So you're training hard, getting faster, getting stronger, but slowly and surely your progress starts to slow down and come to a halt. Your coach is pushing you harder than ever and you feel like you physically can't give any more and the results start sliding in the wrong direction.

As a result you train even harder to make up for those bad results, making you even more tired. Sound familiar? Believe us, we hear it all the time.

Generally the age-old statement might come up from a friend or family member saying, "You're overtraining". But what does this even mean and is this even the case?

Overtraining occurs when an athlete's total training volume overloads their central nervous system (CNS). This could occur through intense training sessions happening too frequently and close to each other - i.e. back-to-back sessions, day after day. More often than not, athletes are doing extra training sessions without telling the coach, then doing the coaches' program as well, resulting in a dangerously high training load.

On the other hand, there is under-recovery, which comes down to the athlete understanding and looking after their body.

When training at a high level, especially in competition season, recovery sessions need to be planned and incorporated into the program, otherwise you risk overtraining, resulting in rest being needed which takes time away from your training.

As a result of wanting to be the best athlete possible, you need to be able to train hard regularly. Therefore you need to make sure your recovery is of the highest level, meaning optimal hydration, sleep, nutrition, massage, pool recovery are a must.

Overtraining and not recovering properly can have the same result or symptoms but if misdiagnosed you will miss out on valuable training time putting you at a disadvantage to the competition. Our advice is to train at an optimal level for you and try to understand your body to the best degree possible, utilising different recovery methods as needed. When structuring your training try to keep your high-intensity workouts 24 hours apart, allowing your CNS time to recover appropriately and therefor not overtraining.

In order to help you structure your recovery methods throughout the week and make things easy for you, we have designed our 100 point weekly recovery checklist. Each recovery strategy has a different number of points linked with it, to gain the correct amount of recovery you should aim for at least 100 points per week.

Follow the checklist below and kick-start your recovery now. Please consult a health care professional before using ice baths, and use a fully certified massage therapist. 

These are ideas provided by Online Athlete and YSN takes no responsibility for athletes following their programme. 

Full credit to this article goes to our partners Online Athlete, who as part of the partnership with Youth Sport Nutrition are offering all our members 10% OFF if you join them before Christmas 2019.

Information about Online Athlete (OA) and the offer:

Who are Online Athlete and What Do They Do? Online Athlete creates bespoke strength and conditioning programs at the fraction of the cost of a regular strength and conditioning coach. Their athletes say their programs are like having a coach in your back pocket!

How it works? Your interactive training program works straight from an app on your phone and can be accessed from wherever you are in the world. Allowing you to stick to your training wherever you may be.

What makes Online Athlete unique and popular among youth athletes and parents?

• Their programs are all online through the use of an app, meaning athletes and parents can have the freedom of setting their own schedule for the week. This can be set around school and other training.
• The use of an app means the sessions are interactive and athletes will be never to be stuck on a session. All exercises have video demonstrations and coaching points and you and your online coach are connected through the app.

What about a coach?

• All OA athletes are assigned an online coach who is available 24/7 to answer any questions about their training and their program. These coaches can make adjustments to your program if needed or give advice or exercise alternatives.
• You and your online coach will be connected through the app, as well as through WhatsApp and Skype.

How long is the program and how much?

• Online Athlete's programs are 4 weeks long and use a monthly subscription payment method. As long as you keep your subscription going you get a new program every 4 weeks.
• OA have 3 different program options but using the app-based system they have the College Program for £60 or the Tour Program for £80 per month.
• The breakdown of these can be seen at onlineathlete.org

What is included in the program?

• OA programs are designed to cater to individual needs. If you were to choose everything they offer, that would be: strength, conditioning, speed/movement, injury prevention, mobility and warm up and cool down.
• You will also have access to some nutritional help and guidance on their programs.

Program Breakdown

College Program Package £60 per month

• Bespoke Strength and Conditioning program
• Nutritional support
• Access to Sport Psychology content and support
• Full access to Online Athlete portal content and in app services
• Part of the Online Athlete community
• Correspondence with your online coach 24/7 via the app and whatssapp/text

Tour Program Package (£80 per month)

• Bespoke Strength and Conditioning program
• Nutritional support
• Access to sport psychology content and support
• Full access to Online Athlete portal content and in-app services
• Part of the Online Athlete Community
• Correspondence with your online coach 24/7 via the app, Skype, calls, and WhatsApp/text
• Immediate program updates depending on tournament progression and schedule
• Modified program for tournament weeks and training blocks
• Training camp access

 Current Athlete Offers

• If any YSN athlete signs up before the end of the year you will receive 10% off your first month with Online Athlete
• 10% off all bulk order programs for a Christmas present. For example, you can bulk order a 3-month program with us to use at any time throughout the year. A 10% discount will be used for all bulk orders before December 25^th
• If you would like to use or inquire about any of these offers please email theonlineathlete@gmail.com or speak with your YSN representative.