Severe overtraining, should I see a doctor and which one?

[dave303e]

1- Go see a doc, just get a check up anyway.

 

2- You say structured training. Is this DIY or from an online source or a coach? If it is not from a coach then get yourself a coach. A good one who will build polarization and periodization into your training. It is easy to just go out hard all the time but the easy weeks and easy days are as important.

 

3- Also learn to love the pain if you know it is not forever. In the 4 months leading up to Karkloof 100 mile trail run my coach had a fire under my arse. There weren't days when I didn't have heavy legs getting out of bed or dread climbing stair cases. It was tough, I also followed it up with the best result running super easy. Now after the event the training is backed off and I feel good to go with no pain most days. You can't just always go hard, sometimes you need an off season after chasing a goal.
 

[eddy]

 

Three minutes which could save your life:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0-93WIQ_zsk

[Eugene]

I had a rather severe dose of Covid about a month back. The symptoms you are explaining are very similar to what I had and although to a lesser degree, still have.

[JohanDiv]

Off topic question:

 

Do I misunderstand TSS ?

 

As I have the definition, a TSS of 100 is 1 hour at FTP, so a weekly TSS of 1.7k is either 17hours at FTP or 34 hours at 50% thereof.

 

Either way, not "normal training values" for a person in his first year of structured training.

 

Or if you don't have power and going by HR, 100 TSS for an hour at threshold HR. I have a threshold HR of 185bpm. Saturday had a 2h33min race at 180bpm average. TSS for that race was 225 points. There's no way I'd be able to repeat that 7,5 times a week to get to 1700 TSS!

Edited December 1, 2020 by JohanDiv

[W@nted]

 

Like mentioned. TSS of 100 is 1hour effort at ftp. Satellite classic race I had a TSS of almost 200. No way doing 5 of those efforts per week for a normal person.

 

A 800 TSS week should definitely add fatigue. But if you are not recovering, see a doctor.

 

Imho you should not be doing many (if any) of tss weeks above 500 in your first year of cycling.

Edited December 1, 2020 by W@nted

[Spurs]

TSS should also not be looked at as absolute and in isolation, but rather in relation to ones fitness score or CTL (average daily TSS over 42 days).  It's ones Form (difference between fitness and fatigue) which should be looked at to gauge overtraining. 

A Pro or highly trained amateur can easily hit a weekly 1500 TSS without overtraining, but their fitness is likely around 150-180 CTL.  When someone with a 80 fitness score tries the same thing, the impact on the body will likely differ greatly.

[Let's Ride]

Vitamin b injection. Just ask the doc if that would help.

 

Keep moving as it helps recovery.

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

But - so can any number of both minor and major illnesses...

Sure, but covid is one that's currently travelling around and that can have exactly these lingering effects. Spoke to a doctor who described people having 3/4 months of muscle pain and full body fatigue. It's not like a head cold - you can't start training again at full capacity. Anyway, point is we're all just guessing.

[i24]

This year I started taking cycling seriously and took on structured training. I improved dramatically and all went well until it didnt. I believe that I wrecked myself doing a few very hard and very long sessions. My current situation is as follows:

 

My last proper ride was in October. It was a 205km solo effort at the end of a 860tss week. It broke me. I was tired that following week but nothing too bad. I waited for my legs to feel better but it never happened. Every ride thereafter was chilled but my legs would need a week to get back to feeling normal.

 

I am now completely off the bike because even a Sunday stroll down the street would cause my legs to feel as sore and heavy as if I had done a 150km ride the previous day. I wake up with very sore muscles and as they warm up it gets better until the evening when it really starts hurting again ( all the cycling muscles are affected, quads, ITB, inner thighs, glutes).

 

This is pretty depressing and I am just not recovering.

 

So the question. Do I need to see a doctor / sports physician? And who would be best to help me through this ( prefferably in Pretoria).

 

Thanks!

Just a hunch. But start with a Covid test. It is going around and most hospitals/doctors will want a test result sooner rather than later, anyway.

 

Your experience is a bit like mine (but I was never nearly as fit as you). See https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/187043-cycling-after-recovering-from-covid-19/?hl=covid

 

If you have, or had, covid, it could take weeks to get back to full fitness. Just be patient.

 

What is your resting heart rate now verses beginning of October?

[Jewbacca]

Yoh.... This got technical very quickly!

 

I want a power meter and HR monitor now just so I can have a CTL and TSS and FYI and a BFF.......

 

From someone who has occasionally strung together some things, having that sort of fatigue/burn out is usually a combination of both physical and mental.

 

After 2018 and a run of serious back to back to back big expedition races and all the training that goes with it, I stopped doing anything long. I ran short 6 to 20km trail runs, did 50 to 75km morning loops with the lads on the roadie, hit Tokai/jonkers on the trail bike but focussed on fun. 

 

I was tired, burnt out and had no drive. Training and racing had just tipped me over the edge ever so slightly.

 

Go back to basics, find joy in what you do. Cross train. I started surfing more. The body rejuvenated, the mind started getting excited again... I ran a super slow but social, fun 100 miler at MacMac in 2019 and that was my only big race. 

 

;No pressure, no training logs, no numbers. I found joy and smiles in consistently being happy after activities.

 

That or you have developed glandular fever/yuppy flu/ coxsackievirus or have 'Rona..... 

 

Hopefully it's just you needing to find your 'ness'......

[i24]

Just a hunch. But start with a Covid test. It is going around and most hospitals/doctors will want a test result sooner rather than later, anyway.

 

Your experience is a bit like mine (but I was never nearly as fit as you). See https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/187043-cycling-after-recovering-from-covid-19/?hl=covid

 

If you have, or had, covid, it could take weeks to get back to full fitness. Just be patient.

 

What is your resting heart rate now verses beginning of October?

Also note that if you had a mild infection in October, you could test negative now but still experience the clinical effects (muscle pain, fatigue, increased resting heart rate etc).

[ChUkKy]

I had a rather severe dose of Covid about a month back. The symptoms you are explaining are very similar to what I had and although to a lesser degree, still have.

 

Yep... I got hit beginning of August, Monday it started, man down for 2 days but then "felt fine" again on the Friday when I lost all smell and taste.

As I was "feeling fine" I thought id go ride with the boys as normal on Saturday, heartrate shot up to 184bpm just doing a gentle cruise to our meeting spot. Turned back home.

 

Following weekend, same thing... zero power, HR shoots straight to maximum, turn round and back home. 

After those 2 failed attempts at riding I just sat back and chilled and got my body to recover.

 

Took about 6-7 weeks before I started being able to get some power on the pedals with my HR not going through the roof with hardly any effort. 

 

So, for the day to day living of life I felt perfectly normal barring the taste and smell issue, but clearly there was some underlying issue from the rona.

 

The rest did me the world of good, Im back to normal again.

[TNT1]

zero power, HR shoots straight to maximum, 

If that's a covid symptom, I think I've had it for about 10 years now.

[Bonus]

A friend of mine went through something like this once and it turned out he had glandular fever. 

[Escapee..]

Yoh.... This got technical very quickly!

 

I want a power meter and HR monitor now just so I can have a CTL and TSS and FYI and a BFF.......

 

From someone who has occasionally strung together some things, having that sort of fatigue/burn out is usually a combination of both physical and mental.

 

After 2018 and a run of serious back to back to back big expedition races and all the training that goes with it, I stopped doing anything long. I ran short 6 to 20km trail runs, did 50 to 75km morning loops with the lads on the roadie, hit Tokai/jonkers on the trail bike but focussed on fun. 

 

I was tired, burnt out and had no drive. Training and racing had just tipped me over the edge ever so slightly.

 

Go back to basics, find joy in what you do. Cross train. I started surfing more. The body rejuvenated, the mind started getting excited again... I ran a super slow but social, fun 100 miler at MacMac in 2019 and that was my only big race. 

 

;No pressure, no training logs, no numbers. I found joy and smiles in consistently being happy after activities.

 

That or you have developed glandular fever/yuppy flu/ coxsackievirus or have 'Rona..... 

 

Hopefully it's just you needing to find your 'ness'......

 

Seven different kinds of smoke!

[shaper]

Not so sure if that is over trained. Based on that Weekly TSS score and the subsequent ride I do not suspect it is an overtraining issue. TSS scores of 1 to 1.7k are surely not above normal training values.

 

You may need to rather look at other health issues. Go see the doc.

 

I just checked my TSS scores for the past 5 weeks and they are between 800 and 1k per week. Barring last week they have all been 1 or 2 rides per week OK they have been long solo-ish rides, and I am a bit unfit at the moment.

 

Again, I do not believe it is overtraining but rather something else, especially the fact that it was just one big week and so long ago. just my 2c's.

If you are getting 800-1000 TSS for 1-2 rides per week, I would check your zones, both HR and FTP as they are likely too low giving you and increased and skewed TSS.

 

TSS of 1700 would be well over training, especially for cycling, Pro triathletes doing a full iroman don't even get that high https://help.trainingpeaks.com/hc/en-us/articles/230904648-Suggested-Weekly-TSS-and-Target-CTL