Within overtraining there are various psychological considerations, not least of which is a lack of motivation. Remember psychology has to do with the mind, while physiology has to do with the body. So here, psychological considerations of overtraining focus on how overtraining affects our mind.
The main psychological consideration in HSC PDHPE is a lack of motivation. An athlete who has overtrained will lack motivation. They will be tired and not want to get up in the morning, but they will also no longer feel like training. They will lose focus of their goals and no longer want to do the hard work to get there. A lack of motivation is different to lethargy because lethargy is about a lack of energy to train, while a lack of motivation is not wanting to train or compete.
Often lethargy will lead to a lack of motivation. This is because when the body is tired and suffering frequent or constant pain, our emotions become elevated (hence why we are grumpy when tired or hungry).
How do you identify an overtrained athlete? – psychological considerations
The signs and symptoms of an overtrained athlete include various psychological considerations.
Signs of overtraining:
- moody and irritable
- responds poorly to criticism/on field banter
- gives up when competition gets hard/abandons struggles against opponents
Symptoms of overtraining:
- lack of motivation
- depression
- sensitive to criticism
- confusion during competition
Further reading on overtraining
American College of Sports Medicine Overtraining with Resistance Exercise (This one is highly recommended)
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/overtraining/a/aa062499a.htm