ABCs OF MENTAL TRAINING
O is for Overtraining
By Dr. Aimee Kimball//Sport Psychologist
Physical exhaustion, sore muscles, mental fatigue, moodiness – what swimmer hasn’t experienced this before? While most swimmers are accustomed to wearing themselves out, too much exertion with not enough rest can lead to what’s often referred to as “overtraining.” This is a very common problem with swimmers and the physical and mental aspects need to be understood in order to prevent overtraining and ultimately to avoid burning out from your sport.
What is overtraining?
Basically, overtraining occurs when athletes train to their maximum without getting the physical and mental rest their body and mind need to recover. While athletes should be training to their utmost capacity, the importance of appropriate rest cannot be stressed enough. Overtraining is often more about the amount rest/recovery than about the training itself. If you’re going full speed ahead for weeks (or in some cases just days) and you don’t train at lower levels, eventually you are going to run out of energy. Overtraining can technically be both positive (when athletes are able to adapt and increase their training threshold) and negative. For the purposes of this article, I am going to focus more on the negative aspects.
How do I know if I’m overtraining?
There’s a fine line between working hard and pushing it too much. The symptoms of overtraining are similar to what you would experience after a long, exhausting practice. However, overtraining tends to occur after a period of time where you consistently have symptoms such as physical exhaustion, moodiness, apathy and trouble sleeping. If you start experiencing excessive weight loss, a higher than normal resting heart rate, consistent illness or injury, or chronically sore muscles, you may be experiencing what is called “overtraining syndrome.” If you hit this phase, it’s likely time to take a day off or have a very light training day because your body is telling you it’s time to slow down or it’s going to have to shut off. If you continue at the current training level and don’t give yourself adequate rest, you’re susceptible to burnout. Athletes who hit the burnout phase usually have to take more time off from their sport because they end up lacking motivation and just don’t want to be near a pool for awhile.
How is overtraining related to tapering?
Before big meets, many coaches will push their swimmers to their limits with the intention of giving them significant rest before the competition. In this case, “overloading” the athletes is intentional and is often a planned part of training so they can peak at the right time. Coaches who use periodization strategies often consider a variety of physiological factors to ensure their athletes are maxing out but also able to recover.
How is overtraining related to mental training?
Just like every athlete has a different capacity to endure physical challenges, individuals’ mentality can also impact their likelihood of experiencing overtraining or burnout. Your ability to cope with stress and to handle the pressure you place on yourself (or that others place on you) can affect how you interpret the difficult training you are going through. Constantly focusing on how hard training is, doubting the training is going to make a difference, worrying about what the coach will have you do in practice, and even experiencing stress unrelated to swimming can all increase the likelihood that you will burnout.
Mental Tips for Hard Training
- Have a positive attitude and take time to manage your sport and life stress.
- Ask the coaches for their rationale behind the training. This will allow you to be more confident in their plan and help you to trust that the fatigue will be worth it.
- If you have some life stressors going on outside of swimming, talk to your coaches. Individual stress is something they need to consider to make sure they are training you hard but not overtraining you.
- Do some relaxation exercises before practice. You’ll find that by starting out in a more relaxed state you’ll be able to endure higher levels of training.
- Set goals for training. It’s easy to focus on pain and just surviving tough practices, but if you focus more on what you’re working to accomplish you’ll find the training much less exhausting.
Make it Great!
Dr. Aimee
ABOUT AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PhD
Dr. Aimee C. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine. She received a PhD from the University of Tennessee where she specialized in sport psychology.
She is an Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network, and the NCAA Speakers Bureau.
As a Mental Training Consultant, Dr. Kimball has worked with professional, collegiate, high school, recreational, and youth athletes in a variety of sports, and assists the Pittsburgh Steelers in analyzing potential draft picks.
She has been a featured speaker at conferences across the nation and has appeared in Men’s Health Magazine, Runner’s World, Athletic Management Magazine, various local and national newspapers, and has appeared on ESPN, NPR, and news broadcasts across the country.
She is a Clinical Faculty member in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Orthopaedics and an adjunct faulty member in the Sports Marketing Department at Duquesne University. Currently, Dr. Kimball works with athletes and other performers to assist them in achieving success in sport and life. For more information contact: 412-432-3777; kimballac@upmc.edu