[DanM]

For the past few weeks, I’ve been training consistently for really my first time ever. Before this, I was not sedentary but I was extremely inconsistent. I began following the transition plan from TFTUA, starting at 4 hrs/week and trying to work my way up to 8. For the first few weeks, I got a bit carried away and built volume a fair bit faster than planned (started with 4:42, then 5:22, then 6:05 before my first recovery week, and then 6:51 last week).

During the first few weeks, I was aware I was building too fast but felt fine (even if a bit fatigued) and saw some pretty clear improvements in my performance, and I started adding even some intensity workouts (a 20 min tempo run and also 16 mins of 30/30 hill laps).

However, towards the end of last week and into this week I’ve begun showing some of the signs of overtraining syndrome (specifically persistent fatigue, lack of motivation, and irritability). Keep in mind, this has also been a fairly stressful period for me outside of training.

Is it possible for only several weeks of consistent training to start causing overtraining syndrome? Also, does it sometimes come a few weeks after the period which is most stressful to your body?

I’m planning on making this week a recovery week (in spite of the fact that the week before last was also one) and then continue back into the progression I’d been following, but I’m open to other suggestions.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on February 13, 2020 at 10:01 am #38121

Is it possible for only several weeks of consistent training to start causing overtraining syndrome?

Yes, because…

I’ve been training consistently for really my first time ever. Before this, I was not sedentary but I was extremely inconsistent.

Your body is trying to figure out what’s going on… It sounds like it needs a rest. The good news is, if you are showing signs of overtraining, you’ve identified it right away. After a super easy week, you should be fine.

Cut your volume in half for the recovery week and see how you feel. If you’re still not right, take another week.

Also… 36′ of intensity on only a handful of weeks of training is way too much. In general, you want to limit your training above aerobic threshold (that’s aerobic, not anaerobic) to 5% or less. So on a sustained volume of 10 hours per week, 30′ might be appropriate. For half that, half that.

But because you’re new to training, you can safely avoid it altogether. You’ll make plenty of gains just by being active on a regular basis in a structured way.