How Athletes' Bodies React to Over-Exercising
The Difference Between Hard Training and Over-Training
There are many signs that an athlete is training too hard but his urge to train harder and harder in order to improve may mean the symptoms are ignored until it is too late. Athletes are more susceptible to over training if they reach a plateau in their development or when there is extra pressure on them to perform well.
While it is relatively easy to overcome a fatigued state if it is detected early enough it is much harder to recover from a more prolonged state of excessive fatigue. Exercising too much for long periods of time can have extremely negative effects on an athlete's health.
The Difference Between Hard Training and Training Excessively
In the book, ‘Overtraining in Sport’, Mary L. O’Toole, PhD explains that the boundary between hard training and over-training is unclear. She said: “Individual variability in response to training is such that an appropriate training load for one athlete may cause the overtraining syndrome in another.”
All athletes experience their training programmes differently therefore it is important they listen to their bodies if it is showing signs that something is wrong. An experienced coach will be able to plan their training to ensure they continue to improve without damaging their bodies.
How the Body Reacts if it Works Out Too Hard
The body can only cope with a certain amout of exercise and will react to too much in various ways; some athletes may notice a change in their physiological performance as they become less able to meet their targets and experience a decrease in their strength and work capacity. They may begin to loose their co-ordination and their technique may suffer as they begin to make mistakes. Other physiological factors may include changes in heart function.
Psychological Problems as a Result of Continuous Over Exertion
Athletes may suffer from psychological symptoms as their training begins to suffer. They may become withdrawn and depressed. Many over-trained athletes find it difficult to concentrate on their training and may shy away from competitions out of fear.
Excessive Exercising will Lead to a Weakened Immune System
The immune system will begin to suffer if an athlete trains too regularly. The body will become less able to fight germs and infections making the athlete more susceptible to colds and other illnesses. He may find his body takes longer than usual to heal and coughs and colds become more severe.
Biochemical Imbalances Caused by Extreme Training
Copious amounts of training will also lead to biochemical imbalances such as decreased haemoglobin and iron levels. Stores of minerals will become depleted and the concentration of urea will increase. Uric acid production will also increase along with a host of other symptoms.
Recovering from an Over Fatigued State
If an athlete has been taking on too much during his workout sessions he should take time out of the regime to recover. If the athlete has been doing this for a long period, time off is unlikely to cure his symptoms and he should seek medical advice.
Over training can affect an athletes performance
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