Yes, there is such a thing as completing too much training. An athlete performs these intense workouts, believing they will become better in their sport, but it will normally resort to poor performance from complications of the body, then the mind. Even though the athlete thinks they are enhancing their performance from consistently completing intense training, they are ultimately harming themselves from constant strain on the body from the heavy workload. The body needs to take a rest after placing a bunch of stress from competitive play. So what is exactly overtraining?
Overtraining is an increase of volume and intensity that is completed during a workout or practice. The body is not used to this high intense training and it could take a long amount of time for the body to finally get used to the new workouts. From the workouts being too intense for the body, it is challenging to recover the body and the mind. Once the body and mind have become exhausted, the athlete will start to feel mentally and physically fatigued, resulting in poor performance. When the athlete feels fatigue, they will feel “run down”, lack motivation, and lose concentration during practice or competition.
If an athlete consistently overtrains, they will start to feel “burnt out”. Once the athlete starts to feel burnt out, it will cause the athlete to have lack of motivation, and most likely feel like they want to stop playing their sport.
Ways to tell if you are starting to burnout:
Overtraining is an increase of volume and intensity that is completed during a workout or practice. The body is not used to this high intense training and it could take a long amount of time for the body to finally get used to the new workouts. From the workouts being too intense for the body, it is challenging to recover the body and the mind. Once the body and mind have become exhausted, the athlete will start to feel mentally and physically fatigued, resulting in poor performance. When the athlete feels fatigue, they will feel “run down”, lack motivation, and lose concentration during practice or competition.
If an athlete consistently overtrains, they will start to feel “burnt out”. Once the athlete starts to feel burnt out, it will cause the athlete to have lack of motivation, and most likely feel like they want to stop playing their sport.
Ways to tell if you are starting to burnout:
- Unmotivated
- Lack of concentration
- Emotional
- Can’t sleep
- Restless
- Irritable
- Cannot recover
- Become injured
- Becomes sick easily
Remember, you have to take care of your body and mind so you can perform the way you want too. It is amazing how taking rest days and sleeping 8 hours a day can change performs. Do yourself a favor and don’t overtrain!
Written by:
Sarah Grippi
Basketball Mindset