![]() ![]() Keep the pedal to the metal, and the engine will overheat, if the car is lucky enough to not fly off a cliff first. KEY POINT: Endocrine system stabilization is essential for an athlete to actually adapt to the work they are doing. Rest days are endocrine system insurance, allowing for glycogen recovery and stabilization of cortisol levels. Every training day risks turning down the knob on sex hormones, turning up the knob on cortisol, and causing minor offsets in energy availability. Plus, for male and female athletes alike, chronic exposure to stress hormone cortisol can wreak havoc on the endocrine system. Endocrine system disruptions also result from excessive within-day deficits ( 2017 study on female athletes 2018 study on male athletes). And, energy availability is not just about making sure you get enough over the course of a day. The relationship is more difficult to study in female athletes due to the monthly variation in the menstrual cycle, but you could fill a tractor trailer with printed-out studies connecting low energy availability with hormonal disturbances.Ī 2019 article in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism described how even small offsets between energy consumption and expenditure can suppress sex hormones, hurt bone density, increase injury rates, and decrease adpation to training. Numerous studies have similar findings for male athletes, seeing a relationship between sustained, higher volume training and negative endocrine impacts. A 2020 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that in a single season, testosterone levels dropped as volume increased, before rebounding as volume stabilized. We’re going to set the stage with some studies before tying all of the science together at the end in some fascinating new WHOOP data.Įffects of Overreaching on the Endocrine SystemĪ 2018 study in the journal Hormones found that male athletes training over seven hours per week had a 10% reduction in testosterone levels after one year of training, and a 30% reduction after five years training. What might we be seeing? It’s likely tied to how chronic stress impacts the endocrine system, musculoskeletal system, and nervous system, mixed with individual genetic variation. OK, we know that’s a provocative thing to say, but in coaching athletes from beginners to pros the strongest predictor of long-term growth amongst similarly-situated athletes is an ability to adapt to the work they are doing. And much too often, the world of endurance sports sees “strong training” when it’s actually looking at something more like “slow-burn self-destruction.”Īthletes often view rest days as a step back, but In reality they’re opportunities to take massive leaps forward. Training without adaptation is breakdown. In reality, consistent rest and recovery days are opportunities to take massive leaps forward, spurring adaptation from the cellular level all the way up to how our nervous systems integrate stresses from training and life. Athletes often view rest as an empty space, a pause, or even a step back. ![]() One of our main goals as coaches is to bring the discussion about rest days into alignment with the science of rest days. That’s what it takes, right? But even though you feel ready to go, your coach is telling you to take a day off. Imagine this: You’re training hard each day, and you feel like you should keep going. The purpose is to help you better understand these feelings by grounding them in science. “Feels vs Facts” is a content series exploring the common feelings people have during endurance sports and training, and the explanation behind what’s actually happening to your body.
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