Overtraining Syndrome: When Exercise Becomes Dangerous

Everyone knows that exercise is a fundamental part of being healthy. Yet, like everything in life, balance is key. Regular and consistent training is necessary for well-being. So when exercising, it is important not to spend too much time doing it. In addition to being harmful to your body, it can lead to overtraining syndrome (OTS).

Keep reading to learn more about overtraining syndrome and how to prevent it.

What is overtraining syndrome?

Exercise has countless health benefits. On the psychological side of things, it reduces depression and anxiety and helps you cope with stress better. It also improves your self-esteem and your relationships with others. From a physical point of view, exercise helps prevent obesity and cardiovascular disease.

However, problems arise when you begin to dedicate considerable time to exercising or exercising a sport. If your training becomes more intense and you have less recovery time between workouts, be careful. Not only does this have the potential to affect your performance, but it can also adversely affect your health.

You may also feel completely lost by the sport you are practicing and feel mentally and physically exhausted. You may be in a bad mood, feel apathetic, or have trouble sleeping. If these symptoms persist and become chronic, you may have overtraining syndrome. This is when your body is so overworked that you cannot recover from your own physical effort and your performance is affected.

What makes this syndrome difficult is that many athletes increase their training when they notice their weaker performance. It leads to a vicious cycle. They assume they are not doing well because they are not training enough, so they are training even more. Consequently, their symptoms and performance will worsen.

What are some symptoms of overtraining syndrome?

One sign of overtraining syndrome is physiological and psychological changes. Another is maladaptive symptoms. In general, a person with overtraining syndrome suffers from fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss, headaches, muscle aches, frequent infections, digestive problems and even amenorrhea and osteoporosis.

On a psychological level, people with OTS suffer from depression, anxiety, damaged self-esteem, apathy, mental exhaustion, difficulty concentrating and emotional instability. They may also notice changes in their athletic performance. Their strength, resistance, speed and coordination suffer.

As you can imagine, a person with OTS makes several technical mistakes. Therefore, it is more difficult for them to achieve their goals. But it does not end there. At the physiological level, their heart rate and blood pressure increase, as well as their oxygen consumption.

What can you do with OTS?

If you get to this point, it is not enough to take a break from training. That is why it is so important to detect OTS as soon as possible. If you are hoping to reverse the effects, you need to make several major changes. You need to reduce the amount of time you train, the intensity of the training, and allow more recovery time between sessions.

Presenting variation in the training regimen is also important and useful. Try different types of exercise you enjoy doing. It is also important to increase motivation and self-confidence.

Finally, you need to learn how to effectively regulate the emotional problems that come with OTS. Create some healthy habits that prioritize a good diet and plenty of rest.