Strength Training While Overtrained?
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Hello Scott/Evoke Coaches,
I am reaching out for help with recovering from overtraining, specifically can I strength train while in an overtrained state or will this just delay the inevitable and push out my overtrained status longer? (I am certainly type A and its drives me crazy to sit around, especially now that its rock climbing season)
To add some context, I have recognized that I am deep into an overtrained state. I noticed a decrease in performance around 3 months before my 50 mile ultra, but ignored the red flags until it was too late. I basically stopped all training 6 weeks leading up to the event. I still ran the ultra; however, my time was much slower, and my heart rate much higher than I was hoping for.
I am mainly looking to recover now and recognize that my body is really struggling with any forms of cardio. I am curious if I will be okay to complete any forms of strength training or gym bouldering, or if I should stop any and all forms of physical activity until I can dig myself out of the overstrained status?
My last goal for this season is to climb Mont Blanc in roughly 3 months from now. I am wondering if it’s possible I can recover and regain fitness before this trip. Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated!
Good question. If you are truly overtrained (and I say this because it is worth a medical check up to evaluate for other causes) then I would not recommend significant strength training until you have rebuild your aerobic base. Whilst most of the published work on Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) has been done in the endurance realm, there is some evidence that pure strength based athletes, such as power lifters, can become overtrained, though it does seem to be much less common. Heavy lifting adds significant load and stress to the system, so it definitely makes sense to limit this as you recover, at least until you “rebuild the aerobic house”. I think the best approach for you and your goals, if you are feeling better after a period of rest, is to get back to some easy aerobic paced activity, probably just short flat walks initially, and build from there. Use nasal breathing to guide intensity, or perform a walking Aerobic Threshold test on the flat to get some idea of your target HR. Unfortunately it takes time to rebuild this base, but with patience you will get there. I think that some mobility and light core work is quite acceptable however, as the overall global load for this type of activity is low.
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