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predicting overtraining


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Heya scientists!

 

anyone here study exercise/sports science? We were going thru overtraining in our lecture the other day, and the signs of the athlete suffering from it (decreased performance, oss of appetite/weight loss, muscle tenderness, decreased immune function, increased resting HR/BP etc) but there doesnt seem to be a way of predicting its occurance, other than seeing the decresed performance, which is too late anyway... we discussed the poss that heart rate, blood lactate, blood enzyme levels (creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase etc), changes in the T wave of the aths ECG could possibly be indicators, but theyre either non specific or are too hard fora regular coach to measure (like O2 consumption).

 

anyone know of any studies or anything thats shown how overtraining can be predicted in athletes???

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Greetings!

 

If you are a good record keeper, I found that in the past when I recorded all of my caloric intake and held a steady exercise regiment I could tell what calories/exercises I needed in quantity for future "cycles." Its alot of work at first, but once you learn your body you can control it much better without starving/overeating and also avoid overtraining or even undertraining. Good luck! :)

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"IGFBP-3, a sensitive marker of physical training and overtraining.

Elloumi M, El Elj N, Zaouali M, Maso F, Filaire E, Tabka Z, Lac G.

 

Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Performance Motrice, Universite Blaise Pascal, Bat Biologie B, Les Cezeaux, 63177 Aubiere Cedex, France.

 

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the response of the somatotrope axis (insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)) to intense exercise in relation to tiredness. METHODS: The study involved 11 rugby players who completed a questionnaire intended to evaluate fitness or, conversely, overtraining and who agreed to plasma samples being taken before and after an international rugby match. RESULTS: The main finding of our study is that we observed strong negative correlations between IGF-1 (r = 0.652) and IGFBP-3 (r = 0.824) levels and the overtraining state estimated using the French Society of Sport Medicine questionnaire. In particular, there was a fall (of up to 25%) in IGFBP-3 levels after the match in the more fatigued subjects compared to an increase (of up to 40%) in fit subjects. CONCLUSIONS: A fall in IGFBP-3 in response to an intense bout of exercise may represent an index of tiredness in highly trained sportsmen, as indicated by the scores obtained from the overtraining questionnaire."

Link

 

For future reference, in case you didn't already know, just go to the site listed below and do a search as you would do a google search to find relevant research.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi

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hmm have a look at this one...

 

Overtraining Syndrome A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Christopher J. Hawley, MD, Robert B. Schoene, MD, Practice Essentials Series Editors: Kimberly G. Harmon, MD, Aaron Rubin, MD. The Physician and Sportsmedicine. Minneapolis: Jun 2003.Vol.31, Iss. 6; pg. 25

 

 

Laboratory Testing

 

Unfortunately, there are no sufficiently sensitive and specific diagnostic tests for overtraining syndrome. Many biologic markers for overtraining syndrome require serial measurements and comparison to baseline data. Collection must be well controlled, which is often achievable only under research conditions. Changes in laboratory parameters often don't distinguish between overreaching and overtraining syndrome.

 

Initial laboratory testing is useful, however, to screen for other causes of fatigue. Testing should include a complete blood count, thyroid-stimulating hormone level, iron studies, serum electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine levels. Pregnancy testing, liver function tests, urinalysis, serum cortisol levels (after stimulation testing) and serologies for Epstein-Barr, hepatitis, or human immunodeficiency virus are frequently indicated. Other studies may be needed based on the clinical situation.

 

If baseline measurements (eg, maximal oxygen consumption, heart rate, and workload) are known, exercise testing may demonstrate a reduced physical performance capacity. These changes are not consistently present in overtraining syndrome and are not specific for the diagnosis. Documenting a reduced physical capacity could be helpful, however, if other objective indicators of performance decrements are not found in the athlete's history. Continuous electrocardiography and pre- and posttest spirometry can also be used to evaluate exercise-induced bronchospasm and other pulmonary conditions, cardiac ischemia, and arrhythmias.

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maybe if there is a low amt of glycogen produced/utilised then that could be an indicator the athlete isnt getting enough CHOs (so their diet should be assessed), or its something clinical to do with their liver (something impairing their ability to produce glycogen or perform gluconeogenesis??)..

maybe if they have excessive lactate there could be a problem with transporting it back to the liver ie circulation problems or a problem again with the liver...

 

what exactly do liver function tests measure? would a LFT be able to determine problems regarding lactate/glycogen??

 

maybe a low RBC count could influence the lactate buildup (if there is one). i mean, if theres something causing a decreased number of RBC then the capacity to carry the lactic acid out of the muscles would be affected too, wouldnt it? if the athlete maybe just naturally has a low RBC count (if thats possible) altitute training increases the amount of RBCs so maybe that could be some help?

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