Fatique: KNOW THYSELF

Swimming World Magazine, Jun 2005 by Goldsmith, Wayne

Feeling fatigued after training is normal, but excessive and constant fatigue is not.

How do you know how much training you should do? How do you know when your body and mind are tired and need time to rest and recover? The answer can be found by evaluating several fatigue factors that, if monitored regularly, can help you stay healthy and train optimally.

These factors are relatively simple to measure and can be excellent indicators of your level of fatigue:

* SLEEP. What is your quality of sleep? Do you fall asleep easily and wake up feeling refreshed, or do you toss and turn and wake up feeling even more tired than the day before? Swimmers who train hard sleep well. Swimmers who are in a state of excessive fatigue will often complain that they have difficulty falling and staying asleep.

* MUSCLE SORENESS. Do your muscles feel tired after training, or are they sore and aching for two to three days after a hard session? It is normal for muscles to be tired, but it's not normal for muscles to be sore, aching and tight for more than 24 hours.

* RESTING HEART RATE. As you become more fit, your resting heart rate gets lower. If your heart rate is elevated by 10 to 15 beats per minute for two to three consecutive days, it may be a sign that your body is not adapting to training (and life stresses).

* ENERGY. Fit people are high-energy people. Overtrained people feel slow, flat and lethargic, and lack energy.

* WEIGHT LOSS. Fit, healthy people tend to keep an energy balance in which weight is neither gained or lost. In an overtrained, fatigued state, body weight can fluctuate by two to three pounds (or more) in a 24-hour period.

* "FEEL" IN THE WATER. Tired swimmers will often say, "I have no feel" or "I can't feel my stroke." This lack of "feel" is related to neural (nervous system) fatigue, and it is a good indicator of overtraining and excessive fatigue.

* STRESS. Swimmers are people who-just like other people-are susceptible to all the stresses and strains of life. There is a strong relationship between life stress and fatigue levels.

* RECOVERY TECHNIQUES. There are several things you can do to help you deal with fatigue, such as eating well, rehydrating, getting plenty of quality sleep, having a massage or doing some non-weight-bearing cross training (e.g., mountain biking).

What's your Fatique Fighter Index number? Check out Swimming World Interactive at www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com and take the Fatique Fighter Index test.

Wayne Goldsmith is the sports science coordinator for Australian Swimming.