Overtraining, Inflammation, Insufficient Repair: Scientists Shed Some More Light on the Counterproductive Triad of Ups & Downs in Testosterone, IL-6, IL-10, COX II & Co
Image 1: Part of Christian Bale's protocol to become the skinny Machinist was, you guessed it, overtraining - accompanied by undereating, the results (left) were profound. The debate on the practical implications and even the existence of a certain physical condition that is generally referred to as "overtraining" is probably one of the most longstanding debates in the realms of physical culture. From a scientific point of view, it stands out of question that the same exercises that turn a stringbean into a heavily muscled berserk can also change him back into a stringbean, when the narrow yet tremendously productive margin between "just enough" and "already too much" is repeatedly exceeded. Scientists from the Department of Sports Medicine at the Shanghai University of Sport probed the underlying causes of this phenomenon and came up with a few interesting observations ( Xiao. 2012 ). Update: My friend Carl Lanore from Super Human Radio hap...