“I Want to Create So Much Stimulus That Adaptation Goes Through the Roof”: High-Performance Strength Coaches' Perceptions of Planned Overreaching

Abstract

Functional overreaching (FOR) occurs when athletes experience improved athletic capabilities in the days and weeks following short-term periods of increased training demand. However, prolonged high training demand with insufficient recovery may also lead to non-functional overreaching (NFOR) or the overtraining syndrome (OTS). The aim of this research was to explore strength coaches' perceptions and experiences of planned overreaching (POR); short-term periods of increased training demand designed to improve athletic performance. Fourteen high-performance strength coaches (weightlifting; n = 5, powerlifting; n = 4, sprinting; n = 2, throws; n = 2, jumps; n = 1) participated in semistructured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis identified 3 themes: creating enough challenge, training prescription, and questioning the risk to reward. POR was implemented for a 7 to 14 day training cycle and facilitated through increased daily/weekly training volume and/or training intensity. Participants implemented POR in the weeks (~5–8 weeks) preceding competition to allow sufficient time for performance restoration and improvement to occur. Short-term decreased performance capacity, both during and in the days to weeks following training, was an anticipated by-product of POR, and at times used as a benchmark to confirm that training demand was sufficiently challenging. Some participants chose not to implement POR due to a lack of knowledge, confidence, and/or perceived increased risk of athlete training maladaptation. Additionally, this research highlights the potential dichotomy between POR protocols used by strength coaches to enhance athletic performance and those used for the purpose of inducing training maladaptation for diagnostic identification.

“You can't shoot another bullet until you've reloaded the gun”: Coaches' perceptions, practices and experiences of deloading in strength and physique sports

“…A semi-structured interview approach was selected as the data collection method as it provides an opportunity for comprehensive but flexible information collection, where opinions can be complex and nuanced ( 51 – 53 ). Semi-structured interviews have previously been employed within strength and conditioning research where deep exploration of perceptions and attitudes towards training practice is the topic of interest ( 16 , 44 , 54 – 56 ).…”

“…"We're able to control the rate of progress and make sure that we are getting stronger efficiently, but also staying healthy while doing so" (16).…”

“…"I would reduce total volume by something like 30 to 40%" (4). "An example of a deload might be somebody cutting their volume back by 50% or dropping their intensity back severely" (16).…”

“…However, since an increase in fatigue is a consequence of continuous, progressive training, periods of reduced training demand are also planned and might be necessary to facilitate physiological adaptations by reducing fatigue and mitigating the risk of maladaptation ( 14 , 15 ). Without sufficient restoration, longer-term decrements in performance indicative of non-functional overreaching can occur due to overtraining ( 16 ). Adequate rest from strenuous exercise is considered the most effective intervention to reduce the risk of overtraining and to accelerate recovery ( 17 ).…”

“…Deloading also aims to mitigate the risk of physiological maladaptation and injury ( 19 ) and is considered an important “fatigue management tactic” that enhances the potential success of the overall programme ( 14 ). Deloading occurs sporadically throughout the overall training programme ( 24 , 25 ) and is likely to occur following periods of prolonged or challenging training, such as planned overreaching, or at the end of a training mesocycle ( 16 , 25 – 27 ). The most frequently reported duration for a deload is one week (i.e., microcycle) but ranges from a singular training session to two weeks ( 14 , 28 ).…”