Running: Overtraining- Prevention 2

Eat good food, sleep well and hydrate well. These are no-brainers when it comes to prevention of overtraining syndrome. A good multivitamin & fish oil are also good additions (this is true even for non-runners). But one important nutritional supplement seems to be especially significant; phosphatidylserine.

Let's look at some of the evidence supporting the use of phosphatidylserine.
" The findings suggest that phosphatidylserine (PS) is an effective supplement for combating exercise-induced stress and preventing the physiological deterioration that can accompany too much exercise. PS supplementation promotes a desired hormonal status for athletes by blunting increases in cortisol levels." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008 Jul 28;5:11.

"This is the first study to report improved exercise capacity following phosphatidylserine supplementation. These findings suggest that phosphatidylserine might possess potential ergogenic properties." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2006 Jan;38(1):64-71

"...chronic oral administration of phosphatidylserine may counteract stress-induced activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in man." European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 1992 April; 42 (4):385-388
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In the world of sports nutrition, there are many supplements and research studies that show benefits of various agents in improving sugar metabolism, energy production, fat breakdown, other variables that can aid performance (creatine, carnitine, ribose to name a few). Phosphatidylserine is worth consideration because of its ability to regulate hormones shifts by stabilizing the HPA axis.

Running: Overtraining- Prevention 1

If you are overtrained, it can be difficult to recover. As with most conditions, prevention is the best step. The single best training step you can take to prevent overtraining is the use of a heart rate monitor.

There are a few different ways that athletes utilize heart rate monitors. A doctor by the name of Phil Maffetone devised a method of finding your maximum heart rate. This is calculated by subtracting your age from 180. So if you are 40 years old... (180 - 40= 140) your maximum heart rate should be 140.

Those of you familiar with heart rate monitors may realize that at first glance, this seems a bit low. The traditional method has been to subtract your age from 220; use that as the maximum heart rate and then to train between 65-85% of that maximum. For the 40 year old person (220-40= 180) 65-85% of 180 is 117-153. The traditional recommendation is to train closer to the 85% point for increases in overall performance and aerobic capacity.

For our 40 year individual, the question arises; should I train at 140 or 153 bpm? The answer is 140. This is a good opportunity to make this point: There is a big difference between "training for performance" versus "training for performance AND good health."

Training for performance is a relentless, "all-in, do what it takes" attitude that demands the most of your body. For example, you can drive your car fast all the time (performance) but you must realize that the life of the engine, tires and brakes will suffer as a result of that. On the other hand, if you take good care of your car and drive responsibly, it will certainly give you excellent performance when you need it.

Training at 140 (for this imaginary 40 year old runner) may seem slow and awkward at first. You may feel like you're doing a gentle jog rather than a training run and you may experience some frustration. But over time, you will be able to run faster while maintaining that slower rate. This has the important effect of minimizing chemical and hormone stress while programming the aerobic engine of your metabolism. For more on this, read Maffetone's book, "In Fitness and In Health."

To be clear, healthy individuals may perform just fine while training at the higher heart rate derived from the traditional calculation. But the hidden cost of that is potential hormone and metabolic shifts that have long term implications. If you are already overtrained or getting to that point, it is essential that you follow the 180-age formula for heart rate.

Running: Overtraining & Immunity

You should be convinced by now that overtraining has significant health consequences as a result of hormone shifts. Another question that arises is the effects on immunity.

Overtraining is associated with compromised mucosal immunity. This means that you are more prone to infection. It is clear that overtrained athletes have a decrease in salivary IgA. This is an immunoglobulin that serves to protect mucous linings. That means that when viruses or bacteria get into your nasal cavity or gut, you are more likely to suffer an infection because you have fewer antibodies in the area to defend you. Exercise Immunology Review 2004;10:107-28.

The immune system falls out of balance. Many of us have a general idea that people can have weak or strong immune systems. This black or white approach toward physiology is not accurate. Although I mentioned in the previous paragraph that mucosal immunity is compromised, we should understand this to mean that one component of immunity is compromised. It's not fair to say you have a globally weak immune system. One paper that speak to this point states:

" It is concluded that an increased incidence of illness associated with overtraining syndrome and in response to excessive exercise is not due to immunosuppression per se, but rather to an altered focus of immune function, with an up-regulation of humoral immunity and suppression of cell mediated immunity." Sports Medicine 2003;33(5):347-64.

This is the equivalent of our armed forces failing to cooperate during a time of war. While each branch may be powerful alone, there must be central coordination for success.

Another group of researchers echo this sentiment and states:
" Whereas athletes are not clinically immune deficient, it is possible that the combined effects of small changes in several immune parameters may compromise resistance to minor illnesses such as upper respiratory tract infection." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2000 Jul;32(7 Suppl):S369-76.

You can see that overtraining has major negative impact on the immune system.