The Fitness-Fatigue Model Revisited: Implications for Planning Short- and Long-Term Training

ELITE ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE is dependent on a systemized training program. The general adaptation syndrome (GAS) was the original model from which periodization was designed (67). The GAS describes the physiological response of an organism to stress. A more comprehensive model of the physiological responses to training stimuli is the fitness-fatigue theory (1). In light of recent research examining resistance exercise overreaching and overtraining, it is prudent to review the fitness-fatigue theory and determine how it can be applied to strength and conditioning.