Am I Fatigued or Overtraining?

Fatigue

Phil's plans are structured to provide the correct blend of intensity, volume, recovery and progression needed to reach your peak on race day. They are Periodised to gradually ramp up your endurance, fitness, speed and skills. Your regular fitness tests ensure that workouts are set at the right intensity for you.

Don't worry; it's not unusual to feel fatigued during the build phase as your body adjusts to the demands of a progressive training cycle. Your key workouts are now more race-specific, and this is probably the toughest phase of your training. You will be strengthening your muscular and anaerobic endurance.

A few words of caution: Make sure that you respect the designated rest days that allow for recovery while promoting adaptation to previous training stresses. And try to stick to the intensities and duration of the sessions - remembering that they will increase as you progress through the plan.

Overtraining

Overtraining is uncommon. Every athlete experiences fatigue since physical stress is required to produce improved fitness. It is a necessary part of any training program. However, if you continue to train with high stress and without rest or recovery, then the possibility of overtraining increases. Signs for overtraining include feeling listless, grumpy, frequently ill and unmotivated, coupled with constant tiredness.

Fatigue is 'managed' by resting or training very easily for a few days after which you will be able to return to the more demanding training. If overtrained then you may need to take more significant time off training, sometimes months.

What to do if Fatigued

Ultimately, feel free to take a few days as complete rest if you need to, you will not lose any fitness, and there are many advantages. Taking a short break will allow your body and mind to return to the program refreshed and (re)motivated to engage with the workouts. Try to be disciplined, if you decide to take two days out, then make sure you are ready to go on day 3 and resist the temptation to try to 'catch up' with any missed workouts, just let them go.

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