Possible overtraining? Advice appreciated

[thankgod]

Context: Througout this whole year I’ve been getting 5-7 hours sleep when I really need 9-10 at my age (17). I workout to failure all the time and used to do it 5 days a week with a routine that worked pretty much the same muscles all the time (back bis tris) and then every second day I’d go for a 2 hour bike ride. I quickly became fatigued but I pushed through this the entire time and managed to go on a 210km 3 day bike ride (8 hours riding every day) with friends and two visits to a mtb park for 6 hours each times and felt like I would pass out but I pushed through. Now I can only do 3 reps of a weight I used to be able to do 15 of and could only do one sit-up the other day. It’s like my nervous system doesn’t have enough of a chemical or is worn out to signal my muscles to move. I can’t do any cardio without feel g exhausted right from the start and there’s been no change after a 3 week break. I had pinworms the whole time and only just got rid of them and have gotten a blood test to check for vitamin deficiencies but haven’t go t the result yet. This is driving me insane. I have poor genetics and don’t look that buff or anything but I worked so fucking hard to get here and I want to continue but my body can’t keep up

 

[dawn16]

@thankgod What about your diet? How's it? They play a crucial role in the recovery.

 

[thankgod]

@dawn16 It's not super full of protein, but it is balanced. I get enough greens fruit and lots of carbs each day and eat at least one meal with meat in it each day. That said the parasitic infection may have leached my vitamins which I will find out shortly. Could be anemic or diabetic etc. but its no use speculating because I'll find out in three days.

 

[cnnsdc63]

@thankgod Of course. Don't continue this behavior. at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Eat in a surplus with plenty of protein. Cut down on either the strength training or the biking depending on your priorities. Stop working the same muscles every day etc. etc. Basically stop being a dummy.

 

[ivans]

@thankgod You aren't overtraining, you are under-recovering. They aren't the same. One is much easier to fix. Spend a few days eating big and sleeping. You will recover faster than you think.

 

[thankgod]

@ivans Yes sorry, the post is a bit cocky. I understand true overtraining only happens to elite athletes who push themselves for hours and hours each day. I know I was under recovering but I don't understand because it seems most people in my age bracket do have a similar routine to me, yet they are totally fine. There are bajillions of exercise routines more strenous than mine so I don't understand why I'm suffering so heavily atm.

 

[ivans]

@thankgod If I had to guess, I would say it is the lack of sleep.

 

[thankgod]

• wondering if you have similar experiences and how long it took to recover

 

[kayreborn]

@thankgod Definitely sounds like overtraining leading to exhaustion. Could come down to nutrition and/or too much cardio. I've had similar fatigue/exhaustion when I don't eat enough or try mixing in cardio with my lifting. Even a tiny bit of cardio can mess me up if I don't up my calories. I've stuck mostly to weight training now and upped my calories/carbs to get my strength up and have felt a lot better.

Also try and get more sleep.

 

[cerddoriaeth]

@thankgod My Garmin watch measures my HRV and gives me indications of overtraining. I found it very useful although I can feel it when I over trained too. But having the validity of my HRV is helpful. It also gives me information for when I can push my workouts harder etc.