Science
The research the BLOCKS assistant answers from: 1,118 studies and 81 guides, each graded for how strong the evidence is and who it was measured on, with a link to the original paper.
49 entries in Periodization, taper & overtraining
AAn independent 2023 taper meta-analysis reproduces Bosquet's shape: the time trial improves and VO2max and economy do notAnd the effect appears only in the subgroups that KEPT intensity and frequencyWang 2023C+I stopped for 3 months at 53 — how much did I lose?One trained triathlete lost 7% of VO2max (9% per kg) and 10% of peak power in 12 weeks off, and 12 weeks back (full volume by week 7) restored it. n = 1; one test per point.Zanou 2024BStrength back after short disuse10 days with one leg unloaded cost young men 29% of quadriceps force and 4% of muscle volume; nine sessions of 3 × 10 at 70% 1RM over 21 days restored the force and took volume above baseline, while…Franchi 2025BI'm stuck in bed for two weeks — how much leg muscle will I lose?In 12 healthy young men kept in strict bed rest for 14 days, thigh muscle volume fell 5% on MRI (7.1 → 6.7 L), leg lean mass 5% on DXA (10.2 → 9.7 kg) and thigh cross-sectional area 6% on CT, with…Fuchs 2025BI can only train once a week — or once a fortnight — for 3 months. Will I keep what I built?Once a week, yes; once a fortnight, partly. The same full session every 7 days held leg strength, quadriceps size and aerobic power for 12 weeks; every 14 days, by week 12, about half the size and…Mpampoulis 2024A-I'm over 60 — if I stop training for a few months, is the work wasted?No, but it is not banked either: older adults who had trained still did better than never-trained peers after 4-36 weeks off (ES 0.88), less so the older they were (β −0.06 per year), and the…Buendía-Romero 2025BI spent a week in bed — how long before I'm back to normal?Plan at least 2-4 weeks of progressive rebuilding with strength work in it — the authors' advice after up to 28 days in bed, possibly longer after illness or injury. No study has measured real…Spiering 2023B+I took 3 weeks off — how much did I lose?Some aerobic capacity, not most of it: in trained endurance athletes who stopped completely, VO2max was about 4-7% lower after 12-21 days, about 10% after 5 weeks and 13-20% after about 8 weeks…Barbieri 2024BElite cyclists, 7 weeks of intervals 3×/week in season with moderate-intensity volume cut by ~33% (~5 h/week) or kept: fresh ~20-min time trial improved (+3% and +2%), the time trial after a 120-min preload did not improve significantly overall (p = 0.19), and preload lactate fell only where volume was keptChristensen 2024B+Training twice every second day with low glycogen versus once daily for 3 weeks in well-trained cyclists (pair-matched, randomised): interval power was lower (297 vs 323 W), the time trial improved ~10% in both groups, and fat oxidation rose with the stacked scheduleHulston 2010BTwice every second day versus once daily for 3 weeks in trained cyclists: the same two sessions (100-min steady ride + 8 × 5 min) stacked 1-2 h apart raised fat oxidation and oxidative enzymes, compromised the interval session, and improved a 60-min time trial by ~10%The same as training once a dayYeo 2008BFunctional overreaching: the key to peak performance during the taper?In 33 trained male triathletes, the overloaded athletes who stayed only acutely fatigued gained more over a 4-week taper than those who became functionally overreached, and more than controls; the…Aubry 2014C+Functional Overreaching in Endurance Athletes: A Necessity or Cause for Concern?A narrative review: the idea that endurance athletes must be driven into functional overreaching to supercompensate is questioned, because some studies show smaller adaptations in overreached…Bellinger 2020BEffect of run vs combined cycle/run training on VO2max and running performanceMutton 1993B+Effects of specific versus cross-training on running performanceFoster 1995BReduced training intensities and loss of aerobic power, endurance, and cardiac growthHickson 1985BPost-season detraining effects on physiological and performance parameters in top-level kayakers: comparison of two recovery strategiesGarcía-Pallarés 2009B+An Integrated, Multifactorial Approach to Periodization for Optimal Performance in Individual and Team SportsMujika 2018B+Reverse Periodization for Improving Sports Performance: A Systematic ReviewGonzález-Ravé 2022A-Block periodization of endurance training - a systematic review and meta-analysisMølmen 2019C+Periodization paradigms in the 21st century: evidence-led or tradition-driven?Kiely 2012BCardiovascular response to prescribed detraining among recreational athletesPedlar 2018B+Estimating the cost of training disruptions on marathon performanceFeely 2023B+Longer Disciplined Tapers Improve Marathon Performance for Recreational RunnersSmyth & Lawlor 2021BTapering strategies in elite British endurance runnersSpilsbury 2014C+The instruments behind every wellness prompt and every internal-load numberWhat each one is, who defined it, and what its own paper actually showed: Foster's session RPE tracked an HR-based load score consistently across cycling and basketball, Hooper's well-being ratings…Subjective Recovery Assessment Tools — composite evidenceB+Block Training With Moderate- or High-Intensity Intervals Both Improve Endurance Performance in Well-Trained CyclistsOne-week MIT block vs one-week HIT block, crossover in 22 cyclists: 15-min power +4.9% vs +2.8% (no difference), MIT gains more at 4 mmol/L (+4.5% vs +2.1%), HIT tends to protect sprint powerRønnestad 2025BAfter stopping training, VO2max fell 7% in 21 days and stabilised 16% below the trained value by day 56; oxidative enzymes halved in about 12 days, but capillaries did not fallSeven endurance-trained people, 84 days of inactivityCoyle 1984BCOVID-19 in UK international athletes: mostly mild and self-limiting, but median time loss 18 days and 27% still unavailable after 4 weeksLower-respiratory features triple the risk of prolonged illnessHull 2022AEffect of Training Cessation on Muscular Performance: A Meta-AnalysisBosquet 2013B+Detraining: Loss of training-induced physiological and performance adaptations. Parts I & IIMujika & Padilla 2000BIn 39 athletes (14 with overtraining syndrome), OTS was triggered independently by eating patternsDaily carbohydrate, protein and calorie intake — and not by training patterns; once present, it independently lowered cortisol, late GH and ACTH responses, the testosterone:estradiol ratio…Cadegiani & Kater 2019AMonitoring the athlete training response: subjective self-reported measures trump commonly used objective measuresSaw 2016B+Monitoring Training Load to Understand Fatigue in AthletesHalson 2014B+Immune and inflammation responses to a 3-day period of intensified running versus cyclingNieman 2014BGaining more from doing less? The effects of a one-week deload period during supervised resistance training on muscular adaptationsA full week off at the midpoint of a 9-week program cost lower-body strength and bought nothing in hypertrophy, power or enduranceColeman 2024B+The Development of Functional Overreaching Is Associated with a Faster Heart Rate Recovery in Endurance AthletesIn 31 triathletes, only the 10 who became functionally overreached showed a faster HRR (+8 ± 5 bpm) during overload, so a faster HRR is not automatically good newsAubry 2015AA Systematic Review on Markers of Functional Overreaching in Endurance AthletesRoete 2021APrevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of the Overtraining Syndrome: Joint Consensus Statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports MedicineMeeusen 2013BHIT Maintains Performance During the Transition Period and Improves Next Season Performance in Well-Trained CyclistsRønnestad 2014