Sometimes you feel like you’re not performing as well as you should even though you’re training very hard – too hard, perhaps? And it doesn’t take much to get on the wrong side of the force (LUKE, I AM YOUR COACH): training while ill, increasing the training load, a session that’s too difficult, the stress of everyday life… the list is long and the body’s responses are varied, but I’m going to give youa concrete case study (about me 😁 ).
When an athlete’s performance goes from bad to worse, it’s always important to find rational explanations in order to remedy the problem as quickly as possible and get back to the level of performance hoped for, especially at the height of the season. The image below shows two tests in 2 different training phases ➡️ We can clearly see that performance levels are lower on the second test, with clear signs of overtraining.
Comparison of two VMA tests
What does science have to say? 🧐
This type of overtraining is fairly classic, with a decrease in sympathetic nervous system activity caused by hypothalamic dysfunction = central fatigue!
Peak lactate and epinephrine have probably decreased in conjunction with a drop in ATP production by glycolysis and therefore in max heart rate (174 vs. 179 bpm). Cardiac function is altered, with lower cardiac output and therefore less oxygen delivered to the muscles to send out watts (-32 W)! The moral of the story? There’s no point in training if the body doesn’t want to respond. Rest is sometimes the best way to come back stronger. 💪 😊
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