# Overtrained....what next....



## shomyoface (Nov 24, 2007)

....I still have a couple of races, including the state CX champs. I'm flat, but can get my heart rate up. I know I need to recover, but what exactly does that mean, if I usually average 90 mins 5 days a week.....just ride easy, no intervals, and for shorter periods. What about days extra off etc?

I need a coach!!!!!! Thank to all.


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## StillRiding (Sep 16, 2006)

Take off from Thanksgiving to New Years. It won't hurt you.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Taking a nice break would probably be a good idea, although a coach or training plan wouldn't hurt. Do you road race, too? What do you think you might have done to overtrain?


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

StillRiding said:


> Take off from Thanksgiving to New Years. It won't hurt you.


Bad idea.

Doesn't sound like the OP is over-trained, either. I could be wrong, but "flat" is not typically a sign of over-training.


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## cyclesport45 (Dec 10, 2007)

Stay off the bike until you feel guilty about not being on the bike.


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

We need a lot more info to determine in the OP is over-trained or just guilty of over-reaching coupled with a lack of recovery. Or perhaps suffering a bit of burnout when all factors of life are included. I would say it is pretty hard to truly over-train on 5 days x 90 minutes. Burn out, yes but the volume is not enough to dig a true over-training hole.

Rest more, ride less, do less intensity, take days off. If you already have race fitness do the minimum required to keep it, especially if are just racing CX right now. It should be possible to have decent CX fitness maintenance on 6 hours per week. Note that I say maintenance, not build.


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## shomyoface (Nov 24, 2007)

Thanks for all responses. 

Perhaps I'm not overtrained 'cos I still have motivation, I still wanna ride, and wanna train hard. I think I've been doing too many intervals, and not letting myself rest enough before the next hard session. Perhaps I'll limit myself to one hard session, one race, and three days of recovery riding, two days offa week and see how it goes.


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## apxbiker (Jul 18, 2009)

you will know overtraining when u suck at a race and have no idea why! 

atleast thats how i know


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## MarshallH1987 (Jun 17, 2009)

I'd stay off the bike all together. I tried to push my season longer to get in the last few weekends or facing and i put myself in a hole that has taken months to get out of... doesn't help that i got sick from infections several times along with over training, but take it from somebody who has over trained... missing those last few races is WAY better than spending months unable to ride and hoping a semi runs a red light and makes you feel better.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

look, you're probably just over-reached. a few days off / minimal riding and a good massage, extra sleep, and you'll likely feel much better.

off = instead of a 90 minute ride, take a 90 minute nap
minimal riding = 60 mins max, small ring, no hills, no jams, going so slow that old ladies pass you
a few days = 3 minimum, up to 5.


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

Can we put a sticky in coaching about the difference between overtraining and overreaching.


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## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

kbiker3111 said:


> Can we put a sticky in coaching about the difference between overtraining and overreaching.


That's an art. You won't be able to tell that from a forum.


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## MarshallH1987 (Jun 17, 2009)

iliveonnitro said:


> That's an art. You won't be able to tell that from a forum.


So true... I read a ton about this subject to make sure i didn't overtrain myself. Basically all i figured out came together months after i stopped riding when i finally realized that i was overtrained. I'm sure i could recognize the signs much better now, but some of the main things to look for are:

Always tired, you sleep all day and night but are still tired.

You take a couple weeks off the bike to rest, come back to ride and feel fine. 15 mins into a ride or race your legs start hurting bad and it feels like your whole body is just shutting down. When i picked up on this during a race i watched my heart rate actually start dropping during a race while i was trying to push it harder.

After a while you will stop caring about riding, racing and training. The thought of riding makes you feel bad inside. I don't care how obsessed and in love with cycling you are, eventually you will break.

Your legs will probably feel like you just got done with a hard race for days after an easy ride.

When your in the over reaching stage you'll probably take longer than normal to recover, notice a dip in race or training performance and might feel fatigued all the time. This is where you have to be crazy careful. If you take the time to recover here you'll be fine in a few weeks, but if you keep going you can fry your body for months. I took about 6 months off of any real training or regular riding, sometimes going weeks at a time without riding and only now am i starting to feel well enough to start training again slowly.


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## Tri Slow Poke (Jul 22, 2006)

cyclesport45 said:


> Stay off the bike until you feel guilty about not being on the bike.


That's what I do!


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

iliveonnitro said:


> That's an art. You won't be able to tell that from a forum.


Of course, but how much accurate "coaching" goes on here anyway? My point is that fairly frequently a predictable overtraining question is asked with the same 5 answers.


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## leon2982 (May 20, 2007)

*happened to me - twice*

I'm a slow learner but both times I was training way too much and not resting near enough. I found that my heart rate would go up but I was going slower than the corresponding heart rate would indicate. Then a couple days later my strength just completely left me. I could barely make easy hills. I stopped training for a couple days then started longer very easy riding. It took a week or two but the strength came back as quickly as it left. I was riding a long slow ride and seemingly all of the sudden the strength was back. Now I pay closer attention to what my body is telling me. IMO there is really no option. I try to pay attention to little things like stress, sleep, workload, etc. It's hard to force oneself to rest when our culture is all about hard work being the road to success.


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## David Loving (Jun 13, 2008)

you just need rest - your legs are dead and you probably feel "dead" too. That means rest.


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## euro-trash (May 1, 2004)

shomyoface said:


> Thanks for all responses.
> 
> Perhaps I'm not overtrained 'cos I still have motivation, I still wanna ride, and wanna train hard. I think I've been doing too many intervals, and not letting myself rest enough before the next hard session. Perhaps I'll limit myself to one hard session, one race, and three days of recovery riding, two days offa week and see how it goes.


Most CX riders are drained at this point. 

I'm taking this year off, but I'm a Cat 1 and a typical in-season cyclocross week is: 
Mon: off
Tues: 30 minutes running intervals
1 hour intervals
Wed: 2 hours easy
Thurs: off if racing both days
Fri: open the legs
Sat-Sunday: Race both days usually

When in doubt, I'd do less than this. If you were doing substantially more than this, you are likely just tired (the fact you are still motivated is a great sign you are nipping this in the bud). I'd keep one hard ride mid-week, but otherwise would just rest. 

If you are racing both days next week, I'd try:

Mon: off
Tues: 30 minutes EASY
Wed: 1 hour intervals--whatever kind of efforts you feel are your Achilles right now
Thurs: off
Fri: 1 hour race prep ride

Make sure you are getting plenty of food and water this week.


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