The one who never stops training? The athlete who tries to out grind the competition?

Or are you the one constantly looking for a way to hack the system?

Which is better?

From a health perspective, which increases injury risk: overtraining or undertraining?

The answer? Both.

Working way too hard is as detrimental as not working hard enough.

Which type of athlete are you?

The one who never stops training? The athlete who tries to out grind the competition?

Or are you the one constantly looking for a way to hack the system?

Which is better?

From a health perspective, which increases injury risk: overtraining or undertraining?

The answer? Both.

Working way too hard is as detrimental as not working hard enough.

Please note that we’re talking about non-contact, overuse injuries here. These are preventable. Contact injuries are a different story. We don’t have as much control over what happens when two players collide on the soccer field or basketball court.

Find Your Training Balance

The best performance programs aim for a “sweet spot” where the training is intense enough to make athletes better, faster, and stronger, but not so much to cause injury.

Regardless of the sport, we should look at two factors when building training programs:

1. The intensity of workouts or movements. This is also known as “load.”
2. How fast the intensity “ramps up.”

Let’s define “training” a bit further:

• Acute training is the amount of workout volume in the past week.
• Chronic training is the average amount of workout volume over the past 4 weeks.

Think of acute training in the same terms you’d think about fatigue. How tired are you from your training sessions or workouts over the past week? Chronic training involves looking back on the past few weeks and reflecting on “how fit you are” from those workouts.

Objectively comparing how you feel now to how you have felt over the past three to six weeks gives interesting data on how ready you are for competition. For example, I coach a group of adult distance runners, helping to prepare them for half and full marathons over the course of a 15 week cycle.

These athletes run their peak mileage three weeks before race-day. The remaining time leading up to competition is called a “taper” designed to decrease their acute training load. The goal is to feel fresh-legged at the starting line but still have the capacity to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles.

Taper weeks can be a source of stress for athletes who worry they’ve not run, trained, or lifted at their usual high volume, but there is scientific reasoning backing this strategy. If an athlete has taken it easy the week before a race but has a good base of mileage throughout training cycle, they will still be well-prepared for race day.

This athlete’s acute training would be classified as low, as they would be well-rested. Their average chronic training, however, is high because the athlete built a base of endurance over the weeks prior.

The Role of Training Load

Load is a measure of the intensity of a training session or how much stress that session placed on the body. Three things define this for an athlete:

1. External training load: “work” or “volume” (total distance run, amount of weight lifted, number of sprints, jumps to rebound a basketball, collisions in football, etc…)¹
2. Internal training load: the body’s response to the training (rate of perceived exertion, heart rate, blood lactate, oxygen consumption)¹
3. Individual characteristics of the athlete: age, experience, injury history, physical capacity

To summarize: training outcome = external load + internal load + individual characteristics of the athlete.

All these factors are important in determining the effect of a given workout. The same external load could have a different internal effects based on the individual. For example, how a 21-year-old trained collegiate soccer player would respond to a 4 mile workout versus a 40-year-old athlete that started running a few weeks earlier.

The workout is too intense for the 40-year-old and could increase their risk for injury. Conversely, the run would be “too easy” for the collegiate athlete with little to no cardiovascular gains.

An external load could also have varying effects on the same athlete. A tough week of training often renders an athlete feeling tired, stressed, and fatigued. If proper recovery measures are not taken, performance can suffer on workouts.

It’s also important to understand the effect of “life” factors on training: emotional disturbances, illness, stress, or recent training history. Respect these factors and modify workouts accordingly.

Tracking External Load

For endurance athletes like runners, swimmers, and cyclists, this is easy to monitor. GPS watches can log distance and speed covered.

Most elite/pro athletes now use GPS-based sensors to track movements and training specific to their sport. For example, the number of jumps in volleyball, collisions in rugby or football, strokes in swimming, or sprints per game in soccer. Coaches can scale up or down the training load based on how much a particular athlete had in competition.

Since GPS watches are not useful with weight training, calculate the load like this:

External load = the number of repetitions x kilograms of weight lifted ³

Tracking Internal Load

Rate of perceived exertion is one of the easiest ways to track internal training load. Rate the intensity of the session on a scale of 1-10. Multiply that rate by the length of the training session in minutes:

Internal load = RPE (scale 1-10) x minutes of training

This score could also be called “exertional minutes.” Researchers are still collecting data on different measures of “high” or “low” exertion for various sports. For now we consider a score of 300-500 in football players as a low intensity training session and 700-1000 is higher.¹

Heart rate or VO2 max multiplied by training minutes would also be another way to track internal load. Measuring blood lactate concentration is a technical and invasive method, but is a unit of measure.

There are other scales used for elite athletes like the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire that tracks mood, stress level, energy, soreness, sleep, and diet. The total score indicates the athlete’s well-being so that coaches or strength and conditioning experts can adjust workouts accordingly.

The Role of Individual Athlete Characteristics

Studies on rugby and Australian football players show that age influences how athletes respond to conditioning programs. Research also shows older athletes are at higher risk for overuse injuries.

In terms of these studies, one must ask if the injury risk is from workouts that are too intense, or is risk elevated because older athletes may have a greater accumulation of prior injuries? Research also shows that history of past injury is a major risk factor for a new injury.

Regardless, a training program should be individualized to the athlete’s age, experience, injury history, and overall physical capacity.

Calculate Your Training Load

Tracking external and internal load, or acute and chronic training can help determine if you are an optimal zone for your goals. More importantly, it can alert for elevated injury risk. Consider the training example used earlier:

“Peak weeks” for a half marathoner (weeks 8 -11 of a 15-week program):

• Week 8: 21 miles
• Week 9: 23 miles
• Week 10: 25 miles
• Week 11: 30 miles

1. Acute load (mileage week 11) = 30 miles
2. Chronic load (average mileage 4 weeks prior) = 24.75 miles

Now, take the acute load (30) and divide by the chronic load (24.75) to get a ratio:

Acute load ÷ chronic load = acute:chronic load ratio (30/24.75 = 1.21)

“Taper weeks” for the same race (the last few weeks before competition):

• Week 12: 24 miles
• Week 13: 23 miles
• Week 14: 18 miles
• Week 15: Race Week

1. Acute load (mileage at week 14) = 18 miles
2. Chronic load (average mileage of the 3 weeks prior) = 21.67

Again, calculate the ratio:

Acute load ÷ chronic load = acute:chronic load ratio (18/21.67 = 0.83)

Research shows the “sweet spot” or optimal zone for training is a ratio between. 0.8 and 1.3.^1,2

The runner is in the optimal training zone during the “peak weeks” above has built enough of a mileage base to stay in that zone through the taper and entering race week.

Research has also shown that a ratio above 1.5 is a “danger zone” for training. Increased injury risk is higher in the weeks after training at this kind of load.

How many of us have been in this situation? We feel great on a particular training week and continue to ramp up the intensity. As workouts get harder, initially we feel invincible. Then, the wheels fall off. An injury happens “out of nowhere,” leaving us wondering what went wrong. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “but I felt so GOOD, Carol! I don’t know what happened?!”

Unfortunately this is an easy trap to fall into, but monitoring the ratio of acute to chronic load can help.

But maybe you don’t run. You – lift weights, CrossFit, play soccer, insert sport of choice. How do you track your training?

The same concepts apply:

• Calculate the acute training load over the past week (number of repetitions x kilograms of weight lifted). Or total the number of sprints, minutes of soccer practice, etc.
• Find the chronic training load (average over the past 4 weeks).
• Divide the acute load over the chronic load and compare to the figure above.
• Remember to take into account internal training factors and individual characteristics.

The Bottom Line of Volume Training

1. Intensity matters. Both overtraining and under-training put athletes at risk for injury. A training program must get the athlete ready for the demands of their sport, but the coach and athlete need to understand it may take a several weeks to get to this point.
2. Sudden increases in training intensity puts athletes at risk for injury. Monitor acute training (how fatigued you are over the course of a week) and compare it to chronic training (how “fit” you have been over the past few weeks).
3. Monitor the body’s response to training. The internal training load. Use rate of perceived exertion x number of minutes spent training. Think about other factors—age, stress, sleep, etc. These are all important to help determine what your training load should look like.

References:

1. Gabbett TJ. The training-injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder? Br J Sports Med. 2016 Mar;50(5):273-80. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095788. Epub 2016 Jan 12.

2. Blanch P, Gabbett TJ. Has the athlete trained enough to return to play safely? The acute:chronic workload ratio permits clinicians to quantify a player’s risk of subsequent injury. Br J Sports Med. 2016 Apr;50(8):471-5. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095445. Epub 2015 Dec 23.

3. Bourdon PC, Cardinale M, Murray A, Gastin P, Kellmann M, Varley MC, Gabbett TJ, Coutts AJ, Burgess DJ, Gregson W, Cable NT. Monitoring Athlete Training Loads: Consensus Statement. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2017 Apr;12(Suppl 2):S2161-S2170. doi: 10.1123/IJSPP.2017-0208.

4. Rogalski B, Dawson B, Heasman J, et al. Training and game loads and injury risk in elite Australian footballers. J Sci Med Sport 2013;16:499–503.

5. Gabbett TJ. The development and application of an injury prediction model for non-contact, soft-tissue injuries in elite collision sport athletes. J Strength Con Res 2010;24:2593–603.

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Among all things tech-lovers, data junkies, or sports science nerds like myself can track, running cadence is one that can be easily monitored on a GPS device. A 2016 study showed that using a commercially available watch like a Garmin is a reliable, valid way to track cadence, among other factors. ^1,9

The Definition of Running Cadence

We’ve known for years that many running injuries are related to the forces going through the body as it impacts the ground with each step.

Cadence is the number of steps a person takes per minute. The reason we’ve started paying attention is that a few years ago, research showed it correlates with how much impact goes through the legs with each foot strike.

Higher cadence means more steps per minute, which means less loading or impact on a run. Kind of cool, eh?

Increasing your cadence can also help with over-striding. While opening up your stride is a great thing for sprinting, it’s not efficient for distance running. This is why Usain Bolt doesn’t run marathons. Most people who over-stride land with their knee locked, slamming their heel into the ground at the point of impact.

It’s a braking motion, causing a choppy stride. This puts a lot of excess stress on the joints, and compounded over time can lead to injury. Think how many times your leg hits the ground on a 5, 10, or 15-mile run.

Changing Your Cadence

A recent study on healthy runners who ran with increased cadence by 7.5% for 8 weeks showed a decrease in their loading rate (force of impact) by 18-10%.⁸

These runners maintained their new form for a month after. If you don’t have an injury, there’s no need to increase your cadence. Unless you’re over-striding, that is.

If you do have an injury, changing your cadence may help. Studies have shown this helps with issues such as stress fractures and lower leg injuries like shin splints.^5,8 Increased cadence has also shown an increase in glute muscle activation.⁵

Better use of these muscles during a run can help with biomechanics linked to other injuries like IT band syndrome.^3,10

Increasing Your Cadence

The first thing to do is to find your cadence. Count how many times your right foot hits the ground in 30 seconds. Multiply that times four to get the total number of foot strikes per minute.

You may think, “But I read on social media, or a friend told me, or a famous running magazine wrote that I should run at a cadence of 160-180. And more is better, so I’ll shoot for 180!”

The media suggested a cadence of 160-180 because of studies that were published on cadence a few years ago. In them, participants averaged a cadence from 165-185. But I’ve been lucky enough to hear the author present their research.

They’re always quick to note their results are based on increasing each runner’s individual cadence by 5-10%.^4,8 The mean of their subjects was at 165-185, but there was a wide variability of all the participants in the study.

If you’re at 140, try 147 (5%). Once you get comfortable with that, try 7.5%. If you’re still over-striding or having pain, try 10%—and see a PT or other sports medicine specialist.

To all the overachievers out there, you don’t need to increase your cadence past 10%. More than that will put a large hurt on your running economy, which is basically how much oxygen or energy you need to hold a pace—so you’d be running less efficiently.

The trick is to find a sweet spot for your form, enough that you aren’t “braking” with each stride, but not so quick that you’re struggling to turn over your feet.

Use Your Phone to Track Your Running

Metronome apps can help you put your new, improved cadence into action. I’ve had good results with Run Tempo and Pro Metronome. There are other versions that can even sync up your music to your pace, which is great, because who wants to hear generic thumping for 5 miles?

If you’re changing your cadence, be patient. It will seem horribly awkward at first to run with a quicker turnover. Use intervals at first. If you do listen to music, start with one song “on” and two songs “off.” Then try two on and one-off, and increase the “on” time from there.

Reduce Your Risk of Injury

Recent research has looked at reducing vertical oscillation, or how much bounce a runner has.¹ Decreasing this not only reduces ground reaction forces, but it also has an effect on lowering your cadence. So instead of all the counting, try thinking about keeping your body as low to the ground as possible.

Focus on running “softer” and not bouncing. This is also trackable on some wearable devices. When we talk about keeping your body low to the ground, we aren’t talking about slumping or slouching. Keep your shoulders upright and your hips with a slight forward lean.

You can also try to increase your stride width versus your stride length. Research has found that stress and load through the shins are influenced by step width. Basically, when your stance is more narrow, the lower leg has more stress going through it.⁷

Don’t try all these methods at the same time. It’s hard to maintain all those changes over the miles, and you won’t know which factor is actually helping. If you have a question, schedule a gait analysis with a run expert to pinpoint exactly what will help your individual needs or training.

Lastly, remember to manage your training load or workout intensity. Your cadence or form won’t matter if you’re constantly overworking your joints and tendons. If you have race goals, ramp up your mileage appropriately. There’s a fine line between too much and too little.

The Bottom Line of Cadence

Cadence is linked to how much stress or impact goes through the body while running. If you have an injury or have had one in the past, increasing your cadence may be an option for your training.

Find your individual cadence. Not everyone should be running at 165-185 strides per minute. There are other options for reducing your impact or risk of injuries, such as increasing your stride width, changing your training load, and reducing your vertical oscillation or bounce.

References:

1. Adams, Douglas, Federico Pozzi, Anthony Carroll, Andrew Rombach, and Joseph Zeni. “Validity and Reliability of a Commercial Fitness Watch for Measuring Running Dynamics.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 46, no. 6 (2016): 471–76.

2. Adams, Douglas, Federico Pozzi, Richard W. Willy, Anthony Carrol, and Joseph Zeni. “Altering Cadence Or Vertical Oscillation During Running: Effects On Running Related Injury Factors.” International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy 13, no. 4 (2018): 633–42.

3. Fredericson, Michael, Curtis L. Cookingham, Ajit M. Chaudhari, Brian C. Dowdell, Nina Oestreicher, and Shirley A. Sahrmann. “Hip Abductor Weakness in Distance Runners with Iliotibial Band Syndrome.” Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 10, no. 3 (2000): 169–75.

4. Heiderscheit, Bryan C., Elizabeth S. Chumanov, Max P. Michalski, Christa M. Wille, and Michael B. Ryan. “Effects of Step Rate Manipulation on Joint Mechanics during Running.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43, no. 2 (2011): 296–302.

5. Lenhart, Rachel, Darryl Thelen, and Bryan Heiderscheit. “Hip Muscle Loads During Running at Various Step Rates.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 44, no. 10 (2014).

6. Lenhart, Rachel L., Darryl G. Thelen, Christa M. Wille, Elizabeth S. Chumanov, and Bryan C. Heiderscheit. “Increasing Running Step Rate Reduces Patellofemoral Joint Forces.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 46, no. 3 (2014): 557–64.

7. Meardon, Stacey A., and Timothy R. Derrick. “Effect of Step Width Manipulation on Tibial Stress during Running.” Journal of Biomechanics 47, no. 11 (2014): 2738–44.

8. Willy, R. W., L. Buchenic, K. Rogacki, J. Ackerman, A. Schmidt, and J. D. Willson. “In-Field Gait Retraining and Mobile Monitoring to Address Running Biomechanics Associated with Tibial Stress Fracture.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 26, no. 2 (April 2015): 197–205.

9. Willy, Richard W. “Innovations and Pitfalls in the Use of Wearable Devices in the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Running Related Injuries.” Physical Therapy in Sport 29 (2018): 26–33.

10. Worp, Maarten P. Van Der, Nick Van Der Horst, Anton De Wijer, Frank J. G. Backx, and Maria W. G. Nijhuis-Van Der Sanden. “Iliotibial Band Syndrome in Runners.” Sports Medicine 42, no. 11 (2012): 969–92.

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