Fatigue in Sport and Exercise

Fatigue is an important concern for all athletes, sportspeople and coaches, and in clinical exercise science. There remains considerable debate about the definition of fatigue, what causes it, what its impact is during different forms of exercise, and what the best methods are to combat fatigue and improve performance. This is the first student-focused book to survey the contemporary research evidence into exercise-induced fatigue and to discuss how knowledge of fatigue can be applied in sport and exercise contexts.

The book examines the different ‘types’ of fatigue and the difficulties of identifying which types are prevalent during different types of exercise, including a discussion of the most important methods for measuring fatigue. It introduces the fundamental science of fatigue, focussing predominantly on covering physiological aspects, and explores key topics in detail, such as energy depletion, lactic acid, dehydration, electrolytes and minerals, and the perception of fatigue. Every chapter includes real case studies from sport and exercise, as well as useful features to aid learning and understanding, such as definitions of key terms, guides to further reading, discussion questions, and principles for training and applied practice. Fatigue in Sport and Exercise is an invaluable companion for any degree-level course in sport and exercise physiology, fitness and training, or strength and conditioning.