Overtraining without feeling it?

[Steel_UK]

I've been pondering.

When the "coach" was away for a couple of weeks I made some serious gains in my deadlift, however during training normally over the many weeks my gains are incredibly slow. I work incredibly hard during some sessions, and I'm starting to wonder if it is feasible to overtrain and not really feel like you have overtrained? See soreness and general iffy feeling for my definition of overtraining.

[Insex]

Did you workout much on your own while your coach was away? If not, you probably just allowed your body enough time to get some extra rest and recuperation while your coach was away.

Don't think that from now on every time you take a two-week break your strength will increase this much. You're a young man right now and you still need to workout hard in order to continue seeing gains. As you get older into your 30s and 40s, your strength gains will not come as quickly as they used to at your present age; so take advantage of your youth and gain all the strength you can. Sometimes, our bodies recover at a slower rate than the rate that we break them down in the gym. So a two-week break once every eight or so weeks is fine; but don't be fooled into thinking that you can workout for two weeks then decide to take another two-week break all the time.

[lizzyb]

Hmmm......I also wonder what your diet was like when "coach" was absent compared to how you eat when coach is present??? Reason I ask is because it is quite common to be able to have stellar lifts when suddenly your diet has become more carb infused than usual.
Doesn't sound like overtraining to me....sounds more like something in your diet or as Insex said as well.

[n10city]

I would also ask if you're new to the lift. It could be that you're just getting better at it. The deadlift, depending on which style of deadlift you speak of, is one of those that can extremely hard and strenuous with bad technique and a breeze with correct technique.