Originally Posted by
KraneXL
It is possible to overtrain and not know it (I think a lot of cyclist here fall under that umbrella). You train and train to advance and overcome your previous limits but you don't improve so you train even harder.
Thing is, your plateau wasn't due to insufficient training, rather, your lack of rest and recovery -- and/or nutrition. I recognize one example of overtraining (rarely), when its not fun anymore.
Trust me, because I'm there right now: if you truly overtrain, you'll know it. Again, I don't believe my "overtraining" was actually the result of training too much, but of mentally burning the candle at both ends (it should be noted that exercise is a stress on the brain and body, just like work stress, so it's cumulative). But overtraining isn't just being down on speed for a few days or having tired legs. At 35 years old and in the prime health of my life, there have been days I couldn't get out of bed. An easy century rider, I've been reduced to struggling to go 5-7 miles at walking pace on a bicycle. THAT is overtraining, so let's not minimize it.