F atigue - physical or mental - simply refers to the inability to
maintain a task despite trying to continue . That could be the inability to continue to curl a dumbbell ; the inability to maintain a desired pace on the track , in the pool , or on the bike ; or the inability to react quickly to a stimulus .
No one likes to become fatigued , even though it ’ s a natural consequence of hard exercise . Fatigue saps physical capacity , drains mental focus , and exhausts the desire to maintain the intensity of exercise . Fatigue is often equated with failure , especially when fatigue occurs during competition . After all , one of the most important benefits of training is to delay the onset of fatigue for as long as possible . Whether you ’ re sprinting 100 metres or pacing yourself through a marathon , fatigue is what slows you down .
A hallmark of fatigue is that it is temporary . Within a few minutes or a few hours , depending on the exercise task , the ability to perform the task returns . In that regard , fatigue is reversible , and that rapid reversibility makes fatigue very different from overtraining .
What is overtraining ?
Overtraining refers to physiological maladaptations and performance decrements that can last for days or weeks . Figure 4.9 shows how the normal progression for improved fitness can plateau and then either continue to improve or take a precipitous decline ( overtraining ). Simply put , overtraining occurs when the training stress exceeds the capacity of the athlete ’ s body to recover and adapt .
Motivated athletes and clients are often at risk of overtraining because they tend to ignore symptoms of overtraining in their quest for greater fitness and better performance . Overtraining is a risk not just for endurance athletes . Many sports and types of fitness training , martial arts , strength training , and other physical endeavours require rigorous workouts , often more than once each day , making anyone who trains on a regular basis susceptible to nonfunctional overreaching and overtraining . In contrast , periodic functional overreaching during a training season appears to be important in maximising the adaptations to training .
What role does fatigue play in adaptations to training ?
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi was quoted as saying , “ Fatigue makes cowards of us all .” That may be true in some cases , but it is also true that fatigue can make better athletes of us all . It is obvious that the human body is well equipped to adapt to the stress of physical training . It should also be obvious that the extent of those adaptations is directly related to the
FIGURE 4.9 : Progression , plateauing , improvement and decline
Improvement
Normal response : The body gradually adapts to a progressive training program
Progression
Functional overreaching : Performance plateaus and may even degrade , but with proper recovery , adaptation and markedly improved performance occur .
Super compensation
Non-functional overreaching
Overtraining : Fatigue is persistent , and normal recovery does not occur even after more than two months of rest . Strength , endurance , coordination , and motivation are reduced . Immune system is affected . Risk of overuse injuries increases .
Eventual adaptation and recovery after weeks to months of reduced training or rest .
Failure to adapt
Time
Overtraining is characterised by physiological maladaptations and performance decrements that occur when the body fails to adapt to the training stimulus
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