Training smarter, not harder, is the key to avoiding burn out.
It’s easy to think that training longer, more frequently, and with more intensity will boost your results. However, this approach is often unsustainable and can lead to burnout, increasing your risk of injury and illness.
Symptoms of burn out include:
Impaired muscle function
Physical fatigue
Weakness
Loss of coordination
Loss of balance
Impaired cognitive function
Mental fatigue
Reduced concentration
Impaired decision making
Impaired memory and recall
For dancers and athletes, these elements are essential for progress. It’s easy to see how overtraining can hold you back rather than help you move forward.
That’s the short answer—but read on for the science behind it!
How Overtraining Leads to Burnout
When you exercise, your body initiates muscle protein synthesis, a process vital for muscle repair and growth. Overtraining, however, prevents adequate time for this repair, breaking down muscle tissue instead. Not only does this weaken muscles, but it also reduces ATP (energy) production, which happens in the mitochondria, the “factories” of energy in your cells. Without enough muscle mass, your body’s energy supply declines, leading to fatigue.
Exercise also produces ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species)—by-products that, in moderation, play important roles in the body. Yet, too much exercise leads to a build up of ROS, resulting in oxidative stress and cellular damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA. This process impairs muscle function, raises inflammation, and causes fatigue. Excess ROS can also interfere with neurotransmitter function, leading to mental fatigue, mood changes, and cognitive decline.
The Role of Sleep in Recovery
Adequate sleep is essential for both physical and mental recovery. During sleep, growth hormone is released, stimulating tissue repair and growth throughout the body and brain. Lack of sleep or poor-quality sleep can disrupt hormone balance, weaken immune function, increase the risk of illness and injury, and reduce both performance and cognitive abilities.
How to Train Smarter
Understand your anatomy to target muscles and skills effectively.
Schedule rest days—ideally, train for four days and rest for three.
Eat the right foods at the right times and stay hydrated.
A simple rule to remember is that when output exceeds recovery for too long, burnout is inevitable. Like most things, balance is key.