In this episode, Andrea, Eric, and Brad sit down for an in-depth discussion on overtraining and overreaching. The coaches’ conversation is packed with valuable insights and information relevant to all strength and physique athletes, competitors and noncompetitors alike.
What is the clinical definition of overtraining syndrome? What is the likelihood that a strength or physique athlete will meet this clinical definition? What is the difference between functional and nonfunctional overreaching? What verbiage can indicate that an athlete’s training is too intense?
Along with thoroughly answering the above questions, the coaches give practical advice on functional overreaching. This includes: when it can be beneficial to experiment with functional overreaching, when you should not experiment with it, how long you should overreach for if you choose to do so, and strategies for temporarily lowering volume.
Timestamps
1:42- Overtraining Syndrome vs. Functional and Nonfunctional Overreaching
10:51- Real-world examples of multifactorial acute injuries
27:24- Reasons for decreasing volume, scenarios which indicate increasing volume, and realistic time frames for progress
40:31- Functional Overreaching: When and Why
59:34- Verbiage indicating that an athlete’s training may be too intense
1:19:53- Takeaways
Selected Links From This Episode
Is Overtraining a Myth? (Eric Helms)- https://3dmusclejourney.com/overtraining-myth/
3DMJ Podcast #93: How Much Volume?- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpV0lc1i51c
Part 1: Identification of Lagging Body Parts (Andrea Valdez)- https://3dmusclejourney.com/lagging-body-parts-1/
Muscle Group Specialization Cycles: Why and How – Part 1 (Eric Helms)- https://3dmusclejourney.com/muscle-group-speicalization-cycles-part-1/
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As I was watching this episode I really wanted to respond to the concept of overtraining! I’m a pole dancing student and weightlifter and I can attest to the concept of functional overtraining specific to the field of acrobatic/gymnastics workouts. In pole dancing a very common thing to see is a student who can barely manage one or two classes a week despite being of a significantly high skill level, usually due to low stamina. Whereas other students of lower or similar skill levels can do 4 or 5 classes a week without fatigue, and thus can progress faster or even surpass students who physically seem unable to handle more than one class at a time. I’ve noticed that if anyone slowly increases class load to the point of overtraining, ie some classes they seem to barely be able to do anything except spins or lower level skills compared to their usual skill level, within 1 or 2 weeks they are usually burnt out. However, over the span of a few months they can, usually through what is essentially an informal overtraining period with a taper, increase their ability to functionally attend more classes. So you can see someone who has pole danced for 5 years burn out after only one or two classes eventually end up training every single day with very little fatigue! I think this is a prime example of overtraining! *It is important to note that the increased ability to attend class usually isn’t directly correlated to an increase in strength, but rather they can maintain their usual strength level despite fatigue. Since they can train more volume, they then progress faster and grow stronger in a far shorter time span.
what an awesome example! You’re so right, the skill level does not always determine the amount of practice one can handle. Glad to hear your experience is similar with a different type of training as well. Thanks so much for providing all of that detail for us!