Effects of Detraining and Cross Training
Injured? Sick? Tired of your routine? …..Feel like cross training or backing off from training altogether?
This piece addresses how long it takes to lose fitness if you stop training altogether …..or whether, for several weeks, you should a) cross train b) cut training in half for a while c) try the Tabata Protocol or d) focus on strength training. Of course your decision depends on your circumstances.
Regarding detraining – the effects of inactivity on athletes – scientific studies with statistically significant samples are few. And there is no significant information on the difference between the effects of inactivity on sprinting and endurance running. (Even an 800 meter race demands only 34% anaerobic energy.) It is commonly thought, however, that the return to competitive fitness for sprinters and power athletes is faster than that of endurance athletes.
A few studies have provided some specific data on what happens with endurance running times after detraining. With inactivity, VO2 max, a measure of a person’s maximum ability to transport and use oxygen during exercise and one of the best measures of physical fitness, declines. Along with declining V02 max, blood volume decreases, and that lowers oxygen uptake. Mitochondrial density, lactate threshold, and the ability to oxidize fat stores all decrease. Even the enzymes involved in metabolizing energy decline and become less active.
One scientist who’s measured V02 max decline is Dr. Edward Coyle, director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. His studies have found that in highly-trained athletes, VO2 max decreases by 7 percent in the 12 to 21 days after inactivity and another 9 percent during days 21 to 84. Since V02 max values correlate with running times, the chart below shows the effects of detraining on 5K times which are more relatable than V02 max.
Say you run a 5K in 20:00.
Below are the effects of inactivity on times:
Inactive for Drop in V02 max and related times
10 days….. no discernable difference in time
2 – 4 weeks 6% - 5K, 21:05
9 weeks 19% - 5K, 24:00
11 weeks 25%, 25:30
What are options for maintaining fitness?
1. Cross train with the same pattern of time and effort.
Aquajog. Swim. Cycle. Row. Even use the arm bike. An Olympic trials 800 meter runner I coached used the arm bike effectively for 6 weeks when sidelined with a knee injury. Maintain frequency and incorporate intensity with perceived exertion even if you have to cut down on the total training time.
Remember: if you are cross training, you are still training.
2. Try the Tabata Protocol, a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The original Protocol was developed for Olympic speed skaters and tested by Japanese sports scientist Izumi Tabata.
The Protocol
Warm up for 10 to 20 minutes with easy biking or jogging.
Then begin the Protocol. It involves 20/10 second sessions - 20 seconds of all-out exercise (that can be running, biking, core strength or weight lifting), then 10 seconds of rest – repeated eight times. (Tabata training for runners is 20-second sprints followed by 10 seconds of rest.)
Proof of the Protocol’s effectiveness was in the study’s results. Tabata put two groups of athletes on an exercise program for six weeks. The control group did one hour of moderate-intensity exercise five times a week. The other group did the high-intensity Tabata training. (That adds up over a six-week period to 1,800 minutes of training for the control group versus 120 minutes of training for the Tabata group.) The results? The Tabata group improved both its aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels. The anaerobic fitness level increased 28%.
3. The 30-minute strength challenge.
Aim for 3 X 1 set of the following 8 exercises and rest one minute between sets.
Squats: One minute.
Single-Leg Deadlift: 45 seconds
Pushups: One minute
Side Lunge: 45 seconds on each side
Single-leg Squats: 45 seconds on each side
Plank: One minute
Side Plank: 30 seconds on each side
Bird Dog: 30 seconds on each side
-- c.u.
References:
1. Neufer, PD. The effect of detraining and reduced training on the physiological adaptations to aerobic exercise training. Sports Med. 1989 Nov; 9(5): 302-320. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2692122
2. Coyle, E.F., Hemmert, M.K., and Coggan, A.R. Effects of detraining on cardiovascular responses to exercise: role of blood volume. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1986, January; 60(1): 95--99. http://jap.physiology.org/content/60/1/95.abstract
3. Ready, A.E., Quinney, H.A. Alterations in anaerobic threshold as the result of endurance training and detraining. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 1982, 14(4). http://journals.lww.com/acsmmsse/Abstract/2000/06000/ Retraining_of_a_competitive_master_athlete.1.aspx
4. Mujika, I., Pacilla, S. Detraining: loss of training--induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part II: Long term insufficient training stimulus. Sports Med. 2000 Sep; 30(3): 145--54. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10999420
5. Mujika, I., Padilla, S. Detraining: Loss of training--induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part 1: short term insufficient training stimulus. Sports Med. 2000 Aug; 30 (2): 79--87. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10966148
This piece addresses how long it takes to lose fitness if you stop training altogether …..or whether, for several weeks, you should a) cross train b) cut training in half for a while c) try the Tabata Protocol or d) focus on strength training. Of course your decision depends on your circumstances.
Regarding detraining – the effects of inactivity on athletes – scientific studies with statistically significant samples are few. And there is no significant information on the difference between the effects of inactivity on sprinting and endurance running. (Even an 800 meter race demands only 34% anaerobic energy.) It is commonly thought, however, that the return to competitive fitness for sprinters and power athletes is faster than that of endurance athletes.
A few studies have provided some specific data on what happens with endurance running times after detraining. With inactivity, VO2 max, a measure of a person’s maximum ability to transport and use oxygen during exercise and one of the best measures of physical fitness, declines. Along with declining V02 max, blood volume decreases, and that lowers oxygen uptake. Mitochondrial density, lactate threshold, and the ability to oxidize fat stores all decrease. Even the enzymes involved in metabolizing energy decline and become less active.
One scientist who’s measured V02 max decline is Dr. Edward Coyle, director of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. His studies have found that in highly-trained athletes, VO2 max decreases by 7 percent in the 12 to 21 days after inactivity and another 9 percent during days 21 to 84. Since V02 max values correlate with running times, the chart below shows the effects of detraining on 5K times which are more relatable than V02 max.
Say you run a 5K in 20:00.
Below are the effects of inactivity on times:
Inactive for Drop in V02 max and related times
10 days….. no discernable difference in time
2 – 4 weeks 6% - 5K, 21:05
9 weeks 19% - 5K, 24:00
11 weeks 25%, 25:30
What are options for maintaining fitness?
1. Cross train with the same pattern of time and effort.
Aquajog. Swim. Cycle. Row. Even use the arm bike. An Olympic trials 800 meter runner I coached used the arm bike effectively for 6 weeks when sidelined with a knee injury. Maintain frequency and incorporate intensity with perceived exertion even if you have to cut down on the total training time.
Remember: if you are cross training, you are still training.
2. Try the Tabata Protocol, a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). The original Protocol was developed for Olympic speed skaters and tested by Japanese sports scientist Izumi Tabata.
The Protocol
Warm up for 10 to 20 minutes with easy biking or jogging.
Then begin the Protocol. It involves 20/10 second sessions - 20 seconds of all-out exercise (that can be running, biking, core strength or weight lifting), then 10 seconds of rest – repeated eight times. (Tabata training for runners is 20-second sprints followed by 10 seconds of rest.)
Proof of the Protocol’s effectiveness was in the study’s results. Tabata put two groups of athletes on an exercise program for six weeks. The control group did one hour of moderate-intensity exercise five times a week. The other group did the high-intensity Tabata training. (That adds up over a six-week period to 1,800 minutes of training for the control group versus 120 minutes of training for the Tabata group.) The results? The Tabata group improved both its aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels. The anaerobic fitness level increased 28%.
3. The 30-minute strength challenge.
Aim for 3 X 1 set of the following 8 exercises and rest one minute between sets.
Squats: One minute.
Single-Leg Deadlift: 45 seconds
Pushups: One minute
Side Lunge: 45 seconds on each side
Single-leg Squats: 45 seconds on each side
Plank: One minute
Side Plank: 30 seconds on each side
Bird Dog: 30 seconds on each side
-- c.u.
References:
1. Neufer, PD. The effect of detraining and reduced training on the physiological adaptations to aerobic exercise training. Sports Med. 1989 Nov; 9(5): 302-320. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2692122
2. Coyle, E.F., Hemmert, M.K., and Coggan, A.R. Effects of detraining on cardiovascular responses to exercise: role of blood volume. Journal of Applied Physiology. 1986, January; 60(1): 95--99. http://jap.physiology.org/content/60/1/95.abstract
3. Ready, A.E., Quinney, H.A. Alterations in anaerobic threshold as the result of endurance training and detraining. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 1982, 14(4). http://journals.lww.com/acsmmsse/Abstract/2000/06000/ Retraining_of_a_competitive_master_athlete.1.aspx
4. Mujika, I., Pacilla, S. Detraining: loss of training--induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part II: Long term insufficient training stimulus. Sports Med. 2000 Sep; 30(3): 145--54. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10999420
5. Mujika, I., Padilla, S. Detraining: Loss of training--induced physiological and performance adaptations. Part 1: short term insufficient training stimulus. Sports Med. 2000 Aug; 30 (2): 79--87. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10966148