Mood and cycling performance in response to three weeks of high-intensity,short-duration overtraining, and a two-week taper

This study examined changes in mood and performance in response to high-int ensity, short-duration overtraining and a subsequent taper. Pursuit cyclist s (N=8) at the United States Olympic Training Center completed the POMS and simulated 4-km pursuit performance tests throughout a six-week period. The six-week period included a baseline week, three weeks of overtraining that consisted primarily of high-intensity interval training, and a two-week ta per Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scores displayed a quadratic polynomial ef fect across the three weeks of overtraining (p<.01), with the highest TMD s cores occurring in the second week. Average TMD scores were lower during th e taper than at baseline (p<.02) and lower at taper than overtraining (p<.0 005). Cycling performance (pursuit time and average power output) improved during the three weeks of overtraining; additional improvements were observ ed during the taper. There were no significant correlations between TMD and performance. However, pursuit time, average power output, and mood disturb ance scores were at optimal levels throughout the taper period. These findi ngs suggest that high-intensity, short-duration overtraining may not result in an overtraining syndrome in 4-km pursuit cyclists.