Abstract des Autors

lt is evident that much work needs to be done before we are truly helping athletes. However, some great strides have been made in determining the profile of the overtrained athlete. In addition, excellent progress has been made at some levels of sport in the development of monitoring programs for athletes. While the search for the mechanisms underlying overtraining is important, provision of simple preventive tools to the coach and athlete are most likely to be employed, and will reach the greatest number of athletes. There are far too many new directions in this area of research to risk making a list and ignoring an important new area of research. In general terms, however, future researchers should consider the following: finding ways to make rest more appealing, determining how much rest is required for recovery after the symptoms of overtraining appear, assessing gender differences with particular attention to gender-specific markers of overtraining, determining differences between aerobic and anaerobic overtraining, examining susceptibility to overtraining in senior athletes and adolescent and preadolescent athletes, examining preventive and alternative training modes such as cross-training and deep water running. These are but a few areas of research that require attention if we are to protect our athletes from the potentially devastating effects of overtraining. Research is the key to the long-term solution of these and other problems facing the athletic community. In the meantime our only defense may be the flimsy shield currently provided by common sense and observation. Verf.-Referat