Excessive overtraining Leads To Burnout

Abstract
According to many studies researching overtraining and burnout, it is believed that overtraining is one of the leading factors causing burnout. Coaches believe that burnout and dropout are two seperate things, that overtraining leads to burnout for many, but not necessarily dropout. Coaches believe that there are many factors leading to burnout besides overtraining, but that there needs to be mean taken to prevent overtraining and burnout. A combination of emotional and psysiological reason lead to burnout. Overtraining physically and emotionally leads to burnout. If it weren't for the physical exhaustion of training all the time, athletes wouldn't become emotionally exhausted. If they had time to get accurate rest and recovery, time for their family and friends, school and other activities, emotional exhaustion wouldn't occur. Overal there needs to be more research done, but possibly with overtrainings factors and symptoms, finging the athletes who are overtrained, and keep track over a period of time to see if they have an end result of having feelings of burnout.

Over training refers to a short cycle of training during which athletes are exposed to excessive training loads that are at near or maximal capacity. It is a normal part of physical training, where after rest and recovery the body adapts to the overload and is able to perform better than before. Although overtraining is normal it is imperfect and individualistic. If an athlete is excessively overtraining, things like lack of rest and other physical or psychological stressors occur and overtraining become detrimental to performance, according to Weinberg and Gould (2007). Overtraining is also viewed from the perspective of Lemyre, Roberts, and Stray-Gunderson (2007), as a non-functional form of overreaching. Instead of having positive effects on performance, the opposite occurs along with side effects such as psychological and physiological symptoms. Their definition of overtraining is, non-deliberate long-term decrement in performance capacity resulting from a failure to recover adequately from an accumulation of training and non-training stress (Budgett, 1998). Important symptoms they associated with overtraining were general apathy, disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, irritability, feelings of exhaustion, and increased vulnerability to injuries (e. g. Kuipers & Keizer, 1988; Steinacker & Lehmann, 2002; Uusitalo, 2001). After overtraining occurs, restoration of performance capacity can possibly take several weeks and up to several months (Kreider, Fry, & O’Toole, 1998). From a coaches perspective overtraining stress leads to fatigue, withdrawal, reduces a sense of accomplishment, along with sport devaluation. This in their opinion may result in the athlete becoming overworked to the point where they begin to decline and become increasingly discouraged with their performances and develop a hatred for that sport (Raudeke, Lunney, Venables, 2002). In another study overtraining syndrome (OTS) and staleness were thought to be the same thing, seen as a sports-specific decrease in performance together with disturbances in mood state. The underperformance persists despite a period of recovery that lasts weeks to months. It is seen as rare, although short term overreaching is planned in training and occurs more often (Urhausen, Kindermann, 2002).
Burnout is seen as an exhaustive psycho physiological response as a result of frequent, extreme, and ineffective efforts of excessive training and competitive demands. It involves psychological, emotional, and at times a physical withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable activity in response to excessive stress or dissatisfaction over time (Smith, 1986). There are characteristics such as, exhaustion, physically and emotionally, in the form of lost energy, interest, and trust. Feelings of low personal accomplishment, low self-esteem, failure, and depression which involves decreased performance. Depersonalization and devaluation, where the athlete becomes impersonal and unfeeling, and they stop caring about their sport and what is important to them within it (Weinberg and Gould, 2007). Another view by Eades (1990), found burnout to be a psycho physiological syndrome characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, and impersonal attitude toward others, feelings of being depersonalized by others, decreased athletic accomplishment/performance, a lack of meaning and devaluation of self/sport, and feelings of role conflict and stresses of training and competition and may eventually lead the athlete to withdraw from participation in the sport (Raedeke, Smith, 2001). Maslach’s (1993) definition of burnout is a multidimensional syndrome characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, devaluation of sporty participation, and reduced sense of accomplishment. Emotional and physical exhaustion are associated with the intense demands of training and competing. In addition to being characterized by an important loss of emotional and physical energy, athlete burnout implies a negative assessment of athlete’s self and sport experience (Lemyre, Roberts, Stray-Gundersen, 2007). Pines (1993) said that only highly motivated individuals can burnout. Meaning that in order to burnout , the athlete has to first be on fire. An athlete without that motivation can experience stress, alienation, depression, and existential crisis, or fatigue, but cannot burn out (Lemyre, Roberts, Stray-Gundersen, 2007).
Continued negative overtraining over time without adequate rest and recovery may lead to burnout. Once and athlete experiences burnout, withdrawal from the stress environment of the sport is often times inevitable, caused by the symptoms burnout has with it. Athletes usually only discontinue sport when the costs outweigh the benefits of being involved in the sport. The physical and psychological symptoms of overtraining and burnout are physical fatigue, mental exhaustion, grouchiness, depression, apathy, and sleep disturbances. “Overtraining and burnout have become significant problems in the world of sport and physical activity, short-circuiting many promising careers” (Weinberg and Gould, 2007. P. 490).
Development and Preliminary Validation of an Athlete Burnout Measure researched a psychometrically sound measure of athlete burnout in three studies. The first study’s goal was to explore factor analysis revealing burnout dimensions reflecting emotional/physical exhaustion, a reduced sense of sport accomplishment, and sport devaluation. The second study looked into the psychometric properties of a refined version of that measures were examined. Independent samples of senior age-group athletes and college athletes from a variety of sports completed a questionnaire that tapped the three burnout dimensions as well as stress and motivation-related variables. Confirmatory factor analysis and alternative model testing were used to test the three-factor burnout model. The three-factor burnout model are the multidimensional signs and symptoms of burnout, psychological syndrome of emotional-physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, and sport devaluation. The findings of the three studies altogether were positively related to the three-factor burnout model sighs and symptoms. The questionnaire found theoretically related constructs of stress, trait anxiety, coping, social support, enjoyment, commitment, and motivation to be present within the three subscales. The findings of this study overall help lead to confirming the symptoms and signs of burnout, and this may be used to help recognize burnout and it’s traits in an athlete before drop out occurs.
Motivation, Overtraining, and Burnout: Can Self-determined Motivation Predict Overtraining and Burnout in Elite Athletes? This study wanted to determine whether quality of self-determined motivation at the start of the competitive season in elite athletes and symptoms of overtraining can predict athlete burnout propensity at the end of the season. In the beginning of the season the athletes took a questionnaire asking questions assessing overtraining symptoms and burnout, and at the end of the season. The study also wanted to assess the use of self-determined motivation at start of the season as a predictor of burnout dimensions in elite athletes at the end of the season. It was found that there was a small negative correlation between self-determined motivation in the beginning of the season and symptoms of overtraining at the end of the season. There was a negative link between self-determined motivation and exhaustion. There was a moderate positive relationship between symptoms of overtraining and burnout dimensions. Meaning that there was a small link showing a precursor of overtraining and burnout at the end of the season from self-determined motivation found at the beginning by the questionnaire. In this study the relationship between symptoms of overtraining and perceptions of burnout were positively associated. This study helps to recognize in the beginning of the season the less self-determined motivated athletes, who are more prone to burnout, so that coaches may be able to individualize training for those athletes so that overtraining wouldn’t be as likely to occur.
Understanding Athlete Burnout: Coach Perspectives was a study that wanted to know coach opinions on the difference between burnout and dropout and what their definitions of the two were. What they thought the signs and symptoms of burnout were, and the factors causing and or preventing burnout. The coaches felt that the term burnout was used too loosely, that it was a long term condition, that only athletes who invested in the sport could become burned out, that withdrawal is a large part, there was a reduced sense of accomplishment, a diminished sense of progress, devaluation of the sport, resentment of the sport, exhaustion, and stress. The factors leading to burnout were outside pressures, socially, by coaches, and by their parents. They believed that most athletes that burnout were overworked at young ages. The coaches believed that self-pressure, and feelings of entrapment were also a large part of burnout. Coaches also recognized that athletes who centered their lives on swimming were more prone to burnout. “Burnout is a kid who has gone to too many practices, was too focused and narrow in what they do, and hasn’t experienced much of life. Then when they get to a certain point that they decide, “Wow there is something other than this sport” (p. 18). Coaches believe that a support structure is needed for the athletes, communication, and flexibility are needed to keep athletes from burning out. The coaches recognize stressors as the main cause of burnout. This unique perspective on burnout and the causes could help lead to a more accurate questionnaire to be developed to help recognize the athletes who are dealing with the stressors of burnout.
Psychological Factors Associated With Overtraining: Implications For Youth Sport Coaches does a review to define physiological indices of overtraining, to examine psychological factors involved with youth sports, and suggest corrective alternatives for coaches to avoid overtraining of youth athletes. It states that physical disruption due to overtraining has complex and often confounding signs and symptoms (Raglin, 1993). These included an decrease in resting morning heart rate, stress between change within an individual and change within the environment (Chiroboga, 1982), Stress-injury linked to negative life stress helping to determine which athletes are more prone to injury (Smith, Smoll, & Ptacek, 1990), Social support and coping skills affecting stress, perceived power/control an athlete has over their sport performance, personality characteristics represent important psychological factors in overtraining because individual perceptions of stress vary (Weinberg, Gould, & Jackson, 1979), And impaired cognitive processes, dietary factors, and fatigue. Thus review helps to categorize all the signs and symptoms of overtraining and burnout so that they can be better tested in the future. This particular research is more involved in physiological functions, but also taps into cognitive impairments and personality which seems to be understudied in most research.
Diagnosis of Overtraining: What Tools Do We Have? Shows the limited avainlabilty of valid diagnostic tools, Ergometric tests reveal a decrement in sport-specific performances if they are maximal tests until exhaustion. This test show how lactic acid levels show when overtraining occurs. If finds the minimal and maximal levels in the athletes at different stages in their training to show when they are being over trained. This is an interesting look at a new scientific way to physiologically measure overtraining in athletes. This could possibly lead to a more technical and accurate way to recognize overtraining individually in athletes.
Overall, through the findings off these articles, excessive overtraining seems to be the leading cause of burnout in athletes. Excessive overtraining and burnout don’t seem to be two different experiences, excessive overtraining seems to be just a beginning step leading to burnout. Much more research is needed in order to find out how to recognize excessive overtraining in athletes of all ages before it further leads to becoming more severe and the athlete becomes burned out. Yearly giving athletes questionnaires asking about physical health, mental health, enjoyment of the sport, and their reasons for being in the sport, in the beginning of a season and at the end could possible give more insight to a coach, to possible train each individual athlete better the next year, and to keep updated by the athletes yearly. With the ever rising involvement in yearly training in sports starting at younger ages it is important to learn more about the physiological and psychological adaptation to sport to keep athletes from excessively overtraining and eventually burning out in their sport.

Bibliography

Raedeke, Thomas D., Smith, Alan L., Development and Preliminary Validation of an Athlete Burnout Measure. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2001. 23. 281-306

Lemyre, Pierre-Nicolas., Roberts, Glyn G., Stray-Gundersen., Motivation, Overtraining, and Burnout: Can self-determined motivation predict overtraining and burnout in elite athletes? European Journal of Sport Science, June 2007; 7(2): 115-126

Raedeke, Thomas D., Lunney, Kevin., Venables, Kirk., Understanding Athlete Burnout: Coach Perspectives. Journal of Sport Behavior, 01627341, June 2002, Vol. 25, Issue 2

Hollander, Daniel B., Meyers, Michael C., Psychological Factors Associated With Overtraining: Implications For Youth Sport Coaches. Journal of Sport Behavior, 01627341, March 1995, Vol. 18, Issue 1

Urhausen, Axel., Kindermann, Wilfried., Diagnosis of Overtraining: What Tools Do We Have? Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Medicine, University of Saarland, Saarbruechen, Germany. 2002:32 (2): 95-102.