Overtraining for Beginning Triathletes: How it Starts

Everyone who begins training for a triathlon starts with the best of intentions. Day one represents the beginning of this drive to complete something you never thought previously possible, so you head out to the track, dive into the pool or jump on the bike with a legitimate eagerness.

Unfortunately, with this exuberance comes potential trouble. The excitement can sometimes override common sense, or, worse yet, it can eliminate the one concept critical to all training success: listen to your body. Those people not truly accustomed to working out, especially those not fully adjusted to the rigorous sessions a triathlete needs, can live on the initial surge of beginning something new and challenging; however, this push, the one that lets you feel as if the body can do far more than it actually can, will seriously damage, if not entirely destroy, your long-term goal of finishing a triathlon.

Although the normal feelings of soreness and stiffness will appear the next day, the true injury, if it has occurred, may be lurking somewhere underneath. You will push through the first days and assume that the philosophy of "no pain, no gain" will guide you to the triathlon promised land, yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Pain exists for a reason, and there is a distinct difference between your body wanting to be trained harder and it screaming out for you to stop what you are doing. Listen to the difference. You'll know.

Busting out of the gate in an irresponsible, gung-ho manner may make you feel good and productive, but it just makes no logical sense whatsoever. Start slowly and ease your body into what it will take to train at such an intense level. Give yourself several weeks to prepare your muscles for the rigors of what lies ahead, for if you don't, nothing will exist in the future. Injuries will happen, and rather than crossing the finish line of your first triathlon, you will watch from the street's edge wondering what went wrong.

Without getting technical, the advice here is pure and simple: give yourself more time than you need to learn how to train. Understand what your body wants, what its shape is, and how it responds to physical stress. Overtraining starts at the beginning, when you least expect it. Be smart and control your approach; do not let your excitement end your excitement.