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Biochemical Aspects of Overtraining in Endurance Sports

A Review

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Abstract

Top-level performances in endurance sports require several years of hard training loads. A major objective of this endurance training is to reach the most elevated metabolic adaptations the athlete will be able to support. As a consequence, overtraining is a recurrent problem that highly-trained athletes may experience during their career. Many studies have revealed that overtraining could be highlighted by various biochemical markers but a principal discrepancy in the diagnosis of overtraining stems from the fact that none of these markers may be considered as universal. In endurance sports, the metabolic aspects of training fatigue appear to be the most relevant parameters that may characterise overtraining when recovery is not sufficient, or when dietary habits do not allow an optimal replenishment of substrate stores. From the skeletal muscle functions to the overall energetic substrate availability during exercise, six metabolic schemes have been studied in relation to overtraining, each one related to a central parameter, i.e. carbohydrates, branched-chain amino acids, glutamine, polyunsaturated fatty acids, leptin, and proteins.

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The authors have provided no information on sources of funding or on conflicts of interest directly relevant to the content of this review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculté des Sciences du Sport et de l‘Education Physique, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, Av. Camille Julian, 33607, Pessac, Cedex, France

    Cyril Petibois, Georges Cazorla & Gérard Déléris

  2. Bio-Organic Chemistry Group, Bordeaux, France

    Cyril Petibois & Gérard Déléris

  3. Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Talence, France

    Cyril Petibois & Georges Cazorla

  4. Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Jacques-Rémi Poortmans

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  1. Cyril Petibois
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  2. Georges Cazorla
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  3. Jacques-Rémi Poortmans
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  4. Gérard Déléris
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Correspondence to Cyril Petibois.

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Petibois, C., Cazorla, G., Poortmans, JR. et al. Biochemical Aspects of Overtraining in Endurance Sports. Sports Med 32, 867–878 (2002). https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200232130-00005

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