# Markers for Routine Assessment of Fatigue and Recovery in Male and Female Team Sport Athletes during High-Intensity Interval Training

PMID: 26444557
Journal: PLOS ONE
Published: 2015
Authors: Wiewelhove T, Raeder C, Meyer T, Kellmann M, Pfeiffer M, Ferrauti A

## Question

Which routine fatigue and recovery markers reflect repeated-sprint ability changes after a short intensified HIIT block in team-sport athletes?

## Summary

In trained team-sport athletes, an intense six-day HIIT block produced measurable fatigue, soreness, and some performance decrements, but no single routine marker accurately tracked repeated-sprint recovery.

## Population

- Healthy well-trained male and female team-sport athletes.
- Sample size: 22
- Age: 23.0 +/- 2.7 years
- Sex: 11 men, 11 women
- Fitness level: Well-trained athletes
- Health status: Healthy with normal ECG

## Methodology

- Repeated-measures training-load and recovery study
- 18 days including baseline, 6-day HIIT period, and 72-hour recovery
- Outdoor 400 m track and laboratory testing

## Protocol

- Six-day running HIIT overload.
- Modality: Running.
- Work intervals: Mixed: 4 min, 2 min, 30 s shuttle, and 5 s all-out sprint intervals.
- Recovery: Mixed: 25 s to 3 min plus set recoveries.
- Sets or repetitions: 11 sessions.
- Intensity: 80-90% VIFT or all-out.
- Session duration: Average 35 min.
- Frequency: 11 sessions over 6 days.
- Program length: 6 days.
- Progression: Overload microcycle, not gradual progression.

## Outcomes

### RSA
Status: worse/safety concern
Repeated-sprint ability decreased after HIIT and recovered by 72 h.

5.02 to 4.84 m/s post-HIIT, p=0.001; 4.97 m/s after 72 h.

### Fatigue markers
Status: mixed
CMJ, MRJ, CK, and DOMS changed with fatigue/recovery, while sprint time and some contractile measures remained impaired at 72 h.

### Marker accuracy
Status: no clear change
No single marker accurately tracked RSA changes.

Multiple regression showed no useful correlations.

## Practical Insights

- Recovery status after hard HIIT blocks should be judged from multiple individual markers.
- Athlete overload microcycles are not appropriate templates for general fitness users.

## Limitations

- No control group
- Athlete-only cohort
- Selected marker battery
- Generalizability to other athlete levels uncertain

## Safety And Adherence

- No conventional adverse events or injuries were reported.
- Expected fatigue responses included increased DOMS and creatine kinase after HIIT.
- Participants were screened by health exam and normal ECG, sessions were supervised, and no in-study dropout was reported.

## Original Sources

- [PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26444557/) (pubmed)
- [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139801) (doi)
- [PMC full text](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4596858/) (full text)

## Agent Guidance

Preserve the paper-level scope of this note. Do not generalize beyond the population, protocol, measured outcomes, and limitations above.