Terhelési adaptáció: az aluledzettségtől a túledzett állapotig
Bálint Szinte
"I achieved outstanding results in training, yet underperformed in competition"
Why is peaking for competition difficult for an athlete?
Reading the subtitle, most of us might immediately think of the concept of “training form” known from sports psychology. Behind the high performance displayed in training—sometimes even higher than in competition—we usually look for psychological triggers. Yet, there is also a physical aspect to training form, which can be explained through the concept of load adaptation.
Load adaptation and its progressivity mean that achieving a certain performance (measured by time, output, or other data) requires progressively less effort. The less effort it takes to reach a higher level of performance, the better “form” we feel we are in, which reflects the developing curve of load adaptation.
However, in practice, it is extremely difficult to accurately capture and rationally frame load adaptation, even though all parameters of training load—such as heart rate and lactate—can be monitored. Unfortunately, it is not possible to quantify in conventional terms exactly how much load our body is currently ready for.
This article was created with the support of Danubius Track Club and Polar Hungary. Proper load management is now essential for injury-free progress and optimal competition preparation, and the role of these partners is key.
Progressive Load Adaptation – or Everything Behind the Development Curve of Our Fitness
To understand this, we first need to examine the three pillars of the concept:
- Training load,
- Load adaptation, also known as fitness, and
- Progressivity as a process.
As I go into detail on these aspects, I will repeatedly make more general observations. Although I do not have a formal coaching or sports science background, my own training and competition experiences have allowed me to develop insights from which a kind of “training theory” can be derived. Regarding fitness, I have experienced significant, often frustrating moments—my training log is full of failed competitions, even though beforehand I felt like I could move mountains. For this reason, this topic is very close to my interest today, and I am happy to share my impressions, observations, and a few suggestions.
About Training Load
The first pillar is load itself, a multifaceted concept that can be measured in several ways. In middle-distance running, during training, performance goals usually take precedence: we determine in advance the pace required to run a long 10 kilometers and, for interval sessions, the splits and trends that need to be achieved. However, some training methodologies focus less on performance and more on the degree of load: heart rate, lactate values, or simply perceived relative effort (RPE) can guide the session. Training load can therefore be measured in multiple ways, and today we have the right tools to do so.
To estimate the total training load as accurately as possible, even numerically, we can multiply the session duration by a chosen load metric. This total load represents the training load itself.
It is useful to record both a subjective and an objective measure of total load in a training diary. The subjective side is captured by session duration and RPE, while the objective side is represented by the duration multiplied by heart rate. Comparing these two values helps athletes understand the difference between their internal perception of load and the actual load value. It is important to emphasize, however, that heart rate changes are influenced by many factors, just like any other parameter. In this calculation, not only the athlete’s physiological load but also health status and environmental conditions play a significant role.
About Fitness, or Load Adaptation
Load adaptation varies depending on training load and individual life circumstances. While the first pillar requires considering the challenges of each training session (e.g., average pace during warm-up, split times and intensity of initial intervals, weather) to estimate total training load, capturing load adaptation also requires monitoring and understanding our lifestyle outside of training.
Load Capacity as a Key Concept
Load capacity may hold the key to understanding this concept: if, alongside proper training, we pay attention to supporting factors such as nutrition, recovery, or mental health, these elements—like training itself—help the athlete achieve a more “resilient” state. Factors influencing load adaptation are so diverse that they cannot be clearly delineated. Practically anything that affects a person’s physical condition can influence load capacity. I have often experienced how a single poor night of sleep or a small dietary lapse can significantly reduce my preparedness for the next major training load. This becomes especially critical in the days leading up to a competition, when timing also plays a role in reaching optimal readiness. Over the years, I have realized that no lapses can be allowed during training and competition periods, as any change will have effects elsewhere—much like pulling on one point of a spiderweb loosens it in another spot.
How to Build and Track Fitness Development
To determine load adaptation, we must first understand ourselves better.
- Step one: Establish a consistent training load, which naturally leads to load adaptation. This should be recorded in a training diary to track changes. This provides insight into, for example, how fast to start the first intervals in an upcoming session or how to optimally distribute load in the days before a competition. Uneven loads across sessions make readiness variable and unpredictable: sometimes we feel strong, other times exhausted. Without consistency, a stable fitness “foundation” never develops.
- Step two: Develop an organized lifestyle that creates internal harmony and allows the athlete to understand which areas still need adjustment to maximize performance in training. In other words, be your own manager and do not shy away from enforcing discipline to maintain your internal order.
- Step three: Keep a detailed training diary that includes the planned sessions and completed work. This may be the most important component: record the effort required to achieve your target performance and how it evolves over days and weeks. If a target performance feels almost effortless, your load adaptation is progressing, and you can increase the quantity and quality of training. It is also useful to log supporting factors such as hydration, nutrition, and even sleep. In this way, we can effectively create a “diagnostic profile” of our athletic condition.
When I Freeze Before a Race…
I must admit, I still struggle with this myself. Keeping a consistent training diary is, for me, the hardest task—especially being honest with myself. This becomes risky in the days leading up to a race because I might deceive myself into thinking I’m over- or under-prepared, which definitely affects my performance. There have been times when I felt so bad in the days before a race, after training, that I seriously considered not starting at all. At moments like these, I remind myself:
"I have laid the best possible foundation for fitness through disciplined and consistent work. The fact that I feel bad right now is separate. These feelings are either caused by external factors beyond my control or by my own lack of motivation. Neither circumstances nor motivation can guide me. At the start line, I rely on my own fitness and courage. Everything else is out of my hands, and these things will not, even by accident, shake my focus. I cannot know the source of this bad feeling, nor can I predict the outcome—but isn’t this unpredictability part of why I love this sport?"
Understanding fitness and race readiness primarily comes from experience. I remember the first time I completed a race-pace interval session, mathematically projecting an 800 m time of about 1:48—but in the subsequent race, I fell short by nearly eight (!) seconds. Three years later, after performing the same session more frequently, under harder conditions, and with adjacent training days, I missed the 1:48 target by only one second. Why? Because my first session was run more freshly, requiring much greater effort to achieve those splits, while later I could accomplish similar results with less exertion. Over time, I also learned to better manage myself and my lifestyle, giving me a clearer understanding of my limits.
On the Progressive Process
Returning to the previous practical example, the progressive curve begins when achieving the same workout performance becomes possible even under less ideal conditions or with lower recovery following the previous day’s session. But how can I tell if this curve is truly rising?
In my training and race preparation, I have encountered several models that allow consistent, structured, and almost guaranteed increases in fitness. I know five such “progression models”—though more experienced athletes and coaches certainly know others. Here’s a brief overview of the models I use:
- Simple Linear: I recognize two variants. The first gradually increases training load while keeping adaptation level constant. The second is its mirror: training load remains steady, but required effort steadily decreases, reflecting increasing adaptation. I use this in race seasons or longer inter-competition periods to “maximize form” with minimal extra effort.
- Parallel Linear: Training load increases alongside proportional adaptation. Some training methodologies follow this model, where continuous, uninterrupted training is emphasized rather than short-term race-peak timing. I’ve used it in off-season “mini-builds.” It helped maintain form before post-season, although I haven’t applied it long-term yet.
- Cyclic: A period of gradually increasing then decreasing training load. In my own training, preparation is carried out in this rhythm, based on the idea that purely linear, long-term training fosters microtraumas, fatigue-related injuries, or inflammation (tendon, joint, or periosteal). Cycles break monotony with lighter periods, allowing further fitness gains for the next cycle.
- Pyramid Style: Applied in the days before a race. Between six and four days out, training load is gradually increased, then reduced over the final three days to light activation sessions. This ensures that fitness improves up to the last hard session, while adaptation continues to improve during the taper, thanks to prioritized recovery.
…And in light of all this, when can we speak of “regressive training adaptation”?
In short: when the curve of adaptation does not follow the curve of training load. This is precisely why it’s so difficult to monitor everything purely with numbers, and why strict, careful adherence to the training plan is essential. Athletes in running likely know Mihály Iglói’s advice well: if you follow the instructions—no more, no less—you can achieve your goal. Therefore, training load should never be dictated by motivation, but by proper adherence to the plan and instructions.
To generalize again, a regressive process always means that a given level of training load requires greater effort. In linear models, this appears as a downward-sloping adaptation curve; in cyclic models, it shows as general fatigue before the next cycle (“the easy week wasn’t enough, I still feel weak”) or the heightened need for sleep and low energy the day before a race, which doesn’t disappear even during warm-up. Based on my own experience, it’s important to reserve over-motivation and excess enthusiasm for the start line and the race itself—preparation relies primarily on discipline, high focus, and careful attention. Motivation can break consistency: it can lift us high, then abandon us, leaving only a steep fall.
The Polar Vantage M3 provides useful guidance here
Polar’s prototype measures training load and tolerance based on cardio stress. The ratio of these two gives a cardio load status, which ranges from undertrained to overreached. In this context, tolerance reflects training adaptation—how prepared we feel for the next training session. While no sports watch can deliver perfect precision, it can show approximate values and, more importantly, track trends in fitness, highlighting spikes or changes that athletes should monitor closely. In these cases, it’s useful to overlay progressive training models onto the diagrams provided by Polar.
Fitness and readiness for the next session can also be tracked through heart rate variability (HRV) and resting heart rate. Logging sleep and non-training activity completes the overall picture of the athlete’s condition. The Polar Vantage M3 provides exceptionally diverse information about the body—not just a snapshot before the next workout, but also historical trends with concrete data.