This article is adapted from Chapter 16 of Fitness Professional’s Handbook 8E by Dr Barbara A. Bushman

Individualization of training programs is key to promote health and safety as well as to enhance fitness and improve performance.  Many factors contribute to an optimal training program as discussed in this section from the Fitness Professional’s Handbook, 8^th edition.  

Fitness professionals need to balance sufficient overload for improvement with adequate recovery between workouts to allow for optimal training adaptations.  Part of­ successful training is avoiding excessive overload with inadequate recovery. An intense exercise session or an intense training period may result in acute fatigue and even temporary decreases in performance (10). With appropriate recovery (less intense training or active rest), a positive adaptation can result in improved performance (3, 10). 

Within the Joint Consensus Statement of the Euro­pean College of Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine, the term overreaching is defined as “an accumulation of training and/or nontraining stress resulting in short-term decre­ment in performance capacity with or without related physiological and psychological signs and symptoms of maladaptation in which restoration of performance capacity may take from several days to several weeks” (10). Short-term overreaching followed by recovery that leads to improved performance has been referred to as functional overreaching (10); recovery may take days to weeks. However, if the balance between training and recovery is disrupted such that performance suffers for several weeks or months, the term nonfunctional overreaching has been applied. With nonfunctional overreaching, performance will decline, the individual will have decreased vigor and increased fatigue, and hormonal disturbances will occur (10). 

The difference between nonfunctional overreach­ing and overtraining syndrome is not clearly defined. Overtraining syndrome (OTS) has been described as “prolonged maladaptation” regarding the individual’s response to training (biological, neurochemical, and hormonal) (10). Rather than only being a result of excessive training, other factors such as caloric intake, diet composition (protein or carbohydrate intake), sleep quality, and cognitive effort are potentially involved, leading some to suggest paradoxical deconditioning syn­drome of the athlete as a more descriptive term to reflect the combination of factors (4). Although research has focused on athletes, others engaging in excessive exercise can experience OTS as well. What constitutes “excessive exercise” is hard to define because many aspects affect an individual’s response to training. Diagnosis of OTS is difficult and typically is a diagnosis of exclusion (5). Other medical conditions that may have similarities to OTS include asthma, anemia, hypothyroidism, immuno­deficiency, hypocortisolemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, and others (9). Thus, ruling out other causes for decrements in performance is an important step (10).

As with the individualization needed in program development, each person has a different “tipping point” related to training stress capacity (9). Warning signs include decreased performance even with increased effort and increased perception of effort for the same workout (9). OTS has been compared to an orthopedic injury in its debilitating effects and required time for recovery (10). Thus, focusing on prevention with appropriate peri­odization within the training program is valuable, as well as attention to other areas, including the following (10): 

• Passive rest: This includes 1 rest day from the training activity each week; this provides oppor­tunity for recovery and may be a helpful mental time-out from a focused training program. 
• Adequate sleep: Due to variation between indi­viduals, sleeping for the amount of time that is required to feel wakeful during the day is recom­mended rather than prescribing a given number of hours of sleep. 
• Nutrition: Ensure adequate carbohydrate intake, fluid intake, and caloric consumption to meet increased demands of training; also ensure suffi­cient protein remains in the diet. 

Use of training logs and tracking body weight, heart rate (morning or maximal), and sleep, among other aspects, may be of value (9). Morning heart rate may reflect increased catecholamines and increased sympa­thetic tone and a loss of parasympathetic tone; maximal heart rate also has been used to measure sympathetic and parasympathetic balance (9). Given the variability in responses to training, fitness professionals and coaches need to individualize training programs and maintain accurate records charting performance (8, 10). This will allow for gradual adjustments in training intensity or highlight the need to provide a rest day. The impor­tance of gradual progression, along with the need to individualize training programs given that many factors affect response to a given training load (e.g., age, prior injury, training history, fitness level), cannot be overem­phasized (6). 

Research in this area has focused on endurance-based training; the potential within strength sports and resist­ance training has also been examined, although studies have not clearly identified OTS but rather nonfunc­tional overreaching in which short-term performance loss resolved within days to weeks (2). Caution is still warranted related to extreme conditioning (i.e., high-vol­ume, high-intensity training) and excessive training loads (2), and susceptibility to overtraining is potentially increased with frequent, high-intensity, monotonous resistance training (7). This reinforces the value of peri­odization within training programs. Fitness professionals should appreciate that overtraining can result from poor programming characterized by frequent high-intensity training sessions without adequate rest and recovery between workouts. From a practical perspective, it is important to consider a person’s training experience and all fitness activities regularly performed. Periodized training, which should include periods of less intense training and active rest, can help individuals avoid overtraining and promote long-term gains in muscular fitness (1, 11). 

REFERENCES

1. American College of Sports Medicine. 2022. ACSM’s guide­lines for exercise testing and prescription. 11th ed. Philadel­phia: Wolters Kluwer. 

2.  Bell, L., A. Ruddock, T. Maden-Wilkinson, and D. Rogerson. 2020. Overreaching and overtraining in strength sports and resistance training: A scoping review. Journal of Sports Sciences 38(16):1897-1912. 

3.  Bushman, B.A. 2016. Finding the balance between overload and recovery. ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal 20(1):5-8. 

4.  Cadegiani, F., and C.E. Kater. 2019. Novel insights of over­training syndrome discovered from the EROS study. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 5:e000542.

5.  Carrard, J., A.-C. Rigort, C. Appenzeller-Herzog, F. College, K. Königstein, T. Hinrichs, and A. Schmidt-Trucksäss. 2022. Diagnosing overtraining syndrome: A scoping review. Sports Health 14(5):665-673. 

6.  Gabbett, T.J. 2020. How much? How fast? How soon? Three simple concepts for progressing training loads to minimize injury risk and enhance performance. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 50(10):570-573. 

7.  Grandou, C., L. Wallace, F. Impellizzeri, N. Allen, and A. Coutts. 2020. Overtraining in resistance exercise: An exploratory systematic review and methodological appraisal of the literature. Sports Medicine 50:815-828.

8.  Kellman, M., M. Bertollo, L. Bosquet, M. Brink, A.J. Coutts, R. Duffield, and D. Erlacher. 2018. Recovery and performance in sport: Consensus statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 13:240-245.

9.  Kreher, J.B. 2016. Diagnosis and prevention of overtraining syndrome: An opinion on education strategies. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine 7:115-122.

10.  Meeusen, R., M. Duclos, C. Foster, A. Fry, M. Gleeson, D. Nieman, J. Raglin, G. Rietjens, J. Steinacker, A. Urhausen, European College of Sport Science, and American College of Sports Medicine. 2013. Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: Joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 45(1):186-205.

11.  Moesgaard, L., M.M. Beck, L. Christiansen, P. Aagaard, and J. Lundbye-Jensen. 2022. Effects of periodization on strength and muscle hypertrophy in volume-equated resistance training programs: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine 52:1647-1666.

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