Fluctuating fitness?

[gareth h]

Does anybody else find this (I’m 59, always been active), I’ve been rowing for CV, Through April I was doing two 1 hour sessions a week, distances increasing with every session and feeling good, during May I’m feeling burnt out after 30 minutes (and rowing slower).
Nothing else has changed (sleep, food etc), although it is probably 3-4 deg warmer, and the area we’ve moved to is close to the coast with 85-90% humidity (according to the weather app).
Would this have an effect?
Ta
G

[R56Cooper]

gareth h said:

Does anybody else find this (I’m 59, always been active), I’ve been rowing for CV, Through April I was doing two 1 hour sessions a week, distances increasing with every session and feeling good, during May I’m feeling burnt out after 30 minutes (and rowing slower).
Nothing else has changed (sleep, food etc), although it is probably 3-4 deg warmer, and the area we’ve moved to is close to the coast with 85-90% humidity (according to the weather app).
Would this have an effect?
Ta
G

At the risk of worrying you I would suggest a check up with your GP. Probably nothing but if there is nothing obvious to explain such a drop in performance it might be worth it.

You getting enough sleep, hydration etc. Stress levels ok?

[popeyewhite]

Overtraining.

[danpalmer1993]

Are you in the right head space when working out? Been for a few runs recently when I have been distracted and just not felt the same and hit the wall much sooner.

[popeyewhite]

gareth h said:

Through April I was doing two 1 hour sessions a week, distances increasing with every session and feeling good, during May I’m feeling burnt out after 30 minutes (and rowing slower).
Nothing else has changed

It's overtraining. Your age is probably a factor as well.

[TheThing]

Could it be something psychological? You say you are burnt out after 30 minutes. That is a long old time to be spending on any excercise machine. I'd be bored as feck after 5 minutes.

[ovlovlover]

As others have said probably over training.

General rule is no more than 10% increase in volume/intensity per week with every 4th week a recover week (20% ish reduction). Some suggest every 3rd week recovery over the age of 40. Up to you.

Take a weeks break. Do some alternative sports at low intensity to maintain fitness but recover. Try again in a week. Might need a bit longer.

[gareth h]

ovlovlover said:

As others have said probably over training.

General rule is no more than 10% increase in volume/intensity per week with every 4th week a recover week (20% ish reduction). Some suggest every 3rd week recovery over the age of 40. Up to you.

Take a weeks break. Do some alternative sports at low intensity to maintain fitness but recover. Try again in a week. Might need a bit longer.

Thanks, I’ll give that a go, I do mix some strength training in a couple of times a week, and to be honest I have noticed I don’t have the stamina to do a full 5x5 session anymore, tend to split it over 2 days.
It’s a bd getting old!

[mcelliott]

popeyewhite said:

Overtraining.

Nope, just not getting enough quality recovery, could be anything from sleep through to diet, hydration, personal stress levels.

His training load looks very light in fact, just looking at what he says he does I would say he's undertrained

Edited by mcelliott on Tuesday 17th May 19:36

Edited by mcelliott on Tuesday 17th May 19:40

[Scabutz]

I agree possibly overtraining.

Few years back I got into Triathlon in a big way. Started training really hard qas making massive progress. Then hit a wall, couldn't complete swim sets, was losing power on the bike.

Took a break, eased back in soon back where I was.

[ian in lancs]

mcelliott said:

popeyewhite said:

Overtraining.

Nope, just not getting enough quality recovery, could be anything from sleep through to diet, hydration, personal stress levels.

His training load looks very light in fact.

Edited by mcelliott on Tuesday 17th May 19:36

I don't think its over training either. I'm 63 and on average run 25k, ride 50k, walk 10k a week and two strength training sessions a week. I get occasional duff sessions but no real trigger other than sugary indulgence / lack of good sleep. Maybe look at diet, hydration, alcohol intake and rest. I also find a sports watch with HR, RHR, Recovery time, et al to be the dashboard data for your body.

[a311]

I've no idea if it could be a factor but I listened to a podcast recently about the function on hormones. Low testosterone for example can make you feel fatigued.

I'm younger than you but have been interested in getting one of those full blood panel tests you pay for circa £100 but cheaper options.

[mnaylor]

No harm in a check up, but I'm 38 and have found for years my performance lifting dumbbells and doing push ups can be somewhat erratic. I think it depends on how tired I am, heat, what I've eaten etc.

[alabbasi]

Drink a pre workout. It usually works like a shot in the arm for me.

[Hoofy]

It is hotter so you'll sweat more throughout the day. Make sure you are fully hydrated.

[popeyewhite]

To those applying subjective opinion to the OP's training regime regarding overtraining: 1. lack of recovery is a symptom of overtraining, 2, whether you personally think another's training load is high compared to yours is completely and utterly irrelevant, 3. there are numerous psychological symptoms of overtraining, and 4, overtraining is doing too much too soon, ie the rate of increased training is too great for that individual.

[andyA700]

popeyewhite said:

To those applying subjective opinion to the OP's training regime regarding overtraining: 1. lack of recovery is a symptom of overtraining, 2, whether you personally think another's training load is high compared to yours is completely and utterly irrelevant, 3. there are numerous psychological symptoms of overtraining, and 4, overtraining is doing too much too soon, ie the rate of increased training is too great for that individual.

Excallent post. Everone is different, we all have our personal limits. The OP is 59, so although not old, I think (judging by my rowing workouts when I was 40), a couple of one hour sessions a week could be quite harsh. We don't know how far he is pushing himself.

[mcelliott]

popeyewhite said:

To those applying subjective opinion to the OP's training regime regarding overtraining: 1. lack of recovery is a symptom of overtraining, 2, whether you personally think another's training load is high compared to yours is completely and utterly irrelevant, 3. there are numerous psychological symptoms of overtraining, and 4, overtraining is doing too much too soon, ie the rate of increased training is too great for that individual.

Lol he's doing 2hrs of training a week for goodness sake, I'm sorry that really doesn't constitute overtraining, if you have nailed rest, nutrition and daily stress then you can place a way higher load on the body.

[spikeyhead]

mcelliott said:

popeyewhite said:

To those applying subjective opinion to the OP's training regime regarding overtraining: 1. lack of recovery is a symptom of overtraining, 2, whether you personally think another's training load is high compared to yours is completely and utterly irrelevant, 3. there are numerous psychological symptoms of overtraining, and 4, overtraining is doing too much too soon, ie the rate of increased training is too great for that individual.

Lol he's doing 2hrs of training a week for goodness sake, I'm sorry that really doesn't constitute overtraining, if you have nailed rest, nutrition and daily stress then you can place a way higher load on the body.

That assumes that the body is fit to start with. For a 56 year old, I'm far fitter than most, but would struggle with rowing that much, particularly if I pushed hard. It's also possible that his training should be far more mixed to prevent imbalance.

[RSTurboPaul]

Has the OP had a low level snotty nose cold or similar, that could be the body working to clear it and taking energy away from training?

a311 said:

I've no idea if it could be a factor but I listened to a podcast recently about the function on hormones. Low testosterone for example can make you feel fatigued.

I'm younger than you but have been interested in getting one of those full blood panel tests you pay for circa £100 but cheaper options.

I'm thinking about those panel tests too - please do post any good options that you identify!