Overtraining or Under-Recovering? Lessons From a Heavy Week of Training

It creeps up on you. That creeping sense that something's not quite right. You're not sleeping as well. A few aches and twinges take longer to fade. You're slower to warm up. But you push on because you're passionate about training, it's part of your identity, and in my case—it's also part of my work.

But after two muscle strains in seven weeks, both on a Wednesday night during no-gi BJJ after Krav Maga, I’ve had to stop and reassess. Is it overtraining, or is it under-recovering? Here's a breakdown of my weekly training and some hard-won insights.

My Weekly Training Schedule

Here’s what my week has looked like since reintroducing martial arts into the mix about 6-7 weeks ago:

Monday (AM): 45 minutes of kettlebell training. Medium to high intensity. This is often strength and flow-based, with a good amount of volume.

Tuesday: Two hours of kettlebells and resistance bands, usually at low intensity, with some experimentation and coaching layered in.

Wednesday (AM): 1 hour of kettlebell training whilst coaching at moderate to high intensity. However, this doesn’t include the 50+ minutes of setup before class and pack-down after—lugging two kettlebells at a time up and down steep stairs. That alone feels like a separate workout.

Wednesday (PM): One hour of Krav Maga followed immediately by one hour of no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. These are full-on, mentally and physically demanding sessions.

Thursday (PM): Sometimes I train, sometimes I don’t. It’s often a 60-minute session at medium intensity if I do.

Friday (AM): Kettlebell class setup 50+ minutes, one hour of high-intensity kettlebell training, followed by another hour of low to medium intensity, then pack down. Again, that setup and takedown adds real physical strain.

When Passion Outpaces Recovery

The issue isn’t that each individual session is too much. It's the cumulative toll of intensity, volume, and physical labour throughout the week—especially midweek when everything clusters together.

Wednesday is a beast. By the time I hit the mats for BJJ, I’ve:

• Done a heavy kettlebell session

• Carried more weight up and down stairs than I care to admit

• Taught or coached

• Probably missed a proper post-lunch rest

And then I expect my body to take on two hours of dynamic, intense martial arts involving sprawls, resistance, explosive movement, and ground-based grappling. No surprise the second strain occurred—this one an adductor tweak while defending guard.

So, What Is Overtraining Really?

People talk about overtraining a lot, but more often than not, the issue is under-recovery. Here’s the distinction:

• Overreaching: Short-term training beyond your recovery capacity. You feel tired, sore, a bit off. But with rest, performance rebounds—and often improves.

• Overtraining Syndrome: Long-term under-recovery leading to decreased performance, chronic fatigue, poor sleep, mood issues, hormonal imbalances, and higher injury risk.

For most of us—especially those balancing work, family, and training—we’re not Olympic athletes logging 30-hour weeks. But we are pushing our bodies hard and not always giving back in equal measure through sleep, nutrition, mobility work, and mental downtime.

Hidden Loads Matter

Here’s what I’ve come to realise: carrying kettlebells up and down steep stairs every Wednesday and Friday isn’t setup—it’s part of the training load.

In fact, it’s often eccentric (lowering) and awkwardly balanced, with fatigue already setting in. That’s the kind of work that breaks you down over time if you don’t factor it into your recovery equation.

Same goes for things like:

• Walking or biking between sessions

• Holding pads for others

• Being ‘on’ as a coach or instructor

• Poor sleep the night before

It all accumulates. And if you’re not tracking it or allowing time for compensation and repair, it can lead to injury.

Signs I Ignored

Looking back, the warning signs were there:

• A low-grade fatigue that lingered between sessions

• Slower recovery from what used to be manageable DOMS

• Muscle tightness, especially around the hips and groin

• Slight irritability and brain fog on Thursdays

• Cutting warm-ups shorter to squeeze in more work

Nothing dramatic. But when you ignore the whispers, the body eventually shouts.

Lessons Learned

1. You can’t keep adding without subtracting. Returning to martial arts added a whole new level of neural and muscular fatigue. But I didn’t dial anything else back. That’s not sustainable.

2. Setup and logistics matter. I need to treat setup and packdown like weighted carries. They count. Maybe more than some of the actual training, because they’re less structured and more fatiguing.

3. Recovery is a skill. I’ve neglected the basics: breathwork, mobility, protein timing, and prioritising sleep. Even a dedicated 20-minute cooldown would’ve helped. But it’s always easier to squeeze in another session than to slow down.

4. BJJ and Krav Maga hit differently. Martial arts aren’t just “another workout.” They bring unique, unpredictable movement, impact, tension, and emotional charge. That needs space to integrate.

5. Middle-age matters. I’m not 25. I can still train hard—but not without smarter planning. Load management, mobility work, and targeted recovery matter more than ever.

How I'm Adjusting

I’m not giving anything up. But I am changing the way I structure the week. A few shifts I’m experimenting with:

• Thursday becomes an active recovery day: Breathwork, stretching, light band work, maybe a walk. But no kettlebells or heavy movement.

• Wednesday warm-ups are longer and smarter: I’m spending more time opening the hips, activating the adductors, and doing joint prep before martial arts.

• Strategic use of contrast therapy: Ice baths or cold showers post-BJJ to reduce inflammation and aid sleep.

• Nutrition support: Protein + electrolytes after high-output sessions and a renewed focus on post-training meals.

• Better sleep discipline: No screens late at night, and at least one night per week of extended rest.

I’m also tracking RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) more consistently. Not every session needs to be a 9/10. That’s not a badge of honour—it’s a one-way ticket to burnout.

Final Thoughts: Redefining Progress

Overtraining isn’t just a concern for elite athletes. It affects anyone who loves to train, pushes themselves, and juggles multiple physical commitments. Progress isn't just about adding volume or intensity—it’s about finding balance.

Injury is feedback, not failure. It’s your body calling a timeout.

Sometimes the smartest, most disciplined thing you can do is rest, adjust, and rebuild stronger. If you’ve felt the warning signs lately—fatigue, repeated niggles, mood changes, or sleep disruption—listen. Don’t wait for a tear or strain to force the issue.

Train hard. But recover harder.

– Russell