How to Bounce Back From Overtraining | Coaching Masterclass

Key strategies to bounce back from overtraining / fatigue

Start with diagnosis (Step 1: investigate the real problem)

• Don’t assume the issue is only “overtraining.”
• Check for medical/health issues that can cause fatigue, especially:
  • Not enough calories / under-fueling
  • Iron issues
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Underrecovery (not enough spacing between hard efforts)

Identify where performance breaks down

• Track what feels off so you can locate the “kink in the pipe,” for example:
  • Long runs feel terrible (can’t hold pace/time)
  • Track repeats feel worse (200m/400m, etc.)
  • Everyday easy running feels heavy or bad

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Rebuilding approach (principles used in the coaching example)

A story from the speaker (early coaching) about an athlete returning quickly after mono:

• Instead of traditional high-load workouts, they used shorter, slower repeat work to avoid fatigue while restoring some speed.
• Progression over weeks used manageable doses and mostly:
  • Controlled easy running
  • Controlled repeats

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The core “rules” for recovery training

Principle 1: Take what your body gives you (don’t force it)

• Use perceived fatigue/effort as the limiter.
• If undue fatigue appears, cut the session short (“that’s good enough for today”).
• Reassess weekly: “What will our body give us next week?”

Principle 2: Shrink everything into manageable pieces

• Even “easy” can be too much if recovery/nutrition aren’t ready.
• Examples to reduce load while keeping aerobic stimulus:
  • Split easy runs into doubles (e.g., 30 min morning + 30 min afternoon)
  • Shorten easy runs or break them up (e.g., 20 min + pause + continue)
• Nutritional recovery focus:
  • Improve calories/carbs/protein after training
  • Add protein hits throughout the day
  • Consider protein at night to support muscle protein synthesis

Principle 3: Don’t forget “everything else” (add controlled “pop”)

• If you do only easy running, you may feel flat, heavy, and lose coordination.
• Reintroduce controlled faster elements without triggering fatigue:
  • Strides
  • Hundreds (short controlled faster running)
  • Possibly hill sprints later
  • “Easy with spices”: insert 4–5 x 30-second surges with ample recovery inside an easy run
• Goal: wake up the system while keeping fatigue as the enemy.

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How to structure workouts while rebuilding

• Do workouts you enjoy
  • If you hate a workout type, swap it for something that hits a similar system.
• Do workouts you can win
  • Replace “old expectations” that make everything feel harder.
  • Aim to finish workouts feeling successful, not drained.
  • “Win” = you can handle it, make progress, and you don’t fear the next day’s recovery.

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Training build order once you’re out of the worst fatigue

1. Frequency first
   • Return to your usual days/week running habit (e.g., 5–6 days).
   • If needed, keep it short (even 15 minutes) to regain consistency.
2. Volume/duration second
   • Increase duration/volume only after frequency is back in a stable range.
3. Intensity last
   • Reintroduce intensity gradually, initially using non-fatiguing speed and short controlled aerobic work, such as:
     • strides
     • sub-threshold “fartleks”
     • short repeats (e.g., “400s” at a pace sustainable for ~45–60 minutes, with short recoveries)
   • Only later bridge into “real” workouts as tolerance improves.

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Biggest mistake after the fatigue hole

• Getting greedy / trying to return too fast
  • Warning: rushing back into old intensity/volume digs a bigger hole.

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Presenters / sources

• Presenter/Coach: Not explicitly named in the subtitles
• Referenced individual/source: Mahaloy (mentioned as “a page out of Mahaloy’s book”)