O.T. - NYT (Science Times) article about athletes over-doing training.
January 19, 1999
Going Stale: More Exercise, Less Fit
By NANCY STEDMAN
For Jill Farwell, a Los Angeles public relations executive, pushing herself
is almost as natural as breathing. So two years ago, when she
discovered a passion for competitive rowing, she went full-throttle,
training for up to two hours at a time on either an ergometer or in a boat. But
after eight months of almost-daily workouts, her rowing pace began to slip --
not improve. "I couldn't understand why my body couldn't match my drive,"
she said.
Exhaustion became her constant companion.
"My muscles were tired all the time. I felt like
my blood was running in slow motion," she
recalled. One day after a particularly strenuous
boat practice she had to lie down on the dock
for half an hour.
Frustrated, Ms. Farwell consulted a
naturopathic physician, who told her she had
overdone it and ordered her to stop exercising.
Many Americans put "exercise more" at the top
of their resolutions, but for a small group of
people like Ms. Farwell, working out too much
is the real problem, according to a consensus
statement issued by the American College of
Sports Medicine and the United States Olympic
Committee.
The report, which advises coaches and athletes
to stay alert to the symptoms of overtraining, is summarized in the January
issue of The Sports Medicine Bulletin, published by the sports medicine
college. The report appears in full on the organization's Web site
(www.acsm.org).
The hallmark of exercising too hard for too long is "an unexpected drop in
performance that is not reversed by brief rest periods," explained Dr. Jack
Raglin, a kinesiologist at Indiana University and a co-author of the report.
Athletes suffering from what is called "the staleness syndrome" are likely to
experience other symptoms like poor sleep, loss of appetite, upper respiratory
infections and muscle fatigue. "Severe mood disturbances are common, and it
has been reported that more than 80 percent of stale athletes suffer from
clinical depression," Raglin said.
A series of studies conducted by Dr. William Morgan of the University of
Wisconsin found that about 60 percent of elite distance runners would
experience staleness at some point in their careers. For competitive but not
elite runners, the figures are around 33 percent. No statistics exist for
staleness in more casual athletes, but "we've all seen it," Raglin said.
"The risk of becoming stale is related to the volume of training," Raglin added.
A dose-response relationship between the hours spent working out and mood
disturbances has been documented in swimmers, speed skaters, wrestlers,
rowers and runners, he noted.
"It's very American: People think, if I work harder than anyone else, I'll be
faster than everyone," said Dr. Joel Stager, the director of the human
performance laboratory of Indiana University. "But it's just not true."
Some experts recommend periodization, a regimen that builds in recovery time
and is intended to prevent the symptoms of overtraining. Athletes are advised
to alternate two-week cycles of hard and easier workouts, while gradually
increasing the training volume until it peaks a few weeks before a major
competition. Then the athlete tapers off, reducing the training to allow the
muscles to recover from the stress. "If you do this perfectly, you won't get
stale," Raglin said.
An amateur competitive swimmer, for instance, might swim an average of
3,500 yards a day at peak training, then gradually taper off three weeks before
a meet to 1,000 yards a day, according to Stager, who is the editor of The
Journal of Swimming Research.
However, experts note that few amateur athletes actually follow this kind of
regimen. A survey done by Stager at a United States Masters Swimming meet
last year found that the competitors train a consistent distance from month to
month rather than the fluctuating amounts called for by periodization.
Also, "the technique is more art than science," Raglin said. Periodization
routines that prevent staleness in one person may cause it in another one with
less tolerance for high doses of exercise.
The only known solution for the staleness syndrome is rest, usually for
several weeks.
Jill Farwell found discontinuing her workouts very difficult but ultimately
rewarding. After an eight-month break, she was strong enough to return to
her favorite sport. "I do about one-third of what I did before. I feel 100
percent better. My mood and energy are up. And I haven't been sick in over a
year," she said.
Most Americans, of course, do not have to worry about staleness. "It takes a
special kind of mind to overtrain," said Buz Tarlow, the head coach at the
Southern California Boat Club in Marina Del Rey, Calif. "It's hard to get there.
Your weekend warrior does not see it."
Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company |
