Overtraining, Plateaus, Staleness, & Burnout
Understanding What Causes “Mental Burnout” & How to Avoid It
Periodization is the Simplest Solution
First and foremost, I’m going to offer you peace of mind that if/when you ever think that you are “mentally burned-out by your sport,” you are likely not experiencing mental burnout from the sport itself; rather, some other off-the-field variables have interfered with your progress and/or motivation, or you are dealing with an injury, and we need to make these appropriate distinctions.
The heart of performance psychology originates within the definition of Periodization, specifically, “the science of altering an athlete’s training parameters (i.e., volume, intensity, and specificity) throughout the year in order to reach a peak level of fitness/performance at one (or two) point(s) in the year.” And out-of-the-gates, we already have a principle that avoids burnout because it avoids overtraining.
The physiological research shows that a true definition of “peak fitness” only lasts for ~3 weeks, which, as you might notice, is the same duration as the Tour de France, and the same average duration for most tapering periods for amateur athletes prior to their marathon or half-marathon (or Ironman), with a final 10k PR (or Oly PR) ~2-3 weeks before the main event. As such, an endurance athlete has one solid 3-week window for his/her peak performance to occur, which we typically associate with one peak race in the spring, and one ~6 months later in the fall. Lather, rinse, repeat. I’m on-board with this general approach.
Regardless, we must always bear in mind the old adage, “If everything is special, then nothing is special.” If every month (or event) throughout the calendar year is special, then by default, none of them are special, because at that point you would essentially be attempting to string together 12 peaks (months) in a row, and when you draw a horizontal line to connect 12 peaks that are stacked right on top of one another, guess what you have? Yup, a plateau (i.e., a straight line). And now we have a very concise explanation as to why some particular athletes are more prone to “burnout” than others, even though it’s still not really burnout, they’re simply overtrained or stale.
Can amateur athletes train hard from month-to-month without it being considered overtraining? Yes, they can, and they typically do, but some athletes are likely to put too many emotional eggs into too many baskets too frequently, such as over-analyzing data on a weekly basis, or they might not embrace proper recovery to a full enough extent, setting themselves up for physical ailments. Alas, they are too frequently disappointed or frustrated, and so they’ll later claim they are “mentally burned out,” which would be predictable at that point.
More Definitions
In order to make sure we are using the same definitions, it is important to note that the terms overtraining, staleness, and plateau-ing (yes, I’m making it a verb) are synonymous, wherein the best definition of overtraining is “when increased training loads no longer lead to improvements in performance measures.” In short, it’s when extra input no longer leads to extra output…the athlete has hit a plateau…a wall…performance is now stagnant or stale. All of these terms essentially refer to the same concept in the world of performance psychology. Now, it’s also important to note here that in the world of exercise physiology (e.g., NASM, ACE, NSCA textbooks), the term “overtraining” typically implies a positive connotation, such as “the progressive overload of training parameters to stimulate new physiological adaptations.” I don’t disagree with this definition, but in order to avoid confusion, we’re going to leave the laboratory definition of overtraining to the people wearing white lab coats and studying mice on treadmills, and we’ll instead use the more applied definition that is highlighted above in boldface. “Progressive overload within a strength training regiment”, versus “overtraining within a holistic/overall point-of-view,” that’s the distinction.
Under correct coaching/guidance, mental burnout should be a very rare occurrence, mainly because an understanding of the Periodization model of training provides new types of training (stimulus) at various points throughout the year, which leads to new adaptations (response) within each training cycle (i.e., each season). In other words, Periodization is what prevents injuries, overtraining (a.k.a., plateau or staleness), and mental burnout because at various times in year (i.e., monthly or seasonally) there are different focal points for the physical training, as well as different psychological focal points, such as a thorough review of the athlete’s goals. Therefore, this is the method to build the holistic approach to training that we all applaud, right? We have to put it into action, so again, “if everything is special, then nothing is special.” Unfortunately, on the other hand, some athletes do The. Same. Training. With. The. Same. Goals. Every. Year. Very often this is the training approach of “Marathoners”, who help to keep the PT business in business.
Thus, as it pertains to identity psychology, a hallmark of my coaching philosophy is to treat everyone as an Athlete, not a “runner”, not a “marathoner,” not a “triathlete,” as these 3 latter labels are more likely to lead to mental burnout as a result of physical injury from not reducing the training loads enough. Thus, in order to avoid becoming self-limiting, especially during the crucial/key component of winter off-season training, it’s better to consider oneself as an Athlete.
Misconceptions About Mental Burnout
The textbook definition of mental burnout is a loaded one, but it’s a good one: “a physical, emotional, and social withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable sport activity, characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishments, and sport devaluation…a result of chronic stress (i.e., misaligned expectations) and motivational changes within the athlete.” From this definition, we can already tell that there are off-the-field variables that are lurking around the corner and ready to sabotage the feelings of progress and enjoyment, such as work stress, negative life events, and intense periods of unexpected travel that interfere with workouts and cause illness.
With this in mind, mental burnout should be a very rare occurrence, especially if the coach/mentor is selective with word choice when it comes to goals, data, and the occasional performance measures. Again, it should be easy to avoid burnout once we realize that it does not happen in a vacuum (by itself) and that it’s probably not burnout anyway…it’s something else altogether. How so? …because mental burnout is almost always an “overwhelming sense of disappointment and/or an overwhelming perceived lack of control/autonomy.” On that last note, burnout in youth sport typically has a different explanation, as compared to the adult world, such that youth athletes typically have very little say-so (if at all) in what they do for practice/training, but this would be a separate article altogether.
Moreover, burnout is often the result of physical (real-world) phenomenon that occurred first, such as injury, pain, summer weather, or a significant life event, to which this latter category includes major deadlines at work, intense periods of business travel, illness (missed workouts), the death of a loved one, changing jobs, moving to a new city, divorce, extra/misaligned pressure from coaches/teammates…it’s an endless list. A lack of intrinsic motivation is a cause of burnout, but we have to consider what caused that drop in intrinsic motivation.
Ultimately, and the main point here, is that all of these off-the-field variables lead to missed workouts (and then possibly even more missed workouts while trying to put out the flames of the preceding dumpster fires), and so now there is a perception of a loss in fitness, and then (wait for it…), “this sucks, this isn’t worth it, I quit”…“burnout”! A lack of motivation that really had nothing to do with the training/racing itself because the training wasn’t even taking place during that period of time when “life was getting in the way”. How can you be burned-out with running when you weren’t even running!? So, you aren’t “tired of running/ training”; rather, you’re tired of dealing with all the BS that’s getting in the way of your workouts, and you’re tired of being mentally distracted during those workouts that were previously enjoyable. All the amazing reasons you love moving your body still exist, but they are severely over-shadowed by your injuries, pain, and life ordeals, and THAT is the proper distinction we need to acknowledge when it comes to burnout! HUGE difference!
Aside from neurological disorders, mental health is typically associated with problem-solving capabilities, so if there is a way to troubleshoot the logistical issues happening in your life and/or if you have a solid support team to help you move past these life issues sooner rather than later, then you will not become burned-out. And this is the main point: Perceived burnout is a result of overtraining, injury, or negative life events…it never happens randomly. So, whether you are a coach, PT, trainer, or using the DIY method, help your athletes (clients) re-define the phrase “mental burnout”, and be selective with the timing and rationale of their performances measures, plus the emotional stock therein. In other words, an orientation rooted in consistent hardcore data points (i.e., misaligned expectations) is a major cause of mental burnout. Unfortunately, this reality is especially true during tough summer weather, where the heat and humidity have the ability to mask any gains in fitness, such that “Mother Nature is undefeated”. In this vein, misaligned assessments of fitness can lead to a lack of perceived competence, which undermines intrinsic motivation.
For amateur athletes, most of our worrisome life events are not “part of the job” (i.e., nobody is paying you to train and race) and you have more limitations on-the-daily regarding workout availability, time requirements to go online to figure out race logistics/hotels, and you don’t have a full-time staff dedicated to helping you navigate these ordeals. A support crew? …Yes, you do, but not a paid staff (other than your coach perhaps). So, as a standalone experience devoid of any prior physical manifestations, mental burnout is rare. Let’s look at it from another perspective, and let’s examine an extreme example, yet it absolutely 100% will help you reshape your definition of burnout from here-on-out:
…suppose an athlete hits all of his/her workouts for a week, then nails a 5k PR on the weekend, enjoys a rest day at the beach the following day, has another good week of workouts in perfect weather conditions, gets a massage and feels absolutely amazing head-to-toe (never felt better!), then enjoys a fun happy hour with coworkers where they all talk about how much they love their work and that their boss never causes stress, then he/she hits a new PR in a track workout, and then has two rest days going into the big Half-marathon and bam(!)…a big PR that confirms he/she is on track for a BQ next month…the weather is still perfect, no personal errands on the to-do list at this point, another full week of training, and a few new PR’s at the gym in the strength training category. Now, how likely is it that this person wakes up the next morning and says, “ehhhh, forget it, this is stupid, what a waste, I don’t want to do this anymore”? Zero-percent chance! Ain’t gonna happen. Everything is trending well in this person’s life, they’re hitting PR’s in different categories, there’s no pain/injury, and no reason for them to feel disappointed. Hence, the main point that mental burnout is always a result of the physical realm and/or over-analyzing the wrong data points at the wrong moments.
This article on burnout is certainly related to my other article where I stated that “Mental Toughness is Important, but Overrated.” In the world of athletics and performance, it’s always “Physical first, mental second”, and that is the paradoxical hallmark of performance psychology: Using the mind to get the mind out of the way. Haven’t we all nodded our head in agreement before to the expression, “hey, you’ll be fine, you just have to learn how to get out of your own way!” To come full-circle with Periodization, an athlete can continually feel successful because of new changes to the training program, which includes proactive rest that is built into the week, the month, the season, and the year. “Train hard, rest hard.” “Train smarter, not harder.” “Sit down, before you fall down.” “The best medicine is preventive medicine.” In sum, overtraining causes mental burnout.
5 Ways to Avoid Mental Burnout
1) Cognitively reframe what it is you’re experiencing that is apparently causing frustration/disappointment. It’s very likely not burnout, you’re just going through a short-term period of dealing with some BS in life, but your physical training still might be on par or even still on the upswing! Draw a distinction between a short-term period of having to skip a few workouts to deal with “life stuff”, which is fine and it’s why I schedule a Recovery Period every post-spring and post-fall for all my athletes anyway (i.e., a 2-5 week significant downshift in training volume and/or intensity).
2) Change your training plan and create different/new workouts in order to see new results. Perhaps ditch some of the hardcore structure and take a much more open-ended approach, such as former marathon world-record holder Haile Gebrselassie, who was once quoted as saying, “I wake up that day, open the window, check-out the weather, and decide what I want to do.” Similarly, 2x Hawaii Ironman World Champ, Chris McCormack (“Macca”) stated that his training program was “very structured in how unstructured it is.”
3) Embrace a winter off-season, which will provide a few months downshift in terms of alleviating pressure and stress. The expression, “there is no off-season” is the biggest load of crap you’ll ever hear in the world of athletics. You’ll never shake hands with Olympic gold medalist or world champion who bought into that mentality. In fact, it was 6x Ironman world champ Mark Allen who eventually helped guide Macca to his first world title, after Macca was continually crashing-and-burning in Hawaii. Mark told him (paraphrasing), “Chris, your problem is that you’re trying to be in peak shape for 52 weeks a year, and that simply isn’t possible…if you want to peak in October for Kona, then you can’t also peak in February and August.”
4) Avoid injury! Follow the Periodization model and learn how to take planned breaks from racing without feeling the dread of “I’m losing fitness.” You haven’t won Olympic gold before, so you definitely are not “losing fitness.” The pros have it tougher in this regard if there is constant pressure (spoken or unspoken) to race, especially if race earnings is what pays the bills! So this is why you’ll see a “team approach” to professional racing all-year-long, so that each athlete on the team can downshift the training at 1-2 points in the year (i.e., a Recovery Period), and they tend to “pool their winnings” like a server staff at a restaurant. For you and your world, one example might be not to race at all Dec – Feb, and don’t do any race longer than a 10k in June – Aug (geography, climate, and location pending).
5) Recognize that the recent influence of social media, such as Strava and posting snapshots of your workouts on Instagram are indirectly corrupting your ability to embrace a recovery week (or Recovery Period). In general, social media is one of the leading causes of increased rates of anxiety and depression, especially in terms of social comparison, so it applies to the world of athletics too. Hit the pause button on your Strava account, your garmin data, and your online workout posts.
*In closing, through the lens of a business consultant or thinking about student performance in academics, yes, the general principles of this model hold true, such that employees should not be expected to be in “peak performance” for 12 months in a row, just as we have too many college students experiencing academic burnout (i.e., pressure, anxiety, depression, stress). Therefore, the aspect of “misaligned expectations of performance measures” applies to employees and students, alike, just as much as it does to athletes. And that would be a separate article altogether.
Train Smarter, Not Harder !
Mike
