1. The document discusses optimizing training load during the pre-taper phase for peak performance. It describes a study that examined whether developing a functional overreaching state leads to greater performance gains compared to an acute fatigue strategy. 2. The study involved elite endurance athletes who were divided into control, overload, and acute fatigue groups. The overload group underwent a period of increased training load followed by a taper period, while performance was measured throughout. 3. Results showed the functional overreaching group experienced a greater performance rebound during the taper, peaking earlier than other groups. This suggests functional overreaching may be more effective for maximizing performance gains during a taper.

1. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
OPTIMISING THE TRAINING LOAD DURING THE PRE-TAPER PHASE
Yann LE MEUR1
Collaborators: Julien LOUIS1, Anael AUBRY1, Ludmilla BAUDRILLART1, Jacques GUÉNERON1, Benjamin MAZE², Frank BIGNET², Jean Benoît CORCUFF3, Stéphane HATEM4, Richard ISNARD4, Aaron COUTTS5, Robert DUFFIELD5 & Christophe HAUSSWIRTH1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance

3. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance

4. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
… but how hard ?

5. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance

6. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
TRAINING
RECOVERY
INTRODUCTION

7. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF FATIGUE
❺ NON FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
❻ OVERTRAINING
SYNDROME
❷ MODERATE FATIGUE
❶ NO FATIGUE
❸ ACUTE FATIGUE
❹ FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
Meeusen et al. MSSE 2013

8. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF FATIGUE
❺ NON FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
❻ OVERTRAINING
SYNDROME
❷ MODERATE FATIGUE
❶ NO FATIGUE
❸ ACUTE FATIGUE
❹ FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
Meeusen et al. MSSE 2013

9. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF FATIGUE
Train hard or go home!
ACUTE FATIGUE
 High perceived fatigue
 No performance decrement after a 24/36h rest period,
 Performance supercompensation
24/36h
performance baseline

10. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Train hard or go home!
 Very high perceived fatigue
 Short-term performance decrement,
 Performance restoration takes from several days to several weeks,
 Performance supercompensation
FUNCTIONAL OVERREACHING
Several days to several weeks
THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF FATIGUE
performance baseline

11. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Train hard or go home!
 Very intense perceived fatigue
 Short-term decrement in performance capacity (< 1 month),
 Performance restoration…
 … with no performance supercompensation
NON FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
Several weeks
THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF FATIGUE
performance baseline

12. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Train hard or go home!
…
 Very intense perceived fatigue
 Long-term performance decrement (> 1 month)
THE OVERTRAINING
SYNDROME
> One month THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF FATIGUE
performance baseline

13. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
WHICH STRATEGY TO CHOOSE ?
❺ NON FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
❻ OVERTRAINING SYNDROME
Meeusen et al. MSSE 2013
❷ MODERATE FATIGUE
❶ NO FATIGUE
❸ ACUTE FATIGUE
❹ FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING

14. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
❸ ACUTE FATIGUE
❹ FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
❺ NON FUNCTIONAL
OVERREACHING
❻ OVERTRAINING
SYNDROME
Meeusen et al. MSSE 2013
❷ MODERATE FATIGUE
❶ NO FATIGUE WHICH STRATEGY TO CHOOSE ?

15. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
F-OR: THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY ?

16. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
OBJECTIVES
1. To examine whether the development of a functional overreaching state leads to greater performance supercompensation in comparison to acute fatigue strategy
?

17. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
OBJECTIVES
2. To better understand the potential factors associated with the functional overreaching development, including:
 physiological parameters,
 psychological parameters,
 behavioral parameters.

18. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
PROTOCOL

19. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
TRAINING LOAD (% habitual load)
100%
60%
130%
Control
group (n = 12)
Phase II (1 week)
Phase III
(3 weeks)
Simulated Taper
(4 weeks)
Pre
Phase I (3 weeks)
Post
T1
T2
T3
T4
STUDY DESIGN
Overloading
100%
60%
130%
Phase I
(3 weeks)
Phase II (1 week)
Phase III
(3 weeks)
Overload training group
(n = 28)
Simulated Taper (4 weeks)
Post
T1
T2
T3
T4
Pre
Aubry et al. MSSE 2014

20. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Puissance (W)
100W
+25W par 2min EXERCISE TEST
 36h rest period before each test
 Same day, same hour
 Controlled diet during the last 48h
 Hydration guidelines

21. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
ADHERENCE TO THE TRAINING PROTOCOL
7 subjects did not follow the prescribed training due to injury or personal obligations
 Control group: n = 10
 Overload group: n = 23

22. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
TRAINING LOAD (% habitual load)
Overloading
100%
60%
130%
Phase I (3 weeks)
Phase II (1 week)
Phase III
(3 weeks)
Overload training group
(n = 23)
Simulated Taper (4 weeks)
Post
T1
T2
T3
T4
Pre
STUDY DESIGN

23. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THE OVERLOAD GROUP
• HIGH PERCEIVED FATIGUE
• PRESERVED & ENHANCED PERFORMANCE
• VERY HIGH PERCEIVED FATIGUE
• DECREASED PERFORMANCE
ACUTE FATIGUE
n = 12
FUNCTIONAL OVERREACHING
n = 11

24. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THREE GROUPS
Control group
n = 12
Overload group
n = 28
Control group
n = 10
Acute Fatigue
n = 12
F-OR group
n = 11
2 out
5 out

25. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THE PERFORMANCE REBOUND
†††
††† ##
†#
††
†
* vs. Pre
# vs. CTL
† vs. F-OR
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
Pre
Post
T1
T2
T3
T4
Performance change (% Pre)
Control
Acute Fatigue
Functional overreaching
Aubry et al. MSSE 2014

26. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
THE PERFORMANCE REBOUND
* vs. Pre
# vs. CTL
† vs. F-OR
10 ± 7W
18 ± 8W
9 ± 4W

27. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
PEAKING OCCURENCE
Train hard or go home!
Acute fatigue
Functional overreaching
Control
Δ?

28. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Aubry et al. MSSE 2014
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Post
T1
T2
T3
T4
Occurrence of peak performance
(nb/week)
Control
Acute Fatigue
F-Overreaching
Ø
75% of peak performances within the two first weeks
PEAKING OCCURENCE

29. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance

30. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
SUBJECTS &TRAINING CHARACTERISTICS
Age
Height (cm)
Weight (kg)
MAP (W)
VO2max (mLO2/
min/kg)
Weekly training characteristics
Endurance sports experience (years)
Volume (h)
Distribution of intensity in Z1, 2 and 3 (%)
Nb of swim/ cycle/ run sessions
Control
37
183
75
355
58
12
62/30/8
3/3/3
13
Acute Fatigue
33
179
74
354
59
13
65/26/9
3/3/3
15
Functional Overreaching
36
180
73
369
61
14
64/30/7
3/5/3
12
No significant difference between groups at baseline

31. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
PHASE
BASELINE
TAPER
OVERLOAD
TAPER
Duration (week)
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Control
Weekly volume (h/m)
12 ± 3
6 ± 1
12 ± 2
12 ± 2
12 ± 2
6 ± 1
6 ± 1
6 ± 1
6 ± 1
Distribution of training intensity in zone 1, 2 and 3 (%)
62/30/8
67/26/7
67/26/7
66/26/8
65/27/8
64/28/8
63/28/9
62/28/8
66/26/8
Weekly number of swimming,/ cycling, running sessions
3/3/3
2/3/3
3/3/3
3/3/3
3/3/3
2/3/3
2/3/3
2/3/3
2/3/3
Acute Fatigue
Weekly volume (h/m)
13 ± 3
7 ± 1
17 ± 3
17 ± 3
17 ± 3
7 ± 1
7 ± 1
7 ± 1
7 ± 1
Distribution of training intensity in zone 1, 2 and 3 (%)
65/26/9
64/26/9
65/26/9
65/27/8
65/27/8
60/30/10
61/29/10
61/29/10
60/30/10
Weekly number of swimming, cycling, running sessions
3/3/3
2/3/3
3/3/3
3/3/3
3/3/3
2/3/3
2/3/3
2/3/3
2/3/3
F-OR
Weekly volume (h/m)
14 ± 3
7 ± 1
18 ± 3
19 ± 3
19 ± 3
7 ± 1
7 ± 1
7 ± 1
7 ± 1
Distribution of training intensity in zone 1, 2 and 3 (%)
64/30/7
68/26/6
69/25/6
68/26/6
68/26/6
66/26/8
64/28/8
65/27/8
67/25/8
Weekly number of swimming, cycling, running sessions
3/5/3
2/4/3
4/5/3
4/5/3
4/5/3
3/4/3
3/4/3
3/4/3
3/4/3
TRAINING MONITORING
No significant difference between groups in training parameters

32. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
SO LET’S GO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER!

33. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE DURING EXERCISE
Oxygen uptake
Ventilatory parameters
Cardiac output
Blood lactate concentration
Plasmatic catecholamines concentration
Arterial blood
pressures

34. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
* Different from Pre, p < 0.05
MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE
4100
4200
4300
4400
4500
4600
4700
Control
Acute Fatigue
F - Overreaching
Maximal oxygen uptake (ml/min/kg)
Pre
Post
T2
*
Le Meur et al. JAP 2014

35. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Different from Pre, p < 0.05; † Different from Post, p < 0.05
CARDIAC FATIGUE ?
Le Meur et al. JAP 2014

36. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Different from Pre, p < 0.05; † Different from Post, p < 0.05 CARDIAC FATIGUE ?
Le Meur et al. JAP 2014

37. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Different from Pre, p < 0.05; † Different from Post, p < 0.05
CATECHOLAMINES RESPONSE
Le Meur et al. JAP 2014

38. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
QUESTIONNAIRES
Health monitoring questionnaire (URTI & GI infections symptoms)

39. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
INFECTIONS
Hausswirth et al. MSSE 2014
Phase
Baseline
Overload
Taper
TOTAL
Week number
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
CTL
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
AF
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
F-OR
0
1
0
4
0
1
2
0
8

40. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
SLEEP
Hausswirth et al. MSSE 2014
 No significant change in the AF and CTL groups.
F-OR group: decrease in actual sleep duration, immobile time and sleep efficiency;
 These alterations disappeared during the taper phase.
* Different from Pre, p < 0.05

41. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
Training overload leading to functional overreaching may induce higher risk of training maladaptations, including:
o increased infection risks,
o sleep disturbances,
o symptoms of cardiac fatigue at exercise.
CONCLUSIONS

42. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
PERSPECTIVES
 Further studies are needed to confirm these findings (using ecological performance tests),
 Longitudinal monitoring of elite athletes.

43. INSEP
Département de la Recherche – Institut National du Sport, de l’Expertise et de la Performance
TAKE HOME MESSAGES
 Overload periods are essential for performance enhancement;
 Tapering is critical for the supercompensation process,
 Training periodisation should be continuoulsy adapted, based on:
o performance responses after a short rest period using regular testing training sessions,
o athletes’ feedback.