Signs of overtraining and what to change

The signs of overtraining usually creep in slowly. Sessions that used to feel easy start to feel heavy. Your times slip, your sleep gets patchy and you stop looking forward to training. This guide covers what those signs look like, why they happen and what to change in your week. It’s for anyone who trains hard, including people who kept training after leaving the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Key points

• Overtraining sits at the far end of a scale. A few flat days after a hard block are normal.
• Sudden jumps in weekly training load are a common trigger, so build up in steps.
• Most adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, according to Healthdirect.
• Eating too little for the work you do can look a lot like overtraining.
• If a lighter week doesn’t lift the fatigue, it’s worth talking to a practitioner.

What are the signs of overtraining?

The most common signs of overtraining are fatigue that rest doesn’t fix and performance that drops despite steady training. Many people also notice poor sleep, low mood, a smaller appetite and more colds than usual. Muscle soreness that hangs around for days can be part of the picture too.

It helps to sort the signs by where they show up:

• In your training: slower times, lighter lifts, heavy legs on easy sessions, a higher heart rate for the same pace.
• In your body: soreness that lingers, frequent colds, a morning resting heart rate that sits higher than your normal.
• In your head: low motivation, a short fuse, trouble focusing at work.
• In your routine: broken sleep and a dip in appetite.

No single sign proves anything. The European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine say so in their joint consensus statement on overtraining. They describe it as a diagnosis made only after other causes are ruled out. An illness, under-eating or a stressful month can all look the same.

Overreaching vs overtraining: what’s the difference?

Overreaching is a short dip in performance after a hard block of training. It usually comes good after a few easier days or weeks. Overtraining is the same pattern stretched out, where the dip lasts for months even with rest. The joint consensus statement treats them as stages on one scale.

Stage	What it often feels like	How long performance takes to return (per the consensus)
Functional overreaching	Tired and a little slower after a hard block	Days to weeks, often followed by a lift
Non-functional overreaching	Flat, sore and slower for longer	Weeks to months
Overtraining syndrome	Ongoing fatigue and a clear drop in performance	Months or longer

Many training plans use short, planned overreaching on purpose. The aim is to notice the slide early, before you end up in the bottom rows.

How fast should you increase training load?

Increase your training load in small steps and avoid sudden spikes. The International Olympic Committee’s consensus statement on load and injury risk links rapid jumps in load with a higher chance of getting hurt. Steady build-ups, with lighter weeks planned in, give your body time to adapt.

Training load is the total work you do, plus how hard it felt. Here’s a simple way to track it. Rate each session from 1 to 10 for effort, then multiply that by the minutes. Add up the week. If this week’s total is far above your recent average, that’s a spike worth easing back from.

A few habits keep the build-up steady:

• Change one thing at a time, such as distance or the number of sessions.
• Plan an easier week every few weeks, before you feel you need it.
• Count the load outside the gym too. A long shift on your feet or a big weekend hike adds to the total.

How much sleep do you need when you train hard?

Most adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, according to Healthdirect and the Sleep Health Foundation. If you train hard, the top of that range is a sensible target. Short sleep tends to make the same session feel harder, and it can affect your mood and appetite.

Small changes to your evenings often help:

• Keep the same bed and wake times, weekends included.
• Put screens away for the last 30 minutes before bed.
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet.
• Have your last coffee by early afternoon.

How does food affect recovery from training?

Eating too little for the work you do can cause many of the same signs as overtraining. The Australian Institute of Sport calls this low energy availability. It can happen by accident when training goes up and meals stay the same. Sessions close together, with little time to eat, can do it too.

The AIS lists early signs such as repeated illness, falling performance and changes in mood. The International Olympic Committee’s 2023 consensus statement on REDs (relative energy deficiency in sport) covers the wider effects on health. A sports dietitian can help you match what you eat to how much you train.

Fluid matters as well, especially in a Queensland summer. Sports Medicine Australia’s hot weather guidelines advise drinking before, during and after activity. They also say fluid should go hand in hand with shade, rest breaks and cooling.

Does life stress affect recovery?

Yes. Your body draws on the same reserves for training and for everything else in your life. A big week at work, a new baby or broken sleep all add to your load. That’s true even if your program hasn’t changed. On those weeks, a shorter or easier session is a smart call.

What changes when you train after leaving the ADF?

Training after service often loses the structure it used to have. In uniform, someone else usually set the program and the rest days. After discharge, many people keep the intensity but drop the planned easy weeks. Writing your own plan, with lighter weeks built in, puts some of that structure back.

Bio Chain Clinic’s founders, Ryleigh Egan and Jarryd Blake, both served. If sleep or mood has been hard since leaving, you can call Open Arms on 1800 011 046. It offers free, confidential counselling for current and former ADF members and their families.

When should you talk to a practitioner about overtraining?

Talk to a practitioner if the fatigue or poor performance is still there after 1 or 2 lighter weeks. The same goes for frequent illness or ongoing changes in your sleep, mood or appetite. These signs have many possible causes, so it helps to look at them all together.

At Bio Chain Clinic, you talk it through with your practitioner in a live consultation. They’ll ask about your training, sleep, food and stress. If they think blood tests would help, they’ll explain why, and you can read why bloods sometimes come first. The outcome might be advice on your program, more tests, a referral to a physio or your GP, or no treatment at all. Any treatment is discussed only if deemed medically appropriate.

Next steps

See how Performance & recovery consultations work, or read how a consultation runs from start to finish. You’ll find answers on fees and booking in the FAQs. When you’re ready, Book consultation. You’ll see the consultation fee before you book.