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Blane McElreath Suzanne Ingram English 1103-036 10-28-12 Athletes Preventing Overtraining For hundreds of years sports have been played and athletes have been progressively getting bigger, stronger, and faster. Competition has risen to new heights making the drive to win stronger than ever. This drive however, has inherent risks involved with its power. Athletes are increasingly overtraining their bodies to meet the demands of their profession. Overtraining is defined by Mark Jenkins, at Rice University, as athletes who exercise too long and hard without giving the body an adequate amount of rest (Jenkins). Overtraining can occur to athletes at any skill level, whether it is in high school sports or professional athletes. In Dr. Philip Maffetones book, The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing, he summarized the affects of overtraining on the body in this statement,Overtraining syndrome typically results in poor athletic performance, structural injury, such as in the foot, knee, or lower back, secondary to muscle imbalance, and metabolic problems, such as fatigue, infection, bone loss, sexual dysfunction, altered mood states, and brain and nervous system dysfunction (Maffetone). These effects on the body reduce an athletes performance by 5-15 percent, which isnt going to give your athlete the winning edge (Kreider 178). Athletes suffering from over training notice it first with soreness in joints, fatigue, moodiness, insomnia, headaches, and much more

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(Quinn). Generally, the first signs and symptoms are ignored by athletes and the coaches. After ignoring these signs and symptoms for a few weeks the body starts to react in a severe way. The body begins to get weak in feeble in almost every aspect; mentally, physically, and emotionally. The athletes immune system will start to plummet, increasing the risk of getting ill by 200% (Kreider 180). The chance for injury to bones, muscles, and tendons will increase as well. Signs in athletes mental and emotional health arrive in the presence of mood swings, loss of desire for the sport, depression, low self-esteem, and irritability. Careers can be ended due to chronic illness, brutal injury, and loss of desire to play. It is imperative that coaches and trainers begin to take heed to the warnings of over training in their athletes, and to pay attention to the athletes perspective on their training. I feel that without a change in the way these groups communicate, overtraining will continue to be a major issue in athletics. I have had an experience with overtraining syndrome in high school when I wrestled for four years. The majority of these four years I endured overtraining syndrome. I had played soccer for eight years as a child but I never faced the problems of overtraining until wrestling. The first signs of overtraining for me were fatigue, general aches and pains, and decrease in training capacity and intensity. With wrestling being such a competitive, intense sport the conditions were perfect for overtraining. With practice three hours a day, 5 days a week, plus another 2 days of club practice, I had a 20 hour a week training program. The 20 hours a week doesnt account for losing the weight required to be in my specific weight class as well. With this work load, my body faced tremendous difficulties. My freshman year I tore my MCL and had tendonitis in my wrists and knees, all these things are common for over trained athletes. All throughout the remainder of my career I had issues with tendonitis in these places. Junior

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year was when the most traumatic injury occurred as a result of overtraining. I was wrestling in an offseason tournament and went to throw an opponent when I cracked the side of my hip bone off. At this point in my career I knew I was facing major problems with overtraining syndrome and I took a large off-season break to help my body recover. When I came back from this break I eased back into my training schedule and I was performing better than ever. In the weight room my entire core lifts increased tremendously. The rest I had gotten was a miracle to my body. However, I eventually began overtraining halfway through senior year and for the rest of the year my performance was hindered. There was no doubt a correlation with the amount I over trained to my performance. Whenever I came back from off-season my body was always in the best condition of my life, but as the year went on and wrestling started my body began to react negatively to the stress I was putting it through. My experiences with overtraining prove to me that no matter what coaches and trainers think, the only true judge of overtraining is the athlete themselves. There was a constant conflicting battle between my coach and the trainer at the school. My coach expected nothing but the best from me, while the trainer was extremely cautious of the stresses I was putting my body through. I had to try to find a median between how much I should listen to the trainers wishes and how much effort I should put in according to my coach. I was the only one who was aware of the over training that I was going through and neither my coach nor the trainer helped me with the situation. I know thousands of wrestlers who were under the same exact circumstances as I was, and they to felt severe problems relating to their overtraining. If only there was solid communication between my coach, the trainer, and I, overtraining wouldnt have been an issue for me. Coaches and trainers must take responsibility in addressing issues

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with athletes to insure the safety of their athletes. Wrestling is only one small sport in the whole realm of athletics, so to imagine the amount of athletes all across the world that are diminishing their performances due to their aspirations is indescribable. Several athletic programs across the United States have developed methods to help prevent and treat overtraining. These new programs are being used by the NFL, NBA, MLS and a plethora of other athletic teams varying from middle school through professionals. The program differs across the board but the majority of athletic programs taking part in this new method generally have seven steps to ensure the safety of their athletes. The first step of the program involves the athlete keeping a detailed and accurate record of his/her workout so that coaches and trainers can carefully monitor the athletes volume and intensity of workouts. Next athletes need to maintain a healthy diet, drinking plenty of fluid to stay hydrated, and receive a good amount of sleep to be rested and recovered for the next day. Another factor in the process is to have athletes to be comfortable talking about their concerns both mentally and physically. Players must also need to keep a health emotional life with everyday factors including relationships, jobs, school, or other stressors. After these steps it is then imperative that the athlete finds their own median between the intensity of their workouts and the amount of rest taken in order for recovery. Alternative means of exercise that relieve stress in the body should also be found. These include yoga, mind-body programs, stretching, walking, or stability training. In a last ditch effort for athletes should seek help from a physician if their problems reoccur (Armstrong 185-209). These methods are being used now in several professional athletic programs and they are proving to be of great help to the problem. With

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this plan coaches, trainers, and athletes are able to actively communicate to each other to further improve athletes performances. Over trained high school athletes are the cause of over 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year, and these statistics are continually growing (Powell). Trainers and coaches are lacking the required knowledge to judge whether or not an athlete is over trained. It is up to the athlete to become aware of circumstances that lead to overtraining and know when to say enough is enough. Once an athlete has the knowledge to understand overtraining symptoms, it is up to that person individually to voice their opinions on their training program in order to prevent injury and declined performance. The athletic community has to come together to find a common ground that will help benefit the growing epidemic of over training that athletes are facing today. By using the suggested techniques to combat against overtraining I believe that in the future the growing epidemic will cease to exist.

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Works Cited Armstrong, L.E. and VanHeest, J.L. The unknown mechanism of overtraining syndrome. Sports Medicine. 32(3):185-209, 2002. Jenkins, Mark. Overtraining Syndrome. Rice, edu. 1998. Web. No pgs. 19th September 2012. Kreider, Richard, Fry, Andrew, OToole, Mary. The effect of Overtraining on Injury Potential. Overtraining in Sport. 1998. Human Kinetics Publishers Inc. 173-186. Print. 26th September 2012. Maffetone, Philip. The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing 2010. Skyhorse Publishers. Print. 28th October 2012. Quinn, Elizabeth. Overtraining Syndrome in Athletes. About.com. 24 th July 2011. Web. 19th September 2012