The Training Characteristics of Recreational-Level Triathletes: Influence on Fatigue and Health

Abstract

Little is known about how recreational triathletes prepare for an Olympic distance event. The aim of this study was to identify the training characteristics of recreational-level triathletes within the competition period and assess how their preparation for a triathlon influences their health and their levels of fatigue. During the 6 weeks prior to, and the 2 weeks after, an Olympic distance triathlon, nine recreational athletes (five males, four females) completed a daily training log. Participants answered the Daily Analysis of Life Demands Questionnaire (DALDA), the Training Distress Scale (TDS) and the Alberta Swim Fatigue and Health Questionnaire weekly. The Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (REST-Q) was completed at the beginning of the study, on the day before the competition, and at the end of week 8. Training loads were calculated using session-based rating of perceived exertion (sRPE). The data from every week of training was compared to week 1 to determine how athletes’ training and health changed throughout the study. No changes in training loads, duration or training intensity distribution were seen in the weeks leading up to the competition. Training duration was significantly reduced in week 6 (p = 0.041, d = 1.58, 95% CI = 6.9, 421.9), while the number of sessions was reduced in week 6 (Z = 2.32, p = 0.02, ES = 0.88) and week 7 (Z = 2.31, p = 0.02, ES = 0.87). Training was characterized by large weekly variations in training loads and a high training intensity. No significant changes were seen in the DALDA, TDS or REST-Q questionnaire scores throughout the 8 weeks. Despite large spikes in training load and a high overall training intensity, these recreational-level triathletes were able to maintain their health in the 6 weeks of training prior to an Olympic distance triathlon.

Training Fatigue and Recovery of Throwing Athletes Based on the Comprehensive Environmental Test of the Field

“…Exercise-induced fatigue is a common phenomenon during exercise, and its mechanisms mainly include peripheral and central mechanisms [9]. Central fatigue is a protective inhibition of the central nervous system; the purpose is to prevent excessive functional failure of the body [10]. It is known that central fatigue can be affected by many factors and there are significant individual differences, and the environment is one of the main factors [11].…”

Work, Training and Life Stress in ITU World Olympic Distance Age-Group Championship Triathletes

“…The latter had also been preparing for draft-legal OD competition. The OD triathlon personal best times of our males were, nonetheless, faster than those of the athletes who participated in Falk Neto et al’s prospective study of age-group-level OD training [ 16 ]. They were also faster (at 2:13:25 ± 0:16:07 vs. 2:12:24 ± 0:02:54; in hh:mm:ss) than Aoyagi et al’s (2021) nine younger “faster” well-trained males [ 6 ].…”

“…In no individual training block or individual triathlon discipline did the average proportion of swim, cycle and run training that the athletes spend in zone 1 exceed 56%. Falk Neto et al [16], whose intensity zones were set via RPE and guidelines in the literature and whose training data were prospective, reported that their slower age-group athletes spent 47% of training time in z1, 25% in z2 and 28% in z3. Vleck (2010) [14,35], using the same method of ascribing training intensity level as was used in this study, but over 30 weeks of prospective longitudinal data collection, reported that their 8 faster triathletes spent 70.4%, 6.1% and 9.1% of their overall training time in their intensity levels 1-2, 3 and 4-5, respectively, i.e., in z1, z2 and z3, respectively.…”

“…Fairly recently, Falk Neto et al [ 16 ] prospectively assessed the training and maladaptation of nine recreational triathletes. They did so over the 6 weeks that led up to, and for 2 weeks after, an OD triathlon that was a key event of the athletes’ competitive season.…”

“…Both because this was an exploratory study and to increase subject numbers, we used a retrospective study design. Such a design is less sensitive than the longitudinal prospective one that was implemented by [ 14 , 16 ]. However, the training volume and intensity distribution were, in this case, examined across successive training blocks, rather than across successive weeks, of the entire year leading up to the 2013 ITU World Age-Group Championships.…”