Many athletes are familiar with it: They train hard, but their performance declines. They try training harder, but their performance only gets worse. They become frustrated, unmotivated, and demoralized. Finally, one day they hear themselves say it – "Am I burnt out?"

In my most recent podcast I discussed some of the ways to recognize, manage and prevent burnout, so I’ll only give you the Reader's Digest version here. Briefly, burnout in sports begins when athletes train intensely over time without adequate rest and recovery. This condition, called "overtraining" is an increasingly prevalent problem, partially due to increased training demands for many athletes. For instance, a study done in 2000 estimated that physical training loads on athletes increased by 20% in the previous decade. Burnout is a chronic problem that’s caused by both the physical stress of overtraining as well as the emotional stresses inside and outside of one's sport. Over a third of athletes surveyed in a 2001 study indicated that they had experienced the early signs of burnout at least once. If left untreated, these athletes not only suffer from decreased sports performance, they are also at risk for dropping out of their sport altogether. In my podcast I described 10 ways to prevent burnout, but in this newsletter I want to expand on one of the most important ones: Recognizing the early stages of burnout.

One of the best ways to recognize that you're on the road to burnout is to pay attention to your mood, your stress level, and the quality of your performances. While the early signs of burnout vary from one athlete to the next, common reactions often include both physical symptoms (e.g., decreased sport performance, sleep problems, or increased muscle soreness or weakness) and psychological symptoms (e.g., prolonged negative mood, feelings of irritability, disappointment and frustration, concentration problems, decreased commitment to training, low motivation, poor self-confidence, or a feeling of isolation and lack of support from others). Athletes who get burnt out can also become critical of their sport and their teammates. For instance, they might start making devaluing comments about their teammates, their coaches, or their training activities.

I often recommend to the athletes I work with at The Extra Gear that they make daily ratings of their mood, stress level, and quality of their sport performance. Although many athletes get turned off by the thought of keeping records, making these three ratings is a quick, easy and effective way to help you recognize the early stages of burnout. All you need to do is make these three ratings on a 1 to 10 scale in your calendar every time you train or compete. Your entry may look like this: M-5, S-3, P-8, meaning that your mood was average, your stress level was below average, and your performance was above average on that particular day. If you see your mood and performance numbers decreasing and your stress number increasing over time, you may need to start paying attention to your rest and recovery.

Finally, in 1999 researchers Michael Kellmann, Cal Botterill and Clare Wilson developed a brief questionnaire called the Recovery-Cue that can help athletes and coaches detect the early signs of burnout. Taking this 7-item questionnaire, which is copied below, at the same day and time each week, can help you monitor your perceived exertion and rest and recovery efforts. The lower your scores get on an item over time, the more you need to pay attention to that aspect of your rest and recovery.

How much effort was required to complete my workouts last week?
(1= Excessive effort to 5= Hardly any effort)

How recovered did I feel prior to the workouts last week?
(1= Still not recovered to 5=Feel energized and recharged)

How successful was I at rest and recovery activities last week?
(1= Not successful to 5=Successful)

How well did I recover physically last week?
(1=Never to 5=Always)

How satisfied and relaxed was I as I fell asleep in the last week?
(1=Never to 5=Always)

How much fun did I have last week?
(1=Never to 5=Always)

How convinced was I that I could achieve my goals during performance last week?
(1=Never to 5=Always)