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Over training occurs when an athlete does high intensity training in high volumes without including adequate rest between these sessions. This affects an athletes recovery and will prevent physiological adaptations. Over training leads to poor performance,fatigue, tiredness, lethargy, a lack of motivation and ultimately injury. Planning to avoid over training improves performance because the athlete is able to recover and avoid injury.

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https://youtu.be/xnQwBar60zs
This informative video outlines and warns of over training for athletes who want to improve performance.

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How do you identity an over trained athlete?

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How do you identity an over trained athlete?

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http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbme/v12n5/en_13.pdf
This article is thorough but effectively explains how to identify an overtrained athlete. Under "Over Training Monitering" the author explains how to identify these athletes which is followed by research and statistics

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What do you do if you identify an over trained athlete?

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What do you do if you identify an over trained athlete?

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https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/all-about-overtraining/
This article written by a top fitness, triathlon, nutrition and metabolism expert states actions for when it has been identified that an athlete is over trained.

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http://www.improvingpdhpe.com/hsc-notes/planning-to-avoid-overtraining-2/

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An educational Kahoot which can be useful for studying before the exam

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Defining a line between training hard and Overtraining

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Defining a line between training hard and Overtraining

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It is important to be able distinguish the difference between training hard and overtraining for a response in the HSC.

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Written by John Davis

Overtraining can be a real season-killer. When you push too hard in training and don't recover enough, your workouts will begin to feel lackluster and you'll be sapped of energy, even in your daily life.

This week we'll be looking at the causes and effects of over-training syndrome in runners from a scientific perspective.

There's no magic cure for it, but understanding some of the problem's biological roots will help us understand how to prevent it or mitigate its effects.

The research on overtraining syndrome

First, we'll look at a pair of papers that present the research on induced overtraining syndrome in endurance athletes.

The first, conducted by Laurent Bosquet and co-workers at the University of Montreal, subjected 10 athletes to a 100 percent increase in training (e.g. doubling their normal volume) over a period of four weeks. The researchers physiologically tested them before the month-long block of sharply increased training, immediately after, and again following a two-week recovery period. Seven of the ten athletes developed what the authors deemed "over-training syndrome"- a cluster of illness, injuries, decreased performance, and a feeling of general fatigue both in training and in daily life. While the other three displayed fewer symptoms, they too failed to improve their fitness.

Lab tests showed a significant drop in the athletes' abilities to produce lactate - a good measure of their anaerobic fitness. More troubling was the failed lactate production increase after the two-week recovery period, which demonstrates that the effects of overtraining can be long-lasting.

The second study involved a group of eight experienced runners who, like the Bosquet, et al. study, undertook a massive increase in training. Over a few weeks, they augmented their training volume by about 50 miles to more than 100 miles in only six days of running, with one off day.

Much like the first study, six of the eight subjects developed overtraining, while the fitness of the other two stagnated. Both qualitative measurements like fatigue and muscle soreness, and quantitative measurements like maximum heart rate and lactate production, decreased significantly during the study. Perhaps most importantly, the ability of the over-trained subjects to sustain a fast pace deteriorated.

The biological genesis

The biological roots of overtraining symptoms are well-summarized in a review article by Laurel Mackinnon at the University of Queensland in Australia.

She catalogues the symptoms of overtraining, which include fatigue, poor sleep quality, a lower maximum heart rate during exercise, muscular soreness, a lack of motivation or "energy" and irritability. The root cause seems to be linked to the body's response to a massive increase in training volume; one theory is that damage to the musculoskeletal system from the physical and chemical strains of high volume, high intensity training release a cascade of inflammatory and damaging proteins into the body which provokes a system-wide response, explaining the wide range of effects of overtraining syndrome.

This, however, is unproven as of yet, and as Mackinnon points out, it's unlikely that something as varied and individual as over-training is caused by a sole biochemical process.

Contributing factors to over-training identified in the scientific literature include:

Sudden increases in training volume or intensity (no surprise given the results of the first two studies we looked at)

Repeating the same training day in and day out

Self-reported high stress levels (related to training or not)

Life factors

This last factor should be a reminder that training is heavily influenced by the rest of your life: While a college athlete with no morning classes might be able to handle 80 or 100 miles a week, that schedule could be far too grueling for someone who works in a physically intensive field, like construction.

An inadequate dietary intake also reportedly intensifies its effects, presumably because if the body does not have the raw materials it needs to repair itself.

Whatever the reason, to prevent developing an advanced case of over-training syndrome, Laurel Mackinnon recommends identifying it early while symptoms are still mild (or even while it is the syndrome's precursor, "over-reaching") and reducing its causes.

In summary

Avoiding large increases in training volume or vigor is something of a no-brainer for most runners, so the key to preventing over-training syndrome probably lies in managing what you're doing the other 22 - 23 hours of the day.

Your recovery plays a big role in how much training you are able to handle, and if you are not getting enough sleep or if you are dealing with a lot of life stress, you'll likely be more susceptible to over-training.

The easy solution is sleeping more and de-stressing, but sometimes that's just not realistic. The harder thing to do is to recognize that if you do start to feel the effects of over-training, you will need to back off significantly and divert the attention to the recovery.

While the scientific literature details no specific over-training recovery approaches, Bosquet, et al. showed us that it can take at least a few weeks, so be patient and remember to support your body while it rehabilitates.

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Defining the Line Between Training Hard and Over-Training Syndrome and Avoiding Injury

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Written by John Davis Overtraining can be a real season-killer. When you push too hard in training and don't recover enough, your workouts will begin to feel lackluster and you'll be sapped of energy, even in your daily life. This week we'll be looking at the causes and effects of over-training syndrome in runners from a scientific perspective.

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When planning to avoid overtraining and ultimately improving performance is is important to be educated by reliable sources. This Youtube video for example give three reasons to why we SHOULD take rest days out of a training regime. By following this advice an athlete may well be headed towards becoming overtrained.

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This article written by the US National Library of Medicine gives in-depth knowledge of this condition and the health risks for an overtrained athlete.

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Abstract

The overtraining syndrome affects mainly endurance athletes. It is a condition of chronic fatigue, underperformance, and an increased vulnerability to infection leading to recurrent infections. It is not yet known exactly how the stress of hard training and competition leads to the observed spectrum of symptoms. Psychological, endocrinogical, physiological, and immunological factors all play a role in the failure to recover from exercise. Careful monitoring of athletes and their response to training may help to prevent the overtraining syndrome. With a very careful exercise regimen and regeneration strategies, symptoms normally resolve in 6-12 weeks but may continue much longer or recur if athletes return to hard training too soon.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (72K).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

Koutedakis Y, Budgett R, Faulmann L. Rest in underperforming elite competitors. Br J Sports Med. 1990 Dec;24(4):248-252. [PMC free article]

Morgan WP, Brown DR, Raglin JS, O'Connor PJ, Ellickson KA. Psychological monitoring of overtraining and staleness. Br J Sports Med. 1987 Sep;21(3):107-114. [PMC free article]

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Fatigue and underperformance in athletes: the overtraining syndrome

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The overtraining syndrome affects mainly endurance athletes. It is a condition of chronic fatigue, underperformance, and an increased vulnerability to infection leading to recurrent infections. It is not yet known exactly how the stress of hard training and competition leads to the observed spectrum of symptoms. Psychological, endocrinogical, physiological, and immunological factors all play a role in the failure to recover from exercise.

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EXPLAIN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PLANNING AND AVOIDANCE OF OVER TRAINING

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Question 32 a (8 marks - 2012 HSC PDHPE Exam) Explain the relationship between planning and avoidance of overtraining.

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This article by the Men's Journal effectively outlines 12 signs that you may be over training. An athlete should constantly be on the lookout for these signs and symptoms in order to prevent injury and improve performance.

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You take your workouts seriously. But have you ever found yourself placing unreasonable demands on your body to the point of overtraining?

Rest assured: If you're logging five hours of hardcore gym time every week, you probably aren't at risk of overtraining. But if you're going longer than that, and training is becoming a borderline addiction even to the point of possible harm-it's probably time to reassess your goals.

Sound familiar? It's probably not a bad idea to double-check with a knowledgeable and experienced personal trainer who can quickly help you get your training back on track. Regardless, it's crucial that you listen to your body and know the signs of overtraining. Here's a list of 12 common symptoms you should constantly look out for.

12. Altered resting heart rate

Have you noticed those heart rate monitors some guys wear at the gym? Believe it or not, they can help determine if you're overtraining. "Altered resting heart rate is the result of an increased metabolic rate to meet the imposed demand of training," explains strength coach Dan Trink, C.S.C.S. But even if you don't have one of those gadgets, you can simply monitor your morning heart rate the old-fashioned way by measuring before you stand up to get out of bed and begin your day, Trink says. If your resting heart rate is unusually high or low, you should probably talk to a doctor.

11. Insatiable thirst

Often have an unquenchable thirst? Are you starting to believe no matter what you drink, you'll still crave more? If this happens to be coinciding with a period of increased gym time, there's an excellent chance you're overtraining. Here's why: Your body might be in a catabolic state, meaning it's starting to consume its own muscle for protein. "Being in a catabolic state naturally causes dehydration," says personal trainer and nutrition expert Jay Cardiello, C.S.C.S. The solution is simple: Drink plenty of water and get lots of sleep.

10. Extended muscle soreness

It's normal to have sore muscles for a day or two after a workout. But if you're still sore past the 72-hour mark, be sure to schedule a break and rest. This type of extended soreness is a sign your muscles aren't recovering, which negatively impacts on your muscle-building efforts. "You should be able to get in a gym session-in and out-in 45 to 75 minutes max," says Muscle Model champion and transformation trainer Micah LaCerte.

9. Insomnia

Can't sleep even though you're wiping yourself out at the gym? "It's most likely a result of a combination of nervous system and or hormonal system overload," says Mike Duffy, a personal trainer and holistic nutrition consultant. He suggests "to focus more on getting your 10p.m. to 2a.m. sleep" because "this is the part of your sleeping pattern where physical restoration occurs." He stresses, "your body grows while resting, not training," and advises people who might be overtraining to "eat a lot of clean food and take a week off training all together."

8. Depression

Exercise is typically good for your mental health-but if you're overtraining, it could have the opposite effect. "People who overtrain tend to view exercise as something it's not-namely, a challenge, a conquest, or a space-filler," says Lee Boyce, personal trainer and strength coach. That's not all; you might also suffer from "body image issues" and believe "the more you train, the better you'll look." To avoid overtraining, he says, "it's important to know the real motives behind training." Set realistic short and long-term goals, create a plan, and stick to it.

7. Personality changes

Has your gym partner been noticeably absent lately? While Trink says overtraining is actually a "pretty rare" occurrence for most guys who train three to five hours per week, he says it's possible for there to be an "intensification of personality traits" for guys prone to being "aggressive, irritable, or depressed." However, he cautions that these changes aren't always the result of overtraining, as there are "other factors that can overly stress the nervous system." Listen to your body and react accordingly.

6. Frequent sickness

Feeling ill isn't part of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, sometimes it's your body's way of telling you your immune system is suffering from overtraining. The process of overtraining means your body is in a "continual catabolic state," which lowers immunity and increases "chances of becoming ill," Cardiello explains. If you're overtraining, Cardiello advises you get rest, and reduce training. He also suggests "adjusting diet, nutritional and supplement intake, and possibly implementing vitamins A and E, as well as glutamine." And, if you're an athlete, Cardiello indicates "55-60% of the athletic diet" should come in the form of carbohydrates.

5. Loss of concentration

Focus is critical. ("When you go into the gym you have a job to do," LaCerte says.) Unfortunately, he says sometimes people "bring other stressors into the gym, or it [becomes] social hour" and your gym time expands considerably because "you're doing a set over here, [then] you're talking for 12 minutes, then you're going back and doing another set." LaCerte indicates that's counterproductive because "it's not how the body works when we're trying to build muscle and lose fat," and it "can definitely lead to overtraining or ineffective training altogether."

4. Increased injury

Getting injured more often? In particular, are you re-aggravating old injuries? If so, you may be overtraining. Why? Duffy, explains, when you overtrain, your body doesn't get enough time to recuperate between workouts meaning that at some point you begin "training in a weakened state." He adds if you do this too often, you likely increase your chance of injuries. To prevent yourself from overtraining, he suggests introducing "forced rest periods into your routine," as well as "changing training intensities or enjoying active recuperation" sports-something low-intensity and completely different from weights and cardio.

3. Decreased motivation

It's not unusual to occasionally want to skip a workout. But, if you generally live, breathe, and sleep the gym life, then suddenly become disinterested, you're probably overexerting yourself. Instead of going to the gym and possibly risking injury by going through the motions and improperly performing an exercise, Trink recommends "taking a full week off, then reducing training volume when you do return." He also recommends getting "quality sleep (7-9 hours per night as a generalization), proper nutrition-particularly in the pre- to post-workout window-smart supplementation, and planned deloads."

2. Lowered self-esteem

For many guys, it's natural to experience a sense of accomplishment following an intense workout. But when you get obsessed with training Cardiello explains, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that "more is better." That has two dangerous effects: Overtraining and lowered self-esteem. Cardiello explains this feeling is related to the body's nervous system, since overtraining "affects an athlete's level of 'happiness' to train, depression, insomnia, and irritability." He also cautions overtraining can be heightened by such things as "lack of proper nutrition (hydration), proper sleep, and personal/work stressors."

1. Halted progress

Has your body stopped changing in spite of your best efforts? If so, you may be overtraining. "When you're overtraining, your body is going in the opposite direction of growth, because your muscles are torn and all you're doing is re-tearing them again," LaCerte points out. Don't risk possibly entering into a muscle-burning phase. Remember: Muscles need a chance to repair, and that's only possible when your body is given the proper time to rest and recover before being forced into more exercise.

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You take your workouts seriously. But have you ever found yourself placing unreasonable demands on your body to the point of overtraining? Rest assured: If you're logging five hours of hardcore gym time every week, you probably aren't at risk of overtraining.

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A helpfu breakdown of the syllabus dot points