Basic Principles of Training 

​

With your new goals in place, you will most likely be raring to get stuck into your training. However, it is important to understand the limitations of the body and how going too hard, too fast can be anything but good!🤦🏼‍♀️

​

The best way to get the most out of your training is by periodizing your training properly in order to avoid going into exhaustion following extensive training.

​

The diagram below demonstrates the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Theory (Sayers, 1956).

At first, your body will be in HOMEOSTASIS so essentially at a baseline level where

you will feel healthy and fresh✅

Once you undertake extensive and intense exercise (as you do with a new training

program), your body will go into the ALARM phase and drop into a level of fatigue.

To deal with this ALARM phase, the body will use an over-compensation mechanism.

This means that your body is trying to adapt to this new training stimulus you have

put it under.

 

Now, how you decide to treat your body in coping with this new intense stimulus

will determine how it responds.

✅ OPTION 1: You can provide a resistance to the stimulus by giving your body

the rest and recovery you need which will then allow it to come back to Homeostasis

at a new improved level of fitness (green line)

❌ OPTION 2: You can ignore the warning signs and continue pushing through only to send your body into a state of EXHAUSTION (red line)!

​

Obviously Option 1 is the optimal decision right?!💁🏼‍♀️

​

But how do you know the warning signs and symptoms to look out for?

​

Overtraining Syndrome (otherwise known as OTS) is defined as "The inability of the body to recover from too intensive exercise". Kreher & Schwartz (2012) state that it "may be caused by systemic inflammation and subsequent effects on the central nervous system, including depressed mood, central fatigue, and resultant neurohormonal changes".

So lets delve into this a little deeper...how do you recognise that your body is suffering from OTS?

​

Symptoms 

Often, there will be a number of symptoms that occur when you are training. Some of these include:

🚫 Feeling tired, lethargic, flat or stale
🚫 Having an elevated resting heart rate
🚫 Having no motivation
🚫 The body will be unable to recover
🚫 Generally, these feelings will occur over a series of sessions as opposed to just during one session.

Symptoms that may occur when you are not training include:

⚠️ An elevated heart rate
The body feeling achy and sore
⚠️ A higher susceptibility to injuries such as tendonitis
⚠️ A loss of appetite
⚠️ Headaches
⚠️ Frequent illnesses

Additionally, there are a number of mental and emotional symptoms you need to look out for including:

❗️ Insomnia
❗️ Anger and irritability
❗️ Depression and moodiness
❗️ Low motivation
❗️ Feeling like "you couldn't care less about training"

So how do you treat OTS?👊🏻

Generally, you will need to rest and adapt the attitude of "Less is more!". Remember, it is better to be slightly undertrained than overtrained!

It is best to consult with an Accredited Coach to structure your training program appropriately to avoid OTS.

🚧Important Note: Occasionally, the symptoms and signs of OTS can be similar to that of anaemia and viruses. Thus, if unsure or if symptoms persist, please consult with a doctor🚧