Overtraining

Introduction

The gains of training are usually maximized up to a certain point until which training becomes excessive . The relationship between load and performance differs from individual to individual with beginners getting large improvements in performance for small loads of training . Elite athletes however need to have large loads of exercise to gain small improvements in performance . The incidence of overtraining is an issue of serious concern to all endurance athletes . Evidence shows that it will affect about 65 of endurance athletes at some point in their careers (McKenzie , 1999 p

Overtraining can be explained using multi-stressor and single stressor models . The single models places emphasis on the presence of an imbalance between recovery and training load while excluding factors that are not related to physical performance . The multi-stressor model includes non-physical factors such as social , emotional and psychological aspects . There is also an integrative model which suggests that recovery from training and the impact that stressors have on the athlete can be used to explain overtraining (Roose et al , 2009 . Several causes of overtraining emerge from this models : excessive physical exercise with insufficient recovery periods , medical problems environmental stressors such as heat , altitude , humidity , inadequate nutrition such as insufficient energy and iron intake , psychological stressors such as family , work or school problems and frequent important competitions that may require high quality performance and high intensity training

The period following hard training is when improvements in training and fitness improvements occur . This process may take days to be complete and is...