Every athlete at one point or another pushes themselves too hard in training without enough recovery. The result is wondering how to recover from overtraining so you can get back to feeling good again. There is a saying that goes “I would rather undertrain by a mile then overtrain by a grain of sand.” The reason for this is because it is tough to come back from overtraining, but it can be done. That is what we are going to go over, but it is going to require a complete focus on your end.
How to Recover From Overtraining – The Symptoms
It is essential that you are aware of the warning signs of overtraining because once you get hit with it, you are faced with a long road to recovery. If you are feeling any of these things for about a week, it does not guarantee that you are overtraining, but you should start taking a few steps back. The key with overtraining is that your body is trying to get you to slow down by forcing you to rest.
- Lack of Motivation
- Frequent Injury
- Sickness
- Feeling Tired All of The Time
- Irritable and Easily Flustered
- Quickly Decreasing Performance
How to Recover From Overtraining
The more of these steps that you combine, the better chances you have of overcoming your overtraining. A lot of athletes want to know how to recover from overtraining, but they do the same things over and over. Einstein once called that the definition of insanity. You have to be willing to do new things to get a positive result.
Massage Therapy
There is no better time to get a massage. Massage helps to promote relaxation and recovery. Reducing stress is important. If you are stressed your body will take longer to recover. Think about it for a second, if you find out you have been tired for a month, and your performance is going downhill it will stress you out.
You want to find a sports massage therapist that can not only reduce tension but also one that can work on all of the problem areas you have developed from pushing your body too hard. If you are looking to find a local provider. 9INE POINT Health can help you to do just that.
Sauna
The sauna is a great place to relax and produce a positive mindset. The great thing about the sauna is its stress-reducing abilities. Before we can make anyway waves on recovering faster, the stress must be gone. The heat of the sauna is high for getting you to sweat without you having to work. If you can get in the sauna on a daily basis, it will do your body wonder. If you want to know how to recover from overtraining, get in the sauna and throw some water on the coals.
Complete Rest
Here is where the “How to Recover From Overtraining” starts to get scary. Complete rest means taking a week where you do NOTHING. Don’t even think about sports! Here is the terrible thing about this, most athletes cant and won’t do this because they feel like they are getting behind.
That is the mindset that got you in trouble in the first place. You have to take a chance here and work your butt off to do nothing. The time will allow you to mentally and physically refreshed. No jogging, no warm up, you can’t do anything at all.
See a Registered Dietician
You may be eating food that could be contributing to the amount of inflammation you have after training. The swelling will slow down the healing and recovery process. If you want to know how to recover from overtraining, the key is to improve your diet. The reason you want to see a dietician is that food is like money, most people think they know what they are talking about but most people are broke and fat. You want to listen to the right people in on this one. 9INE POINT Health can help you to find the best local registered dieticians.
Extra Sleep
All of the building that your muscles need is going to happen when you are sleeping. The eating is going to give you the material you need to build the house. The actual building is going to happen at night when you are sleeping.
Do everything once you suspect you are overtraining to sleep like a mad person. If you usually sleep 8 hours try and sleep 10 hours every night. Force yourself to relax more because your body will be desperate to get as much of it as possible. When you want to know how to recover from overtraining, sleep is going to be your best ally.
Work With Excellent Healthcare Providers
If you are overtraining the truth is that you are probably injured or close to being injured. Outside of working with a massage therapist, it may also be good to see an acupuncturist, chiro, or PT to make sure that everything in your body is working the way it is supposed to.
When you are asking how to recover from overtraining, it is better to get checked out and find out you are good, then to not get checked and get hurt. To succeed as an athlete you need to be proactive and find an excellent healthcare provider to work with is going to be the best way you can do that.
If you need help finding the right healthcare provider, 9INE POINT Health has you covered. 9INE POINT Health will get you in touch with the best sports medicine providers in your community to match your needs.
KHO Health was acquired by was acquire by 9INE POINT in the summer of 2019 and is now referred to as 9INE POINT Health.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.