TRAINING, DE-TRAINING, OVER-TRAINING, AND OVER-REACHING...
Training; De-training; Over-training; and Over-reaching. Which one are you part of ???
Let's begin with the understanding that training is a process, that includes multiple sets of stimuli organized in a certain order. A highly professional trainer is an expert in identifying which sets of stimuli are required, and what is the perfect order of stimulation, to achieve a person's specific goals.
A highly professional training process should result in positive adaptations to health and performance (function). As part of the training process, the body of specific parts of the body are challenged (stressed) causing the cells to invest energy, and reduce the body's overall energy level. The first result of a workout is the reduction in tissue energetic levels, and the need to recover, and perhaps heal from micro-traumas.
Advertisement
At the end of proper recovery, the cells and tissues of the body are back to the functional level, that they had prior to the last workout. The end of the recovery phase, the cells and tissues are now ready to induce positive adaptations to function, and improve their overall functional capacities. These positive adaptations are also known as "gains".
De-training can be a natural response to the lack of sufficient stimuli, or a sign for a much worse reality, where the person is experiencing over-training. In both cases, de-training is the process in which the person reduces the extent of their positive adaptations to the training process (reduction of their gains). Another third option is that de-training is a very short phase immediately post-exercise or a workout, where the cells and tissues are low on energy, just prior to the creation of the positive adaptations (gains).
Gains are not forever; Just as the continuous stimulation of cells and tissues can lead to positive adaptations gained, the lack of stimulation of sufficient stimulation can cause de-training. In between there is an option of stimulating the cells and tissues just enough to sustain the level of fitness and adaptations achieved. De-training results in the reversal of the cells and tissues training level. The longer the de-training process continues, the more of the training process' gains disappear. De-training is how a trained person goes back to being considered untrained.
Every person will experience de-training no matter how they were exercising and training, if they stop stimulating the body properly or at all. If represented in percentage of gains, a person that is well-trained experienced greater de-training compared to a person less trained. With that said, a person that is well trained begins from a higher level of gains, thus has "more to lose" until they become untrained. This is according to the principle of reversibility of training.
Over-reaching is a natural process where people workout more than they should, believing that "more is better". For example, a person is supposed to complete 10 repetitions with 30 pound weights according to plan, and they complete 10 repetitions with 40 pound weights because they feel they can. The problem is that in some cases, this difference considered "insignificant" by the person, could be enough to cause D.O.M.S. or worse.
On the other hand, if over-reaching occurs sporadically and no more, it is a positive sign of motivation on behalf of the person. It's about keeping it to a minimal and healthy extent. Yet. if not in check, chronic over-reaching can lead to chronic de-training and in radical cases, turn into over-training.
Over-training is a professional term that indicates that a fundamental principle of training has been disrespected. Over-training is a result, not a method, and not a goal to aspire toward, often, it is diagnosed while damage has already been done (hopefully the least possible). Over-training quickly becomes de-training accompanied with multiple injury signs and other clinical conditions as well. It is generally characterized by a high or increasing workload with no progression or with regression of physical abilities.
Often, while not realizing that over-training has set, people do exactly what is to be avoided – they increase the workload of their workouts. This common mistake that worsens the over-training, originates from the belief that the lack of results is due to insufficient stimulus. Thus, instead of inducing recovery and healing, over-training is prolonged and probably worsened.
Common symptoms of over-training usually include (yet not limited to):
Chronic fatigue
Loss of strength
Loss of fitness (de-training)
Muscle injury
Psychological burnout/over-stress
Persistent muscle soreness
Persistent high resting HR
Greater risk of infections
Irritability
Depression
Over-training is often confused with over-reaching; While over-training is caused in part to the lack of recovery, over-reaching does not include the lack of recovery. An additional difference between the two is that over-training is a prolonged process, while over-reaching is most-likely temporary and short termed. In general, it is believed that over-training is the result of the following (not limited to):
A negative balance between the creation of muscle micro-trauma and healing
Protein deficiency - which means that proteins are consumed faster than they are supplied via their diet
Systemic inflammations
Over-training: is a clinical diagnosis that often includes multiple types of injury. Over-training: does not allow for recovery, negative adaptations occur probably leading to injuries of diverse types. While physically, anatomically, and physiologically, the reasons and mechanisms of over-training are the same, other factors may influence over-training in athletes. These may include (yet not limited to):
Being paid to show results/wins
Not letting the team/coach down
Feeling worthless/helpless/hopeless
Improper/lack of a positive support system
Improper/lack of copping tools/mechanisms
Lack of knowledge
Lack of proper and effective regulation
Advertisement
Prevention and treatment are almost the same; Prevention includes adhering to the proper principles of healthy training, while treatment includes incorporating the proper training principles to create recovery and healing. The treatment process of over-training should be a proactive process. Actions include for both prevention and healing:
Adequate rest
Incorporating active recovery
Gradual progression of workload
Close monitoring of diet, stress, and physiological measurements
Personal connection - knowing the person and their normal vs abnormal behaviors
Comments