Preventing burnout after 19 years of long distance triathlon racing

The pictures above represent my 19-year evolution in the sport of triathlon. On the left, I am doing something that I've never done before. My first Ironman in Panama City Beach, Florida at the age of 23. On the right, I am preparing to race my 24th full-distance triathlon on one of the most challenging Ironman courses in the world - Ironman Lanzarote (a Canary Island located off the coast of Northwest Africa).  At the age of 43, it's wild to think that on Sunday, I will be participating in my 25th full distance triathlon. I will be racing Ironman Chattanooga - which is one of my favorite race venues in the US.  Next year will mark 20-years since my first Ironman. Every year, for the last 19 years, I have participated in some type of triathlon event. Whereas there was once a time where my self-identity was triathlon, I can say that for the past ten years, triathlon is simply part of my lifestyle.  To keep my fire alive and to prevent burnout, here are a few tips on how I've been able to enjoy the sport of triathlon for almost two decades, while also experiencing continued success as I continue to age.  1. Training Balance I write my own training but follow a periodized approach to training (cycles of high, moderate, and low intensity) to prevent overtraining. I change up my workouts to avoid monotony and boredom.  I do several workouts on my own but I also love training with other people. I have a great group of cycling friends which means I rarely have to bike outside by myself.    I don't chase miles or hours each week. Every workout has a purpose.    I incorporate "fun" workouts into my training to change up the normal routine.  2. Prioritize Recovery I love to sleep and I try to get as much as I can (often 9 hours).  I prioritize active recovery days (ex. Monday), mobility work and occasional body work (ex. dry needling, massage).  I focus (but don't obsess) on my daily nutrition to support my training, especially during higher volume training cycles.  3. Mental Well-being I don't chase metrics or view workouts as good or bad.  I enjoy where I get to train. I do most of my training (bike/run) outside.  I don't associate my self-worth with my workouts.  4. Support System I surround myself with people who "get me" and support me (friends/family/Karel). 5. Life Balance I have several interests and hobbies outside of the sport of triathlon. I enjoy changing up my routine and having periods of non-structured training (aka exercising).  6. Listen to Warning Signs I always listen to my body. I prioritize health over performance.  I don't mind scaling back intensity/volume, taking rest, or adjusting my training if I am feeling off.  Burnout doesn’t just happen in sports—it can happen in work, school, relationships or daily life. Here are some strategies to minimize the risk of burnout in your daily life:  Manage Your Energy (Not Just Time) Focus on what truly matters, let go of non-critical tasks. Take micro-breaks. Get outside, stand up or stretch for 5–10 minutes every 90 minutes to 2 hours to give your mind and body a reset.  Protect Your Mental Health Surround yourself with people who give you energy, not take it away from you.  Limit constant stimulation and information overload (emails, news, social media). Set realistic expectations for yourself—avoid perfectionism. Recovery & Physical Care Prioritize restful sleep (at least 7–9 hours). Move your body every day. Exercising is not selfish. Eat well-balanced meals and stay hydrated. Avoid using alcohol and caffeine as a coping mechanism.  Connection & Support Share feelings with trusted friends and family. Don’t bottle up your emotions.  Ask for help from others.  Get involved in your community.  Joy & Balance Take part in weekly activities that are fun, creative, energizing or restorative (reading, art, nature, exercise, dancing, music). Protect your personal boundaries. Learn to say “no” without any guilt. Take breaks, go on vacations and give yourself mini “resets” throughout the month.  Watch for Warning Signs Burnout often shows up as: Constant fatigue Lack of motivation Loss of enthusiasm from activities that once brought your joy Feeling overwhelmed  Increased irritability and frustration  Detachment

Leaving sport due to burnout

 

As a long-distance triathlon coach, I realize that there will be a time when an athlete will no longer need my coaching services. When this time comes, my hope is that my athlete is not leaving the sport with resentment but instead, due to a new life chapter. It's also my hope that the athlete continues to swim, bike and run, even if it's not to be competitive or to participate in events. Far too often I hear of athletes leaving the sport of triathlon on bad terms. Instead of reflecting on all the great experiences, accomplishments and memories when moving on to the next chapter, the athlete sees triathlon as a waste of time/money/energy, the athlete sells all equipment/gear and family/friends are very bitter about how time/money/energy was spent over x-years/months on a "lifestyle" hobby. 

As a collegiate swimmer, I experienced a bit of burnout before my senior year.  I didn't hate the sport of swimming but mentally I needed a change. I picked up cross country running for one season and realized two things: how fun it was to run off road and how much I missed competitive swimming. I ended up finishing off undergrad with four years of collegiate swimming. All I needed was a short break to realize how much I loved swimming. Still today, I love to swim. I've been swimming for almost 30 years and have never gone more than 2 weeks without swimming. 

Every athlete has his/her own threshold when the rewards are not enough to maintain the effort. Burnout is a response to the demands and stressors of a sport without appropriate physical and mental rest and recovery. Burnout is not the same as overtraining although overtraining can play a role in burnout. Sure, sometimes your heart just isn't into it anymore or you need a change but far too often, athletes let things build up for far too long (too much of the same thing) and instead of making small changes, it all comes crashing down.  Unfortunately, many athletes experience signs of burnout like staleness, fatigue, reduced interest, and lack of focus, drive and motivation but an acquired resilient and mentally tough mindset can prevent the athlete from recognizing that there is a problem.  Instead of taking a step back and making small changes for better life/training balance, the athlete quits the sport all together. It's not uncommon for sport to harm an athlete's well-being. 

Endurance athletes are known to put too much on the daily plate and fail to value rest and recovery. Most endurance athletes do not get enough sleep to feel rested and do not prioritize nutrition to be well-fueled and nourished. with so much going on in life - family/work/social life/extracurriculars/travel - training for sport is usually added to an already busy lifestyle. There are also endurance athletes who become fully consumed by sport as a way to fulfill or reinvent identity as an athlete or to escape the stressors of life or to feel a sense of control and a training passion turns into a training obsession. And what once started as a fun new active lifestyle of growth, development and exploring your capabilities can easily spiral into burnout due to perfectionism, high expectations, rigid standards, inadequate rest and recovery, inadequate energy intake and overexertion. Regardless of the reason, many athletes begin a sport with good intentions but leave on bad terms.

To reduce the risk of sport burnout, here are a few tips: 

• Don't rush the process. Stay patient and always remember why you started the sport. 
• Focus on yourself and your own journey. Don't compare or try to keep up with the training of another athlete. 
• Focus on the process, not the outcome. 
• Have hobbies/activities/friends outside of sport. 
• Don't set high or unrealistic expectations.
• Avoid a perfectionist mindset. 
• Communicate with your coach. 
• Enjoy short breaks away from sport. 
• Take care of yourself physically - rest doesn't not mean you are lazy. 
• Take care of yourself mentally. 
• Stay passionate, not obsessed. 
• Don't feel pressure to look a certain way (ex. change your body image). 
  
• Address self-talk. 
• Find ways to feel satisfied and accomplished. 
• Involve others/socialize when you train. 
• Keep training fun. 
• Work with a sport psychologist.

It's normal to lose interest and motivation in your sport, to take an extended time off from training or to move on to a different sport. But more often than not, I find that triathletes will leave the sport due to burnout - too much accumulated too quickly.

Take care of yourself mentally and physically and remember, sport is fun.  If you find yourself obsessing over outcome goals, training with a perfectionist mindset or holding yourself to high personal standards, there's a good chance that you are increasing the chance for sport burnout. Sport should add value and meaning to your life without compromising your mental and physical health. 

Exercise burnout and how to overcome it

Although it's normal to experience motivational highs and lows throughout the year, the risk for burnout is always a concern. Typically, the symptoms occur gradually.... you can't seem to find the motivation to exercise, you've hit a fitness plateau and/or you notice a loss of enjoyment for the activities that were once enjoyable for you. You may also find that you are struggling with an injury, health issue or mental health change.

Burnout is not always predictable but life, work, an injury, health issue or a family stress can certainly increase the risk.

If you are struggling with motivation or struggling to find your "why", it's time to change your relationship with your training/exercise regime. Here are a few tips to help you return to a place of joy and excitement for exercising:

• Avoid just checking off your workouts and simply going through the motions. If you feel obligated to show up to a workout, but gain little enjoyment or satisfaction from the process of completing the workout, get back to your "why."
• If you feel physically and emotionally exhausted, find a different way to move your body. Exercise is a great way to improve your mood so don't scratch off exercise from your to-do list just because life is stressful. Give yourself permission to move blood, participating in an exercise that makes you feel good, for 20-30 minutes a day.
• Change up your routine if your daily grind is becoming monotonous. Go somewhere new, join a group or invite a friend to join you for a workout. Sometimes a mind/body recharge can serve as a great motivational boost.
• Join a group or go solo. Depending on your "normal" exercise routine, perhaps you need the fun factor of training with a group. Or if you are used to always training with others, you may just need some alone time.
• Do a nutrition/hydration check-in. If your energy or hydration intake is not meeting your needs, your body may be shutting down to prevent a health issue. Look to your daily diet and hydration practices to see if your body is in need of more food and water.
• Keep goals realistic and processed driven.
• Remove the pressure on yourself that you have to improve with each workout. Far too many burnout stories stem from pushing through fatigue. Added pressure to beat your previous workout session brings stress and anxiety.
• Get your Zzzzzzs. Sleep is an amazing recovery tool but when you fall short on sleep or try to function in life with restless sleep, it's easy to feel run down.
• No structure workouts are in order. Sometimes you need a break from showing up to a specific workout. Go for a run without a watch, ride your bike for fun (and stop at the local coffee shop) or do an open water swim and enjoy the freedom of not following a black line. Or, do nothing related to your sport without guilt.
• More is not better. Don't let your fitness routine control your life. If you have found yourself in a training rut, grinding away the miles and feeling an intense amount of guilt if you miss a workout or don't hit your expected watts or paces, it's time to rethink your drive. 

Exercise is a much-needed way to keep you in great health - physically and mentally. Take a step back as doing less can help you get more out of your body. 

Feeling burned out before a big race?

One of my favorite parts about nearing the end of an Ironman journey is reflecting on all of the past training sessions that occurred over the past year. Even more so, I like to think back to all of my previous Ironman events to remember why I love the 140.6 mile distance. I have 13 Ironman experiences to reflect on and each one came with highs and lows while getting myself to the start and finish line. There's something so special about the process of mentally and physically preparing for this extreme one-day event. While it may seem like an arduous task, I think of it like any other project in life that requires patience, trust, commitment, consistency and flexibility. I also feel strongly that the Ironman distance is an event to be taken very seriously for it takes a huge toll on the body and mind. While there's a big commitment to the training, I never feel like training takes over my life. If anything, I really enjoy the training for it provides me just enough of a release to explore nature, strech my limits and relieve some stress without feeling too exhausted for more important life responsibilities.

Nearing the end of Ironman training while approaching the Ironman taper, I find that many athletes feel a sense of relief that the Ironman journey is almost over with and they can't wait get their life back and return to a normal state of health and living. This is concerning to me for I feel that even with the monumental task of preparing for a 140.6 mile event, no athlete should feel that training is taking over their life. Sure, there are some times when training will take on more of a focus in life but I don't feel that an endurance triathlete should experience this type of burn out, especially so close to race day.

So why does this happen? Here are a few of my thoughts:

• Too much emphasis on miles/volume completed and not enough rest and proper nutrition to support this extreme style of training. 
• Internal and external pressure. 
• Perfectionism, a rigid training plan and unrealistically high expectations can contribute to loss of enjoyment for the sport. 
• Training monotony and not enough variation in the training structure of workouts. 
• Feeling stressed about a performance outcome (achieving a certain time, place or qualification standard). 
• Ignoring the body's signs and symptoms of being fatigue, overtrained, dehydrated, sleep deprived, underfueled and injured. 
• Low self-confidence due to inconsistent performances or not meeting self-imposed standards. 
• "More is better" belief and starting/completing a training session at any cost. 
• Losing your relationship with the sport and seeing training as a chore. 
• Spending too much energy on what other athletes are doing, never feeling like you are doing enough. 
• Poor stress management, self-care and coping skills for when life feels too busy or overwhelming. 
• Not enough (or any) support from family/significant other. 
• Your coach is treating you only like an athlete instead of like a human being and whole person. 
• Too much focus/emphasis on weaknesses instead of on strengths. 
• An extreme and rigid style of eating. 
• Obsession with body image.

While it's completely normal and expected that you are going to feel tired at times throughout your Ironman journey, complete mental and physical exhaustion just a few weeks (or months) out from your big event is not something to take lightly.  The pressure that most athletes put on themselves to succeed in all areas of life is tremendous. Remember, you do this sport because of what it gives you in return, with all the other moving parts in your life. If you are feeling burned out, take a step back and figure out how you can train for your event without it feeling like it's another stressor in your busy life.

If you need a break from your sport, take it without guilt, shame or worry. 

Avoid late-season training burnout

Since starting my 2017 back in November, my motivation for training is still high and I am itching to race my last race of the season, the IM 70.3 World Championship, in just 24 days! I'm actually getting a little sad that my 2017 season is coming to an end. Although I look forward to the fall, when I have the opportunity to exercise without structure and enjoy our amazing fall weather, I really do love training with a purpose and being in the race environment. But with a close to one season comes the start of another season and I can't wait to make my return back to Ironman distance racing after this 2-year intentional break from training for the 140.6 mile distance. Ironman Austria and Ironman Wisconsin will make Ironman #12 and #13 for me in 2018!

Although it's normal to experience motivational highs and lows throughout a season, there can be a great risk for burnout when you have been training hard for a long period of time, in preparation for an important event. Typically, the symptoms occur gradually as you can't seem to find the motivation that you once had to train and you notice a loss of enjoyment for training. Not to mention, you may also be struggling with injuries, health issues or a change in mood. You may even say to yourself "I can't wait to get this race over with".

The interesting thing about burnout is that it's not always predictable. Life, work and family stress can increase the risk for burnout. You can also feel burned out when you are injured, sick or feeling a plateau in fitness.

Although we all know that athletic success requires hard work and embracing "the grind" (there will be some workouts that brighten your day and others that suck the energy out of you) but if you don't love training, you won't experience the results that you are capable of achieving.

I've been lucky that I have never lost my enjoyment for the sport of triathlon and thankfully, for many years, my body has given me some incredible results without a health or injury-related setback. Since my first Ironman back in 2006, I still love the sport as much as I did when I was introduced to the swimbikerun, multisport lifestyle. But the joy and passion that I get from training and racing does not come from one of placement or time, but self-improvement. And over the years, I've always made the conscious effort to adjust my training so that I can safely integrate training into my life, without it compromising my health or well-being. Today, I've become smarter, wiser and more experienced as an endurance triathlete (and coach) and I've learned a few effective strategies that have helped me avoid late season burnout.

1. Avoid just checking off your workouts and simply going through the motions. If you feel obligated to train but gain little enjoyment or satisfaction from completing your workouts, you need a specific purpose or focus for why you are training, which will help you get more out of every training session.
   
2. If you feel physically and emotionally exhausted, training may not be to blame but it's likely the first thing that gets removed when life feels overwhelming. Exercise is a great way to improve your mood so don't scratch your workout just because life is stressful. Give yourself permission to move blood, participating in an exercise that makes you feel good, for 20-30 minutes. You will likely feel more calm and relaxed after the workout is finished.
   
3. Change up your routine if your daily grind is becoming monotonous. Go somewhere new and exciting to train, join a group or invite a training partner to join you or take a few days off from structure. Sometimes a mind/body recharge is exactly what you need.
   
4. Join a group or participate in a camp for motivation. There's nothing more inspiring that training with others, in a new environment, especially when they can keep you accountable to an effort and likely bring a bit more out of your body than what you can do alone.
   
5. Eat enough! If your caloric intake is not adequate and you are skimping on your sport nutrition, there's a good chance that you are sabotaging your health and performance as your body can't keep up with the workouts. Take some time away from training so that you can kick-start your appetite (or organize the diet) so that you can meet your energy needs.
   
6. Remind yourself of your goals. Sure, it may be a long season and you may be looking forward to a break but what got you excited to train for your upcoming race? Since you can't control the future, make sure your goals help you stay motivated with your training journey/process.
   
7. Remove the pressure on yourself that you have to get faster. Far too many burnout stories stem from an athlete pushing through fatigue, restricting the diet in order to make race weight, being extreme with the lifestyle or working out at any cost in order to boost performance or to feel more physically prepared for race day. Added pressure brings stress and anxiety but it also induces a constant state of stress for your body when you push beyond your physical capabilities.
   
8. Get your sleep! Sleep is an amazing recovery tool but when you fall short on sleep or try to function in life with restless sleep, it's easy to feel run down and to lose motivation when your body no longer works to your expectations. Try to get to bed earlier and allow yourself a few days to wake-up without an alarm so that your body can get the sleep it deserves.
   
9. No structure workouts are in order! Sometimes you need a break from structure. Go out and just go for a run without a watch, ride your bike for fun (and stop at the local coffee shop) or do an open water swim and enjoy the freedom of not following a black line. Or, do nothing related to your sport without guilt.
   
10. More is not better. Don't let your sport control your life. If you have found yourself in a training rut, grinding away the miles and feeling an intense amount of guilt if you miss a workout or don't hit your expected watts or paces, it's time to put things into perspective. Your sport is your hobby and training is a way to keep you in great health - physically and mentally. Take a step back and figure out a strategy of doing less so that you can get more out of your hobby. 

Your sport likely requires a lot of time and energy and when motivation is high, it's easy to be all-in. But when you feel like your sport is taking over your life, controlling how you live, the constant stress of your training demands may be giving you little time to physically and mentally rest and recover.

It is important to respect your body and keep your body and mind in great health. No matter what race is on your horizon, remember that training should be fun and it should make you a better person.

 If you are feeling overwhelmed, constantly fatigue and noticing a loss of enjoyment for your sport, it's time to change your relationship with your training regime/sport and adjust your perspective so that you can finish off your season with the same joy and excitement as when you started your season. 

Avoid overtraining and burnout

As a coach, I find that my hardest job is telling athletes to rest. Certainly, my athletes are not seeking an expert to tell them how to take a day off from training but instead, to give well-designed, challenging and well-placed workouts in a periodized, individualized training plan in order to take their fitness to the next level. 

When an athlete begins to adapt to training stress, the consistency in training can be very motivating. 

Athletes know that to improve fitness, there must be a consistent load placed on the body and often with intensity and at an uncomfortable volume. 

So in addition to rest and recovery days, I now have a great respect for rest in the off-season. 

And this doesn't mean a few weeks of swim,bike, run workouts without gadgets or group workouts "just for fun."

For the past 6-weeks I have done minimal exercising. Less than an hour a day and much of it was not related to swim, bike and run. 

Lucky for me, I had a partner in crime for our extreme, but needed, lazy routine
Karel joined me on this 6-week off-season break. 

After IMWI, I thought that 4-weeks was enough to properly recover from the race but also from competing (and racing) in 4 Ironman distance triathlons in the past 14 months. 

But then I started thinking that perhaps  I needed more time, like 6 or 8 weeks. 

Never have I taken more than 4 weeks off from structure before (but even if week 5 was still light it was still structured in some way) so I wasn't sure what I was expecting in this LOOONGG off season break.
(really, it wasn't all that long as we have been super busy with our coaching and nutrition business)

We will not be returning to hard-core training tomorrow but instead, following our very structured foundation plan (which will be available for purchase here in a few weeks). Our big race isn't for another year so certainly there is a lot more skill/strength/drill work to do now (as oppose to bricks and long runs and bike workouts) as we do not need to be building a base without the foundation in place.
And just like 2014, we do not plan on racing any running races in 2015 but instead, dedicating all of our training and focus to our key triathlon races. 

As for what is happening starting tomorrow.....

First will be two weeks of intro which we will transition from our non-athlete lifestyle to athletes again. That means more attention to our diet, sleep habits, stretching and anything else that can contribute to consistency with training. This new lifestyle will take some time for our bodies to get use to, even though our minds are really ready to return to structured training.
We are involving a few new experts to assist in our personal Kona 2015 journey this season so we are both super excited about what's to come. 

But first we must slowly re-introduce training stress as our bodies are a bit out of shape....

 but that was our entire plan. 

I remember when I started training for endurance sports. Everything was so fun and new and it seemed to come so naturally to my body. My body had only years of competitive swimming behind me so the introduction of bike and run training was very welcomed. 

I can honestly say that I have never experienced burnt out since becoming an endurance athlete and over the past 1.5 years I had no injuries that created any setbacks for me.
I love training and racing just the same now as I did when I started training/racing although now my priorities often change as I have a lot more to balance on my life-plate. 

So as a coach and athlete, I like to be proactive. And 6-weeks was the appropriate amount of time to ensure that mentally and physically, I would be setting myself up for a great 2015 season. Even though I felt very recovered about a week after IMWI (and certainly on a high knowing that Karel and I were going to both be racing in the 2015 IM World Championship), little did I know how run-down, mentally and physically exhausted and tired I was in the inside. 

And the only way I discovered that was giving my body more rest than it needed. 

Getting fitter, faster, stronger and more powerful is simply the result of a training stimulus. 

It's very easy to fail to consistently perform to our best ability, when we do not have a body that can adapt well to training stress.
And thus, the training may still be checked off the daily to-do list but sadly our risk for burnout, injury and sickness increases and we reduce the many opportunities to achieve peak fitness. 

Little does a competitive athlete recognize the continued fatigue that lingers around week after week, month after month and even year after year. Although athletes may perhaps feel as if they are fresh and healthy here or there throughout the season (better think twice if one or two days off a month is really "recovery"), it is extremely hard to know if your body/mind is truly recovered if you don't give it more rest than you think it needs. 

Not too much rest that you get sick and unhealthy but enough rest that you lose a little fitness to adapt quickly to training stress and you can train consistently with more intense motivation and excitement. 

As an endurance athlete, I see my body as a bank. I am constantly making withdrawals and investments with every workout. I always strive to make more investments than withdrawals so that I can cash out on race day. But, there is always the appropriate time to make a few withdrawals that are well-timed and needed. 

Ultimately, I don't want to be broke and wishing I would have saved my money come race day and many times, athletes are very unwise when it comes to banking workouts with their body. 

The problem with many endurance athletes is that there are way too many withdrawals that are seen as necessary, normal and needed. But the truth is that the body can only tolerate so much training stress until it can no longer adapt. 

And then comes an even bigger issue of burnout and overtraining. 

BURNOUT

Burnout is not as serious as overtraining but it is certainly not something that a competitive endurance athlete wants to experience. 

When an athlete gets burnout, he/she lacks the motivation to train. He/she sees little satisfaction in continuing training or even racing and the previous excitement and focus for training is gone. 

Athletes who are burnt out may find themselves depressed, anxious or fatigued and a burnout athlete feels as if there is little purpose to training, often saying "I don't care anymore."

The positive to  burnout is many times an athlete just needs a break from training. Many times, volume or intensity is too high and the athlete just needs to rest. Perhaps the athlete needs a change of distance, scenery or schedule...just something to switch up the "routine" that has become stale. 

OVERTRAINING
Here lies the bigger issue which can occur if a burnout athlete continues to push because "no pain is no gain".
Overtraining may be common among the following athletes:

-Athletes who balance a lot on their plate (families, work, life, etc.)
-Athletes who are new to the sport and tend to do a lot of fear-based training (ex. worried that he/she is not ready for the distance so there is a rapid increase in volume in a short amount of time)
-Athletes who are obsessive with eating and exercising, often too rigid with structure and lack of flexibility as life changes

-Endurance athletes - the best reason I can make is that endurance athletes have to train with a higher training load than short distance athletes and on top of this, they are balancing a lot in life, may struggle with body composition issues and may underfuel

-Athletes who never (or rarely) take time off, down time or beaks in the season
-Athletes who race too much
-Athletes who do not follow a well-designed, periodized training plan and do not have a team (sport dietitian, coach, sport psychologist, massage therapist) to provide expert advice

Overtraining is serious and I feel many times it is so overlooked by athletes and coaches because as I mentioned before, dedicated athletes know they need to consistently train and are not afraid to take risks and to push the limits for performance gains. 

So what is overtraining? 

Well, beyond a decreased or impaired performance, there is also extreme fatigue that affects the athlete in life and in training. Unlike burnout when an athlete may just lose motivation and enthusiasm for training for a short period of time, there are many physiological, psychological, nutritional and immunological issues that can occur. 

-A rapid change in HR and blood pressure

-A change in reproductive hormones (estrogen, progesterone or resulting in amenorrhea) or a change in testosterone (for men)

-Headaches/nausea
-Changes in cortisol, thyroid, pituitary hormones
-GI issues
-A decrease in strength/power/speed
-Inability to perform or meet personal standards for the time/effort that is committed to training

-Insomnia

-Decrease/change in appetite
-Unintentional weight loss/gain
-Prolonged recovery, abnormal muscle soreness, joint aches

-Mood changes - depression, anxiety, exacerbated stress

-Decrease in motivation

-Decrease in self esteem and compassion for others

-Suppressed immune system - more frequent sickness or more time to recover from sickness
-Increased injuries

-Loss of enthusiasm for the sport and little desire to continue

For the respect of your one and only body, the worst thing you can do as an athlete is be motivated, passionate and hard working and not reach your goals because your training plan is not well-designed and your mind is not accepting of rest and recovery. 

So much time, energy, sacrifice and effort is needed, day in and day out, for you to peak appropriately at your key races but overtraining is not going to get you to where you want to be.  

The ultimate goal is not to seek ways to train harder or longer but instead, learn how to train smarter. 

Maybe you don't need 6-weeks like we did but I'm pretty sure that your body can benefit from a little time off from structure as you thank your body for what it allowed you to do last season. 

Happy training...and off-season!