How to Avoid Burnout from Sport

Burnout happens when an athlete is subjected to great stress for long periods of time. Today, we'll talk about the consequences and what you can do to overcome it.

Burnout from sport is when an athlete is no longer able to maintain their normal performance levels, whether physically or mentally. They might feel that they no longer have the strength and effort feels exhausting. It can also be difficult for them to concentrate and they might feel demotivated.

Burnout syndrome is the body’s response to a prolonged period of stress and normally involves chronic fatigue, a lack of motivation, irritability, and anger.

An exhausted athlete will almost certainly not be able to perform at their best. But it’s not just that; burnout can lead to a loss of interest and some people can even give up a sport because of it. This makes it all the more important to understand burnout and learn how to overcome it.

What is burnout syndrome?

As we previously mentioned, burnout is a state of mental exhaustion brought about by prolonged stress. Maslach and Jackson (1981) suggest three key characteristics of this syndrome:

• Emotional fatigue: feelings of weakness and exhaustion when training. Those feelings lead to an inability to achieve personal goals.
• Depersonalization: a negative, indifferent, or apathetic attitude towards the sport and training partners.
• Low personal fulfillment: decreased self-confidence and coping skills and the belief that personal resources aren’t enough. Athletes develop a negative view of themselves.

How to overcome burnout from sport

Now that we’ve got a clear picture of what burnout from sport is, we’ll take a look at how it can be addressed. Ideally, prevention is the best option and to try to minimize its impact when symptoms start to appear.

1. Spot symptoms as soon as possible

Burnout is caused by being subjected to high levels of stress, so a key way to reduce the risk of burnout is to reduce symptoms of stress as much as possible.

Stress manifests itself in many ways, including negative thoughts about yourself or the future. There are also physiological symptoms, such as feelings of restlessness, a high heart rate, or muscle tension, and behaviors such as avoidance.

Relaxation techniques have been shown to be effective in dealing with these symptoms. Techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing are easy to apply and can be used in any situation to reduce any discomfort caused by stress.

2. Properly plan your workouts and breaks

It’s common for athletes suffering from burnout to claim that they feel trapped in their routine. Ending this feeling of monotony can, therefore, be an important measure and can be as simple as introducing variety to your training schedule.

To increase diversity and break your routine, you could dedicate each training session to a different skill or muscle group. This way, each training session will have different objectives with different exercises.

It’s also very important to make sure that you get enough rest. If you don’t rest enough you won’t recover either physically or mentally after training.

3. Avoid burnout from sport: boost self-motivation levels

Self-motivation makes sport enjoyable because your own desire to improve skills and ability doesn’t depend on external rewards.

Athletes who are able to motivate themselves are much less likely to suffer from burnout syndrome. This is because they see sport as a means in itself instead of a means to an end.

However, boosting self-motivation isn’t easy. It requires constant effort over time to see results. But in the long term, it’s a much more stable and durable way of staying motivated than relying on external motivators.

4. Improved communication between athlete and coach

The best way to solve any mismatch between a coach’s demands and an athlete’s abilities is communication. Whilst an athlete will see their coach as an authority figure, they should also be a person that they can trust and who looks after their well-being.

This means that any athlete who notices signs of exhaustion should go straight to their coach to talk about it so that it can be addressed immediately.

If a problem isn’t shared and addressed, it runs the risk of becoming chronic. Furthermore, talking about your concerns is therapeutic in itself. We feel better when we put our troubles and worries into words.

Ending burnout from sport requires significant effort

Burnout from sport can have serious consequences for an athlete’s performance and health. The sooner it’s detected, the less it’ll have an impact in the long run.

Treatment will require a joint intervention on the part of the athlete, coach, and possibly a psychologist. Each party will be able to provide really valuable information to help prevent or overcome burnout.

Finally, it’s important for the athlete to know how to detect symptoms themselves, and this means paying close attention to your emotions and the way you feel. In the end, prevention is the very best form of treatment.