What happens when athletes train too much?
Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: joint consensus statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When athletes train too hard without enough rest, they can get too tired and perform worse. If they rest and get better quickly, it's called overreaching. If they stay tired and weak for months, it's overtraining syndrome.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 51 / 5
Evidence Score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When athletes train too hard without enough rest, they can get too tired and perform worse. If they rest and get better quickly, it's called overreaching. If they stay tired and weak for months, it's overtraining syndrome.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 51 / 5
Evidence Score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Publication
Authors
Meeusen R, Duclos M, Foster C, Fry A, Gleeson M, Nieman D, Raglin J, Rietjens G, Steinacker J, Urhausen A, European College of Sport Science, American College of Sports Medicine
Related Content
Claims (4)
Overtraining isn't just being tired — it's when an athlete's body stops working properly and performance drops for a long time, even after resting, and it's different from regular burnout that goes away in a few weeks.
Doctors can't use a single blood test or scan to diagnose overtraining — instead, they have to rule out other health problems and see if an athlete's performance keeps dropping for no clear reason.
Athletes who are really overtrained might feel more depressed or moody than those who are just temporarily worn out, and these mood changes could be an early red flag that something's wrong.
If you train too much, your performance can drop and stay low for months — and even after you recover, you won’t get any stronger or faster.