Making sense of fatigue
In June, I started working with one of my former swim teammates on developing a well-rounded training program equipped with both cardio and resistance training. His goal was to get fit, get strong, and get his diet in order. One of the first topics of conversation was understanding fatigue because I knew his tendency to try and blast himself any chance he got.
In training, fatigue is a simple concept that has some tricky nuances. Most simply, we want to invite as much physiological disturbance as needed to achieve a certain adaptation. This requires fatigue, but it also requires adequate recovery and dosage.
For my endurance friends, becoming fatigued is the easy part. Go big or go home is neat in theory, but it does not work for long term adaptations. You will be tripped up by injury, illness, tanking motivation, or a combination of those three with the hardman approach.
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Enter “tricky nuances” of fatigue.
It is crucial for anyone, my swim buddy included, who trains in endurance, resistance, or dabbles in both to understand some of the markers of having your hand too far in the cookie jar. Most of the items you can look at do not involve looking too closely at heart rate, or HRV, or training data. While those items are helpful, they are nearly exclusive to training time. Markers such as mood, the quality of nutrition, mental acuity, and an afternoon crash pervade into everyday life. I do not know about you, but I don’t want to screw up my academics or my daily decisions because I am too tired.
Here is where balancing is key. Never becoming fatigued in training is not ideal. You aren’t doing enough to become adapted and achieve the fitness goals you set forth. Waking up and feeling tired or sore and little cranky the day after a hard workout is a short term disruption that is A OK…at least in my experience. This is acute fatigue that can be shed with smart training and smart recovery. An issue presents if this sensation persists for the entire week or even worse (yes, I have seen it and experienced it) an entire month.
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Keeping yourself in check is not an easy practice, especially if motivated to achieve an athletic goal. One approach I have found helpful is asking myself or asking an athlete a set of questions when I am looking to add more load or if things are headed south.
What does “feeling exceptional” feel like?
The hard truth is that you need to allow yourself some time during the year to truly feel great. For an athlete with racing goals, this is pretty straight forward as its common practice to freshen up for performance reasons. It becomes a bit more difficult when you are in it for general fitness because there is no peak to aim for. The ceiling is endless. In the case of my swimming buddy, I advise him to back it down every few weeks regardless if feeling great or poor so that we can continue the long term trend of improvement. You should never be so far in the hole that it becomes normal and you forget the sensations of feeling fresh. Red flag!
Do I currently have the space to emotionally and physically handle more load or more intensity?
No matter what you do, adding something more will have a cost. Make sure this cost is appropriate given your current life circumstances. If this addition comes in the form of more intense training, make certain you have external stressors at work, class, and relationships in order. I have found VO2max sessions to destabilize me emotionally for a day or so. Don’t overload your life and then try to overload your body. That is how you can go from acute → chronic fatigue in a hurry.
Do I have the data and/or history to back up doing more?
This question relies more on your training log which you should have if you are trying to make progress. Past history can be a great way to inform future decisions. If the decision you are making on adding to your vat of fatigue is radically different than anything you have done before, either tread lightly or do not engage at all no matter how appealing it may seem. This question is also relevant if you start doing more and find yourself unable to consistently string together the plan you have set forth.
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You need to impose a demand on the body to improve in any domain and asking yourself questions can be a valuable way to frame the path forward. When you pay attention to how training/exercise fatigue plays into everyday life, even in non-physiological aspects, you can identify trends that will keep you out of trouble.