overtrain

[ oh-ver-treyn ]

verb (used without object)

1. to exercise too hard or without sufficient recovery time, often causing injuries or a decline in performance:

   When you overtrain with weights, you are constantly tearing down your muscles and not allowing your body to catch up in repairing them.

verb (used with object)

1. to exercise (a muscle or muscles) too hard or without sufficient recovery time, often causing injuries or a decline in performance:

   Be careful not to overtrain individual muscle groups—rotating your workouts will help you avoid this.

2. to exercise or train (a person or animal) too much, too hard, or without sufficient recovery time:

   Keep the sessions short so that you don’t overtrain or overtire your dog.

Word History and Origins

Origin of overtrain¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; over- ( def ) + train ( def )

Example Sentences

Much has changed since then, including new techniques that enabled AI researchers to make better use of the data they already have and sometimes “overtrain” on the same sources multiple times.

From Seattle Times

“Last year really bothered Cooper — that’s just who he is,” Rams general manager Les Snead said last month at the NFL owners’ annual meeting, adding that his only concern going into this season was that Kupp might overtrain.

From Los Angeles Times

“Lissette has a whole calculation, because you can’t overtrain and you can’t undertrain,” Norton said.

From Seattle Times

Robert Forster, a Santa Monica-based physical therapist who has worked with Kersee’s athletes since 1983, said Kersee understands the “work-rest ratio” better than any coach, and does not overtrain where other coaches might double down on mileage.

From Los Angeles Times

I didn’t know you could overtrain.

From New York Times