The proposition that the demands of recruit training, including physical and psychological stresses, result in symptoms of overtraining was investigated during the 45-day Army Common Recruit Training course. Body mass, physical fitness, fasting blood measures of immune status, hormones (serum free testosterone/cortisol ratio), inflammation, and iron status were measured at baseline and after weeks 5 and 6. Psychological measures of mood and fatigue and general health were measured at the end of each week. Sleep diaries were completed each evening and morning. Evidence for overtraining symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbance, immune suppression, reduced iron status, high rates of minor injuries, and hormonal changes was found. However, recruits were not pushed so hard that physical performance deteriorated greatly. Accumulated sleep deprivation might be a major contributor to the adverse hormonal changes. We conclude that there was some evidence of recruits being overtrained.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Sports science and exercise
Research Field:	Exercise physiology
Objective Division:	Defence
Objective Group:	Defence
Objective Field:	Land
UTAS Author:	Booth, C (Dr Christine Booth)
ID Code:	70909
Year Published:	2006
Web of Science® Times Cited:	64
Deposited By:	Health Sciences A
Deposited On:	2011-07-05
Last Modified:	2011-07-05
Downloads:	0