Athlete Fatigue: Am I overtraining, or is there another problem?
There are several factors that contribute to fatigue, and training load is just one of the possible culprits.
If you find yourself desperate for a nap every afternoon, or struggling to get through workouts that should be perfectly manageable, it’s time to consider all the factors.
Training Load- of course this has to be considered. Did you recently increase your training load? Did you increase too quickly? Remember load is a combination of duration AND intensity. If everything else on the has been ruled out, consider dropping back a level for a few weeks until you feel good again, then increase more slowly.
Nutrition- Athletes sometimes have a complicated relationship with food. I blame instagram where every “fitness influencer” looks like a model. Athletes aren’t models. And models aren’t athletes. They aren’t training for endurance racing. If you want to be skinny, don’t eat. If you want to be strong and fit, you have to eat! A LOT! We burn SO MANY calories when we train- you have to fuel the work! Focus on healthy foods- lean proteins, complex carbs, TONS of fruits and veges- and eat eat eat!!
Sleep- For some reason we think it’s like a badge of honor to run on little sleep week in and week out. Like it shows toughness or something. Here’s the issue- ever think about WHY we sleep? It’s not just because we have to or to not be tired the next day. It to rejuvenate your mind and body after using them all day. The more you use them, the more time they need to recover. Working out doesn’t make you stronger- it actually tears your muscles and makes them weaker. When you sleep, they rebuild stronger than before the work. If you don’t sleep enough, they don’t fully rebuild, and you gain nothing. Most pro triathletes sleep over 10 hours per night!
Stress- yet another thing that can wear you down. As if balancing the physical strain and time suck of training, the extra sleep and nutritional needs, and the rest of your non-triathlon life wasn’t enough, if this careful balance stresses you out it’s going to increase fatigue. It’s like a vicious circle. This is one of the hardest to manage for many people. Theoretically more sleep would help, but most people who are stressed don’t sleep well. If high stress is your problem and there’s no other room to give, you probably need to dial back on training time and make sure you’re taking excellent care of yourself in the other categories until you feel better.
You can’t out-smart or out-work fatigue. You have to get all the factors dialed in to be able to maintain productive high training loads and reach your peak potential! Triathlon training isn’t just the hours you put in swimming, biking and running- it’s everything you do in between as well!
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