10 Warning Signs of Overtraining in Athletes

When you’re training for a big endurance goal or event, it’s easy to think that more training and more workouts lead to increased performance.  What many athletes don’t realize, however, is that the biggest gains come with a necessary balance between training, rest, and recovery, and all 3 are EQUALLY important.  If you do not balance your training with rest and recovery, you risk burnout, injury, loss of motivation, and in general – a state of being overtrained.  Overtraining can completely derail things.  So whether you are a runner, cyclist, hiker, or other endurance athlete, knowing these 10 early warning signs of overtraining in athletes can help you proactively stay healthy, strong, and consistent in your training for a long time to come.

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10 Warning Signs of Overtraining in Athletes (and What to Do About It)

1. Loss of Motivation – dreading your workouts, feeling mentally burned out, lack of interest and motivation.  It’s ok to have an off day, but overtraining happens on a bigger and broader scale.
2. Nagging Fatigue – being tired after a tough workout is normal, but ongoing and persistent fatigue is NOT normal. If you are getting enough sleep and nutrition but still feel constantly drained, this is a red flag.
3. Declining Performance – slower times, weaker performances, workouts feeling harder – despite consistent training.  Over time you should see gains, but if instead you are seeing a sudden drop in performance over time, it could be a sign of overtraining.
4. Poor Sleep – sleep disturbances are a common warning sign of overtraining in athletes, including trouble falling asleep and random wakes ups at night.
5. Extended Muscle Soreness – feeling sore after a hard workout is normal, but extended and persistent muscle soreness (such as over a couple of days) can be an indicator of overtraining and/or lack of proper recovery.
6. Frequent Sickness – overtraining can make athletes more susceptible to illness due to their immune system being weakened.  Especially noticeable when illnesses are re-occurring in a short time frame (like when I had the flu and 2 subsequent aggressive colds within 6 weeks) or take much longer to resolve fully than normal.
7. Increased Resting Heart Rate – if your resting heart rate is noticeably higher for several days after a workout, this could be a warning sign of overtraining.
8. Loss of Appetite – most athletes like to eat! (and talk about eating). If you experience a loss of appetite, it could be a signal from your body attempting to suppress your appetite due to stress from overtraining.
9. More Injury Prone – overuse, such as that due to overtraining, is a common culprit in many common athletic injuries (like these 8 most common running injuries).  Nagging aches and pains, and injuries that seem to never fully resolve, could be due to not enough recovery and rest.
10. Mood Changes – overtraining can affect your mental and emotional state as well.  Look at the list above – wouldn’t your mood change if you were frequently sick, lacking motivation, sleeping poorly, and dealing with nagging injuries?

What to Do About Overtraining

1. Prioritize Rest and Recovery!!! EVERY SINGLE TRAINING PLAN, whether you are a runner, cyclist, or other endurance athlete, should have regular and consistent rest and recovery days built into your plan.  (you can see them built in on some of my most popular training plans and calendars). Don’t skip them. Be proactive and not reactive to overtraining. Make those days as purposeful as your workout days. It is very common to have at least 1-2 rest and recovery days each week for an endurance athlete.
2. Have a Recovery Routine – know what your recovery routine looks like, and stick with it. Don’t get lazy.  Whether it’s a recovery protein shake within 30 minutes of a finished workout, or a foam rolling or massaging session, or both, stick with it.  Need inspiration for quick and easy high protein recovery snacks?
3. Fuel Properly – nutrition plays a huge role in recovery.  Make sure you’re getting enough of the right calories and nutrients BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER your workouts.  For a runner’s perspective on fueling, check out my “Runners Diet: Fueling and Nutrition for Beginners” guidebook.
4. Reassess your Training Plan – do you need 2 rest days instead of 1 each week?  Do you need to just take a few extra rest days now? Do you need a reduced mileage week once a month?  Do you need your weekly long sessions to happen every other week instead of every week temporarily? Do you need a stronger baseline foundation before progressing? These are some of the strategies I suggest to combat overuse issues.
5. Hydration – don’t overlook staying consistently hydrated!  Especially in hotter temps, because dehydration can wreck you for several days.
6. Sleep – are you getting enough?  6 hours a night is actually NOT enough for an athlete.  If you are seeing warning signs of overtraining, up your amount of good sleep.
7. Implement Active Recovery – rest and recovery days don’t mean you have to just sit and do nothing.  Active recovery can look like a yoga session or an easy walk.  
8. Have the Right Mindset – a lot of athletes dread rest days, because they feel it would be more beneficial to get another training session in.  But rest and recovery days are where your strength and progress actually come from.  When you complete tough workouts, your body is undergoing tiny tears in muscle fibers and such, and rest is where your body gets to do the repair work to actually come back stronger.  If you under-prioritize rest and recovery, you don’t allow your body to repair and come back stronger, which may cause you to stop seeing and experiencing those gains.  Approach rest and recovery from the perspective of just as beneficial as a workout day.  Here’s a post on doing rest days the right way for runners.

Knowing the warning signs of overtraining and listening to your body are a crucial part of any athlete’s journey.  Feeling crappy, burnt-out, or constantly in nagging pain is not normal, and it is not a badge of honor.  If you ignore overtraining or shove rest and recovery under the rug, you’re doing yourself a huge dis-service in terms of being a long term athlete. Respect the role of rest and recovery in order to avoid these signs of overtraining.  Because progress and strength do not happen during the workout, they happen during the recovery!

Get your own FREE RECOVERY CHECKLIST HERE to track and self assess your recovery needs each week!

*Check out my other resources for endurance athletes (from the perspective of an ultra trail runner, long distance hiker, and cyclist) including fueling and nutrition tips, loads of FREE training plans and calendars for your event, gear recommendations, and 1:1 Coaching Services!

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