of these symptoms frequently, and your strength and performance have been declining steadily for several weeks or months, you may be overtraining. And it can do serious damage. Put simply, overtraining is when you do more training than your body can recover from

), and take a rest when I need one. I've had two chest infections which knocked me out for more than two weeks, both after races, and I feel more tired than normal. I'm concerned I may be overtrained. Should I take this complete break or just cut back? What

Loss of energy. Unusually stiff muscles. Lowered sex drive. They might seem like completely unrelated problems, but there's one sports condition that links them all - overtraining syndrome. It might sound made-up but it exists and it needs

've had two chest infections which knocked me out for more than two weeks, both after races, and I feel more tired than normal. I'm concerned I may be overtrained. Should I take this complete break or just cut back? What about getting back to proper

Q I’m a 53-year-old male who races all distances from 5K to the marathon. I train six days a week: four hard sessions, two easy ones, plus a rest day. Do you think this is too much for someone of my age?A The real key to making any training programme successful is to get the rig...

Running is simple: just put one foot in front of the other, and keep repeating. It’s a shame, then, that training for peak fitness and performance isn’t as easy. No matter how much or how little experience runners have – elite, beginner or anywhere in between – they almost all ma...

and the reps high, but I’m worried that doing weights means I’m overtraining.A I go with ‘something completely different’. Like you, I’ve always felt that the best approach for distance runners was to use light weights and high reps. You’re much less likely

This week's question comes from a forum member whose event schedule is looking a bit crowded..."I'm doing the Edinburgh Marathon on 27 May. It's my first marathon, and the training is going OK, though I had two weeks off due to injury. I've got it in my head that I want to do the...

However long you've been running, and whatever your age or ambition, chances are you'll have questions. How can you improve your race times? What's the perfect race day diet? How can you avoid overtraining? Well, now you can pose your questions

.On the other hand, if your loss of libido is accompanied by reduced appetite, poor sleep, muscle or joint soreness, poor athletic performance, or lasting depression, then you are likely to be physiologically overtrained. In this condition, your body