days is considered and at least two rest days (one per week) are included, there is only a risk of transient performance depression (overreaching) over periods of less than three weeks with an intensified high total training load" 

- Lehmann, M. J., Lormes, W., Opitz-Gress, A., Steinacker, J. M., Netzer, N., Foster, C., & Gastmann, U. (1997). Training and overtraining: An overview and experimental results in endurance sports. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 37, 7-17.

To summarize:  we need to manipulate both duration and intensity if we want to get the best performance out of our bodies.  If all we do is ride our bike at 16 mph 5 hours per day 4 times per week, we'll get VERY good at one thing:  

Riding around at 16 mph.

If we have aspirations of riding faster than that, we need to spend a considerable amount of time training at 18, 19 or 20 mph.  

So there you have it.  Nice Tri's training hours (especially in the offseason) are typically lower than most coached athletes at this time of year, but the training stress and physiological adaptations that are occurring through shorter, more intense sessions are actually greater.

We look at cumulative training stress, performance markers from testing, and other indications as signals to alter a training load.  You're no good if you're injured or overtrained, so we need to be very cautious about blindly adding training stress to your weekly and monthly load.

Remember:  Quality over quantity.

Train Hard.  Race Easy.