Monitoring and Overtraining

Question 1

What is overreaching?

Answer 1

stress accumulation resulting in SHORT TERM decrement in performance capacity.
Restoration of performance capacity may take from several DAYS to several WEEKS.

Question 2

What is overtraining?

Answer 2

stress accumulation resulting in LONG TERM decrement in performance capacity.
Restoration of performance capacity may take several WEEKS to several MONTHS.

Question 3

What’s the definition of overtraining syndrome (OTS)

Answer 3

A sports specific performance drop and disturbances in mood state.
All other potential causes must first be ruled out.
Use the OTS checklist
- (Meeusen et al, 2013)

Question 4

How does overtraining differ to overreaching in terms of adaptation on the general adaptation syndrome graph (Selye)

Answer 4

Overreaching leads to significant performance gains once the performer has prolonged rest.
When overtrained, prolonged rest does not lead to any benefits to performance, performer may continue to worsen as they’re exhausted

Question 5

How does OTS prevalence differ with sport type and playing level?
give a reference

Answer 5

OTS higher in individual sports over team sports.
OTS incidence rises with playing level. (~50% of young English int athletes, compared with just 20% club players)
- (Matos et al, 2011)

Question 6

What are some general categories and examples of symptoms of OTS?

Answer 6

> Parasympathetic alterations
- fatigue, depression, bradycardia, loss of motivation
Sympathetic alterations
- insomnia, irritability, hypertension, tachcardia
Other
- anorexia, weight loss, reduced concentration, sore muscles, anxiety

Question 7

What would the “ideal marker” for OTS be?

Answer 7

> sensitive to training load
> unaffected by other factors
> able to observe changes before OTS established
> give rapid results
> easy and cheap
> minimally invasive

Question 8

What are some examples of biochemically markers of OTS?

Answer 8

• muscle glycogen
  + creatine kinase (muscle damage)
• plasma glucose
  + plasma urea (metabolic strain)

Question 9

What are some examples of hormone markers of OTS?

Answer 9

Reduced test:cortisol (related to physiological strain of training, not OTS)

GH and ACTH response to exercise (response to repeated exercise tanks hugely when overtrained) - (Meeusen et al, 2004)

Question 10

What is the most important testing to be performed to diagnose OTS?

Answer 10

sport-specific performance test

Question 11

What is the effect of OTS on athlete profile of mood state (POMS)?

Answer 11

moving from an iceberg POMS which is typical in fit individuals, to a negative iceberg profile.

Question 12

How does OTS affect other areas of an athlete’s psychology?

Answer 12

reduced cognitive function

Question 13

What are some physiological differences in an overtrained athlete?

Answer 13

> decreased power output (lower max blood lactate conc and VO2)
as exercise volume per week increases low libido incidence rises
changes to resting HR (bradycardia in aerobic athlete, tachycardia in anaerobic athlete)

Question 14

Can viruses increase the risk of OTS?

Answer 14

Possibly,

look at Epstein Barr virus

Question 15

Can stress affect illness contraction?

give reference

Answer 15

yup,

Cohen et al (1991) found that psychological stress increases the risk of infection when exposed to a virus

Question 16

How is sleep affected by high level athlete training?

give reference

Answer 16

athletes have higher sleep latency and fragmentation index (restlessness) than normos
- Leeder et al (2012)

Question 17

So, does more sleep improve performance?

Answer 17

Mah et al (2011) manipulated the sleep time and studied sprint performances of runners, found that more sleep = faster sprint times over a period of ~40 days

Question 18

What is an issue with the Mah et al (2011) study into sleep and performance?

Answer 18

There was no control group, so changes to sprint time may have been as a result of training over time

Question 19

How does intra-workout nutrition affect the response of some of the markers of OTS?

Answer 19

CHO intake (compared w/ placebo) during endurance running leads to…
- greater plasma glucose
- reduced plasma cortisol
(Henson et al, 1988)

Question 20

What is an issue with effectively dulling the stress response to exercise?

Answer 20

it is critical for adaptation

Question 21

Give some examples of strategies to avoid OTS

Answer 21

> monitor performance and illness
> avoid boredom in training
> good hygiene
> adequate nutrition and hydration
> adequate sleep
> individualise training intensity

Question 22

How does dietary protein affect illness rates in relation to training intensity?

Answer 22

A high protein diet (compared w/ control diet) mitigates the effects of a high intensity training regime on URTI incidence
- (Witard et al, 2013)