Running: Overtraining

Overtraining may involve more than just a drop in your athletic performance. Common symptoms include: headaches, insomina, pain, loss of enthusiasm for running, increased number of injuries, slower healing time, slower recovery time, frequent infections, loss of appetite and more.

Classically, the treatment for overtraining syndrome is rest. Depending on the extent of compromise to your body, this may require complete rest or a substantial reduction in your training time. Let me explain a little of the hormone physiology behind the syndrome.

1. Cortisol production is a priority in your body.
Just as we can say your heart is more important than your feet and your brain is more important than your spleen, we can say that cortisol is simply "a little more important" than many other hormones.

2. Cortisol, testosterone and estrogen have a common mother.
The precursor to all these hormones is pregnenolone. Generally, there's enough pregnenolone to go around so we make adequate amounts of all hormones, but when physical (or emotional) demands are extraordinarily revved up, cortisol production takes priority.

Do you remember the old Star Trek episodes where the Captain would say, "more power to the shields!" during times of attack? Presumably, sending the available power to shields took priority over the lights in the kitchen, powering the microwave oven or whatever else required power. The limited amount of available resource needed to be carefully distributed to get through the day.

Similarly, our pregnenolone needs to be transformed into what matters most at the time.

3. Over time, you won't even make enough cortisol.... or testosterone... or estrogen... to get through the day.
In Star Trek; eventually, the shields went down.
In California; eventually, you'll run out of water.
In overtraining; eventually, you'll run out of cortisol.

When your cortisol production "dries up", other hormone production will also suffer.
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Let me ask women a question? What happens when estrogen levels decline?
The answer is; the classic symptoms of menopause. Muscle mass declines, bone density decreases, fatigue, discomfort, insomnia etc. Sounds familiar?

Now to the men. What happens when testosterone levels decline?
The answer is: muscle mass declines, bone density decreases, fatigue, discomfort, insomnia etc.

Now a question to all runners. What happens when you are overtrained?
The answer is: muscles don't recover as well, bone loss, fatigue, discomfort, insomnia etc.