To Train or not to train that is the question? When is it too much?

By Tim Hanway Sports Performance Director, Velocity Sports Norwood

Being a strength & conditioning coach, I’m used to fielding lots of questions regarding training. Whether trying to lose inches off a waist-line or gain size and strength over the summer to make the varsity football team, the ingredients of a successful program can be pretty much broken down into the same 3 basic tenants or principles: hard work, dedication and structured planning.

There’s no substitute for hard work - ever: Hard work is the number one ingredient in reaping the benefits of structured training program.  Having been fortunate enough to have worked with professional & elite-level athletes, I can ‘hand over heart’ tell you that you won’t find any fancy gizmos, gadgets or fads in their recordings. Nope! It all boils down to being able to perform the simple things well.   As a close friend and colleague of mine back in the UK once remarked: “it’s really not rocket science… All you need to do is lift heavy, run fast, jump high, throw things and not make excuses!” Even the most ardent of naysayers would struggle to argue against the latter part of this logic or the merits of hard work and dedication in the weight room.  

Recovery is the missing link: Perhaps the most under-appreciated aspect of training however is recovery.  Hard work pays off, but it is the body’s ability to recover that maximizes an athlete’s training potential or allows fitness enthusiasts to change their body composition and truly reap the benefits of their efforts. The problem is that in a society where there never seems to be enough minutes in the day, it is our recovery that ultimately takes a back seat. Don’t believe me? Ask yourself how many hours of sleep you get on average per night, how often you intentionally stress yourself by checking your e-mails before bed, or when was the last time you had a drink of water? If even one of these answers is sub-optimal then it is possible that you are losing the benefits of your hard work and training as we speak!

Stress is stress: Although doing the simple things well each day like staying hydrated, getting deep & restful sleep and eating clean go hand in hand with effective training strategies, training too often or too frequently can actually sabotage the efforts of even the most well-meaning and dedicated of trainees.  As esteemed strength and conditioning coach Charles Poliquin (2003) often puts it, “fatigue masks fitness”.  To help illustrate this point, it is important to familiarize oneself first with the basic principles of training theory, as the body’s ability to adapt to imposed physiological stress lies at the very heart of the optimal training volume and frequency debate.  

The supercompensation model of fitness: It is within this proposed ‘single-factor’ model of training theory where one can perhaps most visibly see the potential affects of too much training volume and frequency on fitness levels (Zatsiorsky & Kraemer, 2006). Essentially an extension of Hans Seyle’s (1976) ‘General Adaptation Syndrome’, the supercompensation theory describes a ‘four-stage process’ of training, which catalogues the body’s general ability to adapt positively or negatively to training-induced, biological stresses (Gambetta, 2007).             

According to Gambetta (2007), step 1 entails some form of physiological stress being induced in the form of training and the body tiring or becoming fatigued as a result. Step 2 depends on whether or not some form of active recovery or restitution period is adopted: If one is, the body returns to baseline levels of homeostasis before subsequently ‘rebounding’ to heightened levels of physical well being and ‘preparedness’ (Zatsiorsky & Kraemer, 2006). As such, if training frequency is indeed optimal (i.e. training is re-introduced at the right time and in the right magnitude), the body’s targeted physical systems will continue to ‘dip’ slightly before climbing further and further each time a new training stimuli is introduced. This ultimately results in a positive training trend!

On the other hand, train too frequently, and prevent the body from adequately recovering, and fitness levels after a hard session will start to plunge in spite of the high frequency of training that comes with the best of intentions. Conversely, train too little or with too prolonged a rest period between sessions and one will be able to maintain the physical qualities already attained at best. Hence the expression “use it or lose it” being so aptly applied by many strength coaches and personal trainers in the field!

Overtraining: In its truest sense, overtraining can be defined as “the accumulation of training and/or non-related training stress resulting in long-term decrements in performance capacity with or without related physiological and psychological signs and symptoms” (Kutz & Secrest opt. cite Hallson & Jukendrup, 2004).  Specifically, it can be thought of as a prolonged version of the ‘too frequently’ scenario that if truly adhered to, could take up to several weeks or months to fix. Furthermore, overtraining can be further described as a negative process or pattern of behavior that can often manifest itself in the following:

· Persistent fatigue

· Ongoing muscle soreness  

· Increase in soft-tissue injuries

· Frequent illnesses or infections

·  Lack of motivation

·  Difficulty in sleeping  

·  Feelings of depression  

·    Decreased levels of strength, concentration and coordination during physical  activity

Think overtraining is only reserved for Olympians and Iron-man triathletes? Guess again! Given that overtraining is often preceded by ‘overreaching’, which Kutz & Secrest (2004) are quick to point out as occurring in as little as 10 days (i.e. in the presence of increased training volume and frequency), the fact of the matter remains that unless total training volume is monitored regularly, the likelihood of an athlete or fitness enthusiast overtraining is not as far-fetched as one may think!

  Youth & adolescent athletes are particularly vulnerable to the affects of overtraining. Although strength and conditioning research in the areas of prebuscent and adolescent training continue to make new headway each and every year (UKSCA 2012), one common occurring theme is the high disposition of young athletes towards overtraining – especially those involved in multiple sports and seasons.  In the same paper on adolescent overtraining published by Kutz & Secrest (2009) in the NSCA’s Strength & Conditioning Journal, the authors point to an alarming trend in over participation and under-recovery that is becoming more and more prevalent in the world of youth and teen sports today. With the addition of more an more travel leagues, teams and organizations springing up, plus the added pressures of competing at higher intensities due to merging of age groups, back-to-back seasons and the possibility of college scholarship opportunities, many young athletes are training harder and longer whilst purposely forgoing enforced periods of rest and recovery in fear of missing out on these opportunities.  As a result, these authors point to heightened levels of physical and psychological dysfunction such as staleness and burnout, which are in fact the direct result of the large accumulation of both training and non-training related stresses. 

With respect to latter point, young athletes and parents alike need to take into consideration the fact that stress in the form of homework, employment and other extra-curricular activities still plays a role in the body’s ability to adapt positively (or negatively as the case may be) to fitness training! As a result, rather than look at these things in isolation of one another, effective planning and enforced periods of rest and recuperation are vital for young athletes to fully adapt and realize their athletic potential.

Recommendations: Although there are no hard and fast rules on how often or how frequently to train based on age, gender or training age (Poliquin, 1993), enforced periods of rest and recovery are clearly vital to fully realize any athlete or fitness enthusiast’s training potential. Given that major muscle groups take up to on average 48 hours (or longer depending on training intensity) to fully recover, means that to achieve optimal results, properly planned and periodized workouts must be adopted to ensure that optimal training volume and frequency are achieved. Given that monitoring workloads would seem like an obvious solution to prevent overtraining, differences in biological, chronological and training ages, as well as differences in the recovery rates of the body’s various physiological systems (i.e. metabolic, neuromuscular, etc.) would suggest that no set method exists which could successfully be applied to athletes and fitness enthusiasts alike.   To this end, seeking a qualified strength & conditioning professional who can design periodized training programs based upon relevant sports science and human physiology would serve as logical step in ensuring that training goals and targets are continuously met and that the inherent risks of overtraining are avoided.   Please stay tuned for more discussion on this important training topic.

  References:   1. Gambetta, Vern (2007) Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports  Conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Print.                                          2. Kutz, M., & Secrest, M. (2009) Contributing Factors to Overtraining in the Adolescent Multi-Season/Sport Athlete. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 31(3), 37.                                                                                                                                 3.Poliquin, Charles (1997) The Poliquin Principles: Successful Methods for Strength and Mass Development. Napa, CA: Dayton Writers Group. Print.               4. Selye, Hans. (1976) The Stress of Life (rev. edn.). New York: McGraw-Hill. Print                                                                                                                   5. Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M., & William J. Kraemer (2006). Science and Practice of Strength Training. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Print