Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH

Fiercer competition between athletes and a wider knowledge of optimal training regimens dramatically influence current training methods. A single training bout per day was previously considered sufficient, whereas today athletes regularly train twice a day or more. Consequently, the number of athletes who are overtraining and have insufficient rest is increasing. Positive overtraining can be regarded as a natural process when the end result is adaptation and improved performance: the supercompensation principle--which includes the breakdown process (training) followed by the recovery process (rest)--is well known in sports. However, negative overtraining, causing maladaptation and other negative consequences such as staleness, can occur. Physiological, psychological, biochemical and immunological symptoms must be considered, both independently and together, to fully understand the 'staleness' syndrome. However, psychological testing may reveal early-warning signs more readily than the various physiological or immunological markers. The time frame of training and recovery is also important since the consequences of negative overtraining comprise an overtraining-response continuum from short to long term effects. An athlete failing to recover within 72 hours has presumably negatively overtrained and is in an overreached state. For an elite athlete to refrain from training for > 72 hours is extremely undesirable, highlighting the importance of a carefully monitored recovery process. There are many methods used to measure the training process but few with which to match the recovery process against it. One such framework for this is referred to as the total quality recovery (TQR) process. By using a TQR scale, structured around the scale developed for ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), the recovery process can be monitored and matched against the breakdown (training) process (TQR versus RPE). The TQR scale emphasises both the athlete's perception of recovery and the importance of active measures to improve the recovery process. Furthermore, directing attention to psychophysiological cues serves the same purpose as in RPE, i.e. increasing self-awareness. This article reviews and conceptualises the whole overtraining process. In doing so, it (i) aims to differentiate between the types of stress affecting an athlete's performance: (ii) identifies factors influencing an athlete's ability to adapt to physical training: (iii) structures the recovery process. The TQR method to facilitate monitoring of the recovery process is then suggested and a conceptual model that incorporates all of the important parameters for performance gain (adaptation) and loss (maladaptation).

Compares staleness rates and training practices across countries based on adolescent swimmers from different nations. Range of staleness incidence for endurance athletes; Rate of mood disturbance among stale swimmers; Differences in the pattern of staleness symptoms.

Heavy training in combination with inadequate recovery actions can result in the overtraining/staleness syndrome and burnout. Even young and aspiring elite athletes develop staleness. The aim was therefore to determine the incidence and nature of staleness, and its association with training behavior and psychosocial stressors in young elite athletes. A sample of 272 individuals from 16 sports completed questionnaires on training, staleness, and psychosocial stress and 37% reported being stale at least once. The incidence rate was higher for individual sports (48%) compared with team (30%) and less physically demanding sports (18%). Stale athletes reported greater perceptual changes and negatively elevated mood scores in comparison to healthy athletes. Staleness was distinguished from burnout on the basis of motivational consequences; 41 % of the athletes lost their motivation for training, which in turn indicates a state of burnout. Further, 35 % of the athletes reported low satisfaction with time spent on important relationships, 29% rated the relationship with their coach as ranging from very, very bad to only moderately good. The results indicate that staleness is a widespread problem among young athletes in a variety of sports, and is not solely related to physical training, but also to non-training stressors.

Eleven elite kayakers performed an identical weekly training schedule each week during a 3-week training-camp. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory (“right now” instructions) was completed before and after selected workouts each week to assess both training-induced mood disturbances and the extent of recovery following short and long rest. The ratio of POMS vigour to POMS fatigue scores was used as an “energy index”. Energy index scores were compared with ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) to address the size of the training load. Performance measures were obtained during the first and last week. The results showed that the energy index decreased (p<0.01) throughout the camp and did not return to initial values following either the short (one night) or long rest (two nights and one day). Performance measures and RPE remained unaffected throughout training, as did the POMS depression scores, indicating that the athletes experienced an overreached state but did not develop staleness. Our results suggest that repeated evaluation using POMS fatigue, vigour, and depression scores during periods of intensified training may help prevent athletes from becoming severely overreached and reduce the likelihood of staleness.