Negative outcomes (до- ... -ся)

Reaching the Limit: "до- ... -ся"

If you do something for too long and reach a negative outcome, Russian expresses this by wrapping the verb in the prefix до- and the reflexive postfix -ся (or -сь after vowels). This implies taking an action to a bad extreme or facing the consequences of overdoing it.

To specify exactly what bad thing happened as a result, these verbs are often followed by the preposition до + Genitive case (meaning "to the point of").

Pushing Your Luck

The verb доиграться literally means "to play until a bad outcome," but it is commonly used figuratively to mean "to push one's luck." You might push your luck to the point of a physical injury (травма), especially if you don't respect your body's limit (предел).

You will push your luck to the point of an injury if you don't rest.
Ты доиграешься до травмы, если не будешь отдыхать.
The athlete did not know his limit and pushed his luck.
Спортсмен не знал свой предел и доигрался.

Training to Exhaustion

When working out, athletes can push themselves too hard and train to exhaustion (дотренироваться). This can lead to fainting (обморок) or losing consciousness (сознание). The phrase потерять сознание means "to lose consciousness."

Yesterday he trained to the point of fainting.
Вчера он дотренировался до обморока.
She trained to exhaustion and lost consciousness in the hall.
Она дотренировалась и потеряла сознание в зале.

Running to Exhaustion

Similarly, running too much results in добегаться (to run to exhaustion). When this happens, you might notice that a person's breath (дыхание) becomes very heavy.

You will run to exhaustion, your breathing is already very heavy.
Ты добегаешься, твоё дыхание уже очень тяжёлое.

Asking for Trouble

Another very common verb in this pattern is допрыгаться. While it literally means "to jump until a bad outcome," it is widely used idiomatically to mean "to ask for trouble." Before you reach this point during a workout, it is wise to check your pulse (пульс).

The students didn't listen to the coach and jumped themselves into an injury.
Студенты не слушали тренера и допрыгались до травмы.