As I enter my final year of graduate school, I am developing a greater appreciation for scientific research, especially when it deals with periodization. I love implementing and sharing the knowledge that I gain through peered reviewed articles and pertinent information I gather from other coaches and sport scientists. In other words, I enjoy contributing to the sport of weightlifting and to the field of strength and conditioning as others have done that have helped me out tremendously with my journey in both endeavors.

Our bodies are capable of incredible feats, such as adapting to different modes of physical training and repairing damaged tissues efficiently. When we introduce a certain stimulus to our athletes, we are expecting a certain adaptation in return and we should have a good idea of what to expect from a physiological standpoint. For example, if we are taking a new athlete through a concentrated strength endurance phase of training where high repetitions are performed in compound barbell movements (i.e. 8-10 repetitions) we expect that delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS will kick in after the first few training sessions. This is the physiological response the human body has going through this type of physical stress for the first time.

Overreaching is believed to be an early stage of overtraining, but this should not deter you from looking deeper and learning about the benefits of functional overreaching. Functional Overreaching is defined as a sharp increase in training volume within a block of training. According to Weightlifting: Program Design, the sharp increase in volume can result in increased fatigue and in performance decrements. However, several observations of weightlifters have shown that if an overreaching phase (approximately a week) is followed by a sharp return to normal training then an increase in performance above baseline can occur. Adding a taper following a return to normal training loads can yield an added increase in performance.

The goal is to greatly increase training volume (usually 40-50% increase above the normal or average level) for one week at the most and then return to a normal training load so the athlete’s accumulated fatigue can diminish. What is normal loading or normal volume for an athlete depends on what they’ve gotten accustomed to as normal training volume in a microcycle, typically that of a general strength phase. Obviously, a normal volume load is going to be higher for elite athletes than it is for novice athletes. Moderate intensity should be prescribed for all strength and power movements during an overreaching week. Well-trained athletes will be able to recover within a few days after completing an overreaching week as the fatigue and decreases in performance are merely transient.

It’s important to proceed with caution when implementing an overreaching microcycle because if you increase the volume too much or keep it at a higher than normal level for too long then you increase the chances of pushing your athlete into what’s called “non-functional overreaching,” thereby defeating the purpose of that microcycle. Non-functional overreaching will take longer to recover from and can increase the chances of developing overtraining syndrome which might take an athlete weeks or months to return to their baseline level of performance. When there is a sharp increase of training volume for an athlete there is a great disruption of homeostasis. Some underlying physiological changes that occur during an overreaching week include an increase in type 2a fibers and a decrease in type 2x fibers. These changes will be reversed after normal loading parameters are put back into an athlete’s training.

I can see why some weightlifting coaches might be apprehensive when prescribing an overreaching microcycle for their athletes because they are toying with the possibility of overtraining their athletes. That’s fine; this is a short phase of training that is not for everyone. I would not recommend this type of microcycle to a beginner, a youth athlete or a master’s lifter. I believe that an athlete’s training age and biological age both play a big role in determining whether they can handle this sudden shock of physical stress. An overreaching microcycle can be advantageous when the rest of a training block is low in volume so there is enough time for fatigue to diminish, so that a boost in performance can be realized or attained. For example, a coach can choose to implement an overreaching week by making it the first week in a four-week block of training. The volume in the second week should be about 60% of the overreaching week. If the number of repetitions in the overreaching week is 440 then simply multiply that by 0.6 and you have your volume for the second and third week of training. This should be what the athlete has gotten accustomed to in the previous block or blocks of training. The fourth week should be a de-load week in which the volume can be taken down by 20-30%.

Essentially, we want the body to super compensate within a block of training and this can be done either in a transmutation block or a realization block. Of course, there are only so many tools that have been studied and concluded to be effective in increasing sport performance. These tools should be used at different times over an athlete’s career. Therefore, a coach should use these tools sparingly so that when an athlete (an advanced or elite athlete) needs a different training stimulus to improve performance he or she has that new stimulus to prescribe.

When putting together any type of training plan for an athlete, it is imperative that it manages fatigue (i.e., heavy & light days along with strategically placed rest days) well enough for an athlete to properly recover, especially if an overreaching microcycle is being prescribed. I would argue that if a program’s structure includes poor fatigue management (where neither volume nor intensity undulates at all) then a coach should not give his or her athlete an overreaching week and should reexamine their training skeleton or structure for their athlete. Yes, there will be a massive amount of fatigue brought on during this short phase of training, however I still want my athlete to make lifts and not feel completely trashed coming in for a training session unable to hit even 70% with sound form. My athletes’ overall health is always my top priority.

Like I mentioned in my Longevity in Weightlifting article, HRV or Heart Rate Variability is a reliable tool that can help you as the coach get a better idea of how recovered your athlete is. In my experience with overreaching microcycles a coach will see an athlete’s average HRV drop a fair amount during that week and that’s normal, that’s the body’s response to this sudden spike of volume. If I did not see a drop in my athlete’s HRV during this overreaching week then I know I probably did not increase the volume enough to elicit the response I wanted from the body and that is to greatly disrupt homeostasis. With that, an athlete’s HRV might indicate that they are slightly under-recovered for certain training sessions during this phase of training, however this is where programming modification comes into play and communication with your athletes becomes critical. For example, if I see that my athlete is slightly under recovered, then I will simply reduce the overall volume for that day’s training session by 10-20%. I will reduce the volume in the lifts that are not a top priority. However, if a clean deadlift is a lift that the lifter needs to greatly improve, lighten it up and turn it into a clean pull so the central nervous system will not be greatly taxed but the lifter will still be able to work on their pull. Heart Rate Variability is not the gold standard for measuring recovery, like everything else there is some percent error with this and should not be taken at face value.

It is also paramount that proper sleep and proper nutrition become a bigger priority for your athletes during this type of training and doing so will help decrease the chances of overtraining syndrome being brought on or under-recovery being an issue. It’s quite simple, if there is an increase in training volume then there needs to be an increase in the quantity and quality of recovery efforts to meet the training demands. An extra meal and an extra 30 minutes of sleep can greatly impact the athlete’s performance in their next training session.