No Pain No Gain...Right?: 5 Signs That Your Body is Telling You it Needs Rest
Are you training, but not seeing the results you want? Do you train despite injury or decreased performance because you want to “Push through” and keep progressing? Does it feel like you are doing everything you should be doing to see the best results, but they aren’t there? Well, maybe it's time to re-think the common mindset of “no pain no gain”, and address some other reasons why your performance may be suffering. Perhaps your body needs less training and more time off to allow for adequate rest and recovery. Listed below are 5 signs that you may be overtraining. The key to improving your performance may be as simple as giving your body adequate (active) rest and recovery:
1. Performance has been decreased for weeks to months -
Has training and athletic performance decreased gradually, or been less than what it was in the past? You should keep reading to see if the signs and symptoms below match what you’ve been experiencing. If so, then it may be time to give yourself some tender, love, and care (TLC) and take an ACTIVE break. What does an active break mean? Do not stop all activities that you’re doing, but instead try yoga, swimming, meditation or other activities that will get your heart rate up but allow your body to get some relative rest from your higher intensity sport.
2. Awakening Unrefreshed after a night of sleep -
Are you sleeping an adequate amount of hours, but still waking up feeling groggy and depleted? Well, this may be your body communicating to you that it needs some more rest and recovery. When we exercise, our bodies use glycogen in our muscles and sugar in the blood to help fuel our workouts. After a workout, our muscles' energy systems can be depleted and the microtrauma that occurs to our muscle fibers require adequate rest and nutrition for proper recovery. Sleep is when our bodies can focus on restoring our muscle glycogen and help our muscles recover. If we do not give them enough time to recover then we may feel less refreshed because our energy levels and muscle recovery are not optimal!
3. Musculoskeletal pain -
After a good workout, some soreness for about 48 - 72 hours after the workout is to be expected most of the time thanks to delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)! However, if that soreness is always present your muscles may feel heavy and stiff, or maybe your joints are in pain because you have been going hard in the gym or on the field. If this describes you, it may warrant some recovery to give your body the rest it needs. Similar to what was mentioned above, our bodies need time to restore our glycogen levels and repair our muscle fibers following a workout. Increased amounts of time without proper rest can result in progressively worsening musculoskeletal pain in the joints and muscles. So be sure to listen to your body! This is also something that may require more than just rest. That is what we here at Trifecta specialize in and would love to help you get to the bottom of so you can return to doing the things you love!
4. Loss of motivation
Overtraining can result in burnout and feelings of staleness, and excessive exercise can result in the loss of motivation for doing something we once loved. “Burn out” can affect anyone, and this doesn’t mean you need to stop doing what you love. It may just mean that you should take a brief break, and maybe try a new sport or activity so your body can recover. Active recovery is the most important part of properly recovering. Keep doing as much as your body can tolerate but give something new like yoga or Tai Chi a try. The key to proper recovery and maximizing performance following recovery can be as simple as utilizing this concept of active rest. This helps ensure all the hard work you put in does not go to waste during your active rest from your sport. Change is good, don’t be afraid of it even if it is just temporary! Give your body the rest it needs to regain the love and motivation you once had for your body and sport.
5. Anorexia/weight loss
“To be a top-class athlete, you have to train hard, you have to eat right, you have to get enough rest”
It is normal to put stock in your body image, physique, and performance. However, in some situations of overtraining, the possibility of developing eating disorders, body image perception disorders, or other mental health disorders may further feed into overtraining. Take care of your body, get the sleep, nutrition, and rest you need to fuel optimal performance. In certain situations, professional counseling may be beneficial. It can be tough to seek help for some of these issues, but your desire to train and exercise should not negatively impact your quality of life, wellness, and social life. We are here for you!
If you have read this far, hopefully, you understand the importance of rest and recovery for ALL athletes of all skill levels. But how long should you rest for? Well, research on the subject is difficult to put into practical terms for athletes because many studies look at biochemical markers (creatine kinase, myoglobin, pro-inflammatory cytokines, cortisol) which is not something everyone can easily do. Not only do those biomarkers help determine level of recovery within the body but the pro-inflammatory cytokines can impair immune system function and puts you at higher risk of getting sick!
Generally speaking, the duration of rest should be guided by the athlete, coaches, and parents. It is important to monitor the athlete and watch for the 5 signs listed above. One must remember that the longer we have been training - despite decreases in performance - the longer they will likely need to rest and recover. If you would like to learn more about this topic, please reference the articles listed below.
By: Dr. John Vizzini
References
Bishop, P., Jones, E., & Woods, A. (2008). Recovery From Training: A Brief Review. Journal Of Strength And Conditioning Research, 22(3), 1015-1024. doi: 10.1519/jsc.0b013e31816eb518
Kreher, J. (2016). Diagnosis and prevention of overtraining syndrome: an opinion on education strategies. Open Access Journal Of Sports Medicine, Volume 7, 115-122. doi: 10.2147/oajsm.s91657
Vitale, K., Owens, R., Hopkins, S., & Malhotra, A. (2019). Sleep Hygiene for Optimizing Recovery in Athletes: Review and Recommendations. International Journal Of Sports Medicine, 40(08), 535-543. doi: 10.1055/a-0905-3103
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