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Katie
Katie Chasey is a personalized training programmer and the head coach of the RXBound Training Team, where she is an Olympic Lifting, Russian Kettlebell, and all around Strength and Conditioning Coach.

She has an extensive background as an elite-level show jumper, volleyball player, and swimmer and has competed in a variety of sports both in the United States and internationally.
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Don't let Fatigue Effect your Form

by: Katie Chasey

Right off the bat, you know that “fatigue” and “form” do not play well together. In my last article, “Overtraining or Under Recovering” I mentioned that fatigue is not the same thing as “overuse” of a muscle or the body as a whole.

What is Fatigue?

To understand fatigue  - and I'm talking about a tired feeling you have at the beginning of a workout, not the end of one - we must look at the root cause. If certain hormones are out of balance, you are going to run out of energy. Hormone imbalances can often be so severe that they're paralyzing. There is absolutely no energy left in those who experience this type of fatigue and this is a result of specific hormones being depleted - and you simply can't execute your lifts with proper form if you're fatigued this way.

Cortisol comes from the adrenal gland and is released as a natural response to dealing with stress. Adrenaline is your “flight or flight” hormone. Everybody wants to be where they were at an earlier point or to progress to a future goal, and they want to get there immediately. We need to be smart about how we arrive, and going too fast and too hard, especially at the outset of a program, decreases adrenaline, impacts cortisol release, and sends the body into a tailspin of adrenal fatigue.

This condition is compounded when fatigue is intensified as a result of adrenal depletion. Ultimately, adrenal insufficiency or even adrenal fatigue can result in a classic case of chronic fatigue syndrome. Neither is good for your form.

Move. Correct Your Diet. Sleep. Reduce Stress.

Cure Fatigue with Movement

Whether you think you can or not, you still must move. Movement is vitally important to keeping hormones balanced. Stress must be combated, and proper recovery and diet are essential. “Rest” days are therefore not beneficial to anyone. Even while sleeping we are active. Active recovery days on the other hand, are.

Coach’s Note: Walk slowly one hour before bed and go to bed only when you are ready to go to sleep. Even with profound fatigue, you are not really tired. If you were tired (simply sleep-deprived) then rest would be the cure. You only seem tired - it's a symptom, but not the problem itself.

Stress and Recovery

Perhaps if we talked more about proper recovery, we would talk less about overtraining. Learn your limitations. One might have athletic ambitions of a teenager but the hormone levels of someone much older. We must first understand that hormones run the body and therefore, we must keep them in check. This is where proper recovery comes in.

As an attempt to recover from fatigue, I often see people rest for two days (or longer) and then try to “reboot” and use whatever energy that they have now stored up to catch up on all of the things that they missed while resting. It is a mistake to try to catch up on two days of work in the two-hour energy phase. You will only crash two hours later and the process repeats itself.

Granted, the busy single mom may have more stress than an 18yr old but both need to be constantly aware of their environment and adjust their training and their lives accordingly. If you do not know you are under stress, then you cannot counter it. It is not unusual to notice it only when it is full-blown...but by moving, sleeping well, eating right, and reducing stressors, we safeguard as best we can against any surprises.

Sleep for Recovery

REM (rapid eye movement) is the real “rest” sleep and very few people ages 18-20 ever experience this at all. This REM sleep In motor skill learning an interval of sleep may be required before performance gains can be actualized fully. recovers all the bodily systems but we cannot experience REM sleep with an impacted cortisol level caused by running on adrenaline (and coffee!) all day. Try going to bed after drinking coffee every two hours all day long. This is the same effect adrenaline has on you and your sleep. It's also essential for your form in a way unrelated to fatigue - when learning a new motor skill,  without sleep, performance gains may not be actualized because neurological connections need the sleep-period to form completely.

Coach’s note: Be consistent with the training program that you are on. Have it personalized to you and your needs. Forget what the other guy is doing. There is no “one size fits all” program. This is why each one of my athletes is on their own individualized program. Furthermore, routine (with your program and consistency in your life) is a great way to monitor the body and to know how best to reduce stress. Eliminating trying to get as much in as possible with the little time you might have. Changes only show up where there are fluctuations in routine.

Diet for Recovery

What can’t a proper diet cure or make better? Some hormone imbalances are disguised as food allergies. Some foods make us feel better and some make us drowsy, relaxed, or sleepy. Be aware of the foods with these drug-like effects. Even organic, healthy foods have this affect on some people. Those who have food allergies, memory issues, energy issues, fatigue issues, and pain issues are affected by the “drugs” (by which I mean foods) they put in their bodies.

Fatigue and Form

Having touched a bit on fatigue, it is clear that this has a tremendous affect on the body so attention athletes! Given this information, how do you think your form will be on the Snatch, or any high-skill lift, in a fatigued state?




Solution? Plan the day out ahead of time.

Have your training programmed to coincide  with your schedule. Make sure you separate your workouts accordingly, giving you ample time to concentrate, practice technique, and do skill work. For example, if you are a runner and a lifter, run nice and early in the morning and leave yourself time afterwards to get home, shower, eat. Do your strength training or metabolic conditioning 3-4 hours later. Don’t rush through things like Olympic lifting or strength training. Maybe after work, hit up the local pool and swim if you can. But, slow is better sometimes so do your faster workouts in the morning and start slowing it down in the evening. It is like having your last adrenal cup of coffee at noon and not midnight.

Don’t Rush

In trying to cram in as much training as possible in a 30 or 40minute workout block, how much are you thinking about proper set-up under the bar or on the platform, or taking the time to put on a belt or lifting straps? There are some things that require speed; running 400m sprints is one of them. Rushing through your set up for an Olympic lift is not.

A few final notes to consider…if you are working out to lose weight, stress causes weight gain. To lose weight, increase sex drive, reduce pain, and recover better, you must get rid of stress. Therefore:
  • Be smart with your time and with your training.
  • Do not sacrifice technique for time. Ever.
  • Be intentional with every movement, motion, and program.
  • Form comes first and with that comes efficiency.
  • Eliminate the fatigue.
  • Train well and recover well.





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