Original paperPractical tests for monitoring performance, fatigue and recovery in triathletes
Introduction
It is well established that an appropriately designed training plan can improve athletic performance.1 However, when increased intensive physical training is completed without sufficient recovery periods, fatigue may accumulate resulting in a reduced performance capacity.2 These periods of intensified training can lead to either functional (short-term) overreaching, non-functional (extreme) overreaching or in severe cases, to the Overtraining Syndrome.3
Deliberate functional overreaching is common in many physical training programs and is considered by many coaches to be part of the normal training process for athletes.3 Indeed, some studies have shown that functional overreaching may lead to enhanced performance when appropriate recovery or taper periods follow the intensified training.4 However, if athletes continue to train intensively during functional overreaching, non-functional overreaching or even the Overtraining Syndrome can manifest. During non-functional overreaching, an athlete may present with a range of symptoms (e.g., hormonal dysregulation, psychological disturbances, reduced immune function, sleep disorders) and require weeks or months to restore performance capacity.3 The symptoms for the more serious of these conditions, the Overtraining Syndrome, are the same as for non-functional overreaching with the delineation between these conditions being made on the basis of the length of time taken to recover.
The challenge for coaches and athletes is to determine the point at which training becomes maladaptive. The result of intensified training is difficult to predict because each individual athlete's response to overreaching can be variable.5 Therefore, accurate athlete monitoring during the training process may assist in the prevention of non-functional overreaching and the Overtraining Syndrome.
Various theories have emerged which propose that overreached/overtrained athletes have a dysregulation of either the metabolic, hormonal, physiological and/or immunological systems.5, 6, 7, 8, 9 However, there is still no consensus regarding simple tests which can be used to provide an early warning of impending non-functional overreaching or the Overtraining Syndrome. Currently, the only reliable method of diagnosis is through a decrease in performance.2 Therefore, instead of investigating the cause of overreaching, this study will examine the usefulness of several practical tests to monitor changes in running performance for use as possible indicators of the performance decrements associated with overreaching.
Section snippets
Subjects
Sixteen experienced male triathletes volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects’ physical characteristics are shown in Table 2. All participants had regularly competed in triathlon for at least 3 years, performing more than six triathlons per year and training a minimum of 8 h week−1. Ten subjects had competed at a national and international level for their respective age groups. Prior to the commencement of testing, subjects were informed of the purpose and the potential
Results
There were no differences between the IT and NT groups in age, height, and 3 kmTT prior to the commencement of the training period. However, differences were found between groups for body mass (p = 0.019) and Σ9 skinfolds (p = 0.018). The training loads for the IT and NT groups during the 6-week training period are shown in Table 1 and have been previously reported in detail.11 The IT group was observed to complete ∼290% (p < 0.001) greater training load than the NT group. This was due to an
Discussion
The ability to monitor acute changes in an athlete's performance may assist in the prevention of non-functional overreaching and the Overtraining Syndrome. However, regular maximal performance testing may be unduly fatiguing and impractical for most athletes. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the effectiveness of several simple tests to reflect changes in 3 kmTT running performance in endurance athletes undergoing either normal or intensified training loads.
The present study
Conclusion
In summary, the present results show that changes in DALDA and 5BT measures were associated with changes in 3 kmTT performance during periods of overreaching and following a taper. Although the strength of the correlations for these measures was low, we suggest that these simple tests may be useful non-fatiguing measures that can be used to monitor general changes in the fatigue and recovery states of endurance athletes. Future studies should examine the relationships between these practical
Practical applications
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Psychological questionnaires, such as the Daily Analysis of Life Demands for Athletes, may be useful tools to identify athletes who are susceptible to non-functional overreaching.
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The five-bound test may be a practical method to estimate changes in neuromuscular fatigue in athletes who complete substantial ‘on legs’ training.
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It is difficult to distinguish between adapting and non-adapting athletes through changes in physiological measures such as , lactate threshold and heart rate.
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