Fatigue management

These notes combine advice from 72 reviewed passages across 60 workouts.

Overview

Fatigue is a normal part of training, and much of its effect shows up in movement quality. Extreme fatigue makes technique start to deteriorate, and skill performance can decline with it, so managing energy is largely about protecting form.

How fatigue changes movement

As fatigue develops, body tension can disappear and the body starts to relax. In a static hold, instability grows as arm or shoulder strength gradually drops, and the second repetition of a strength move tends to collapse or develop a curve because the strength runs out.

Fatigue can cause slightly uneven force and a bend in the handstand line.

When the legs get tired, the whole body can feel drained. When the upper body starts to fatigue, weight can shift onto the feet and pulling becomes harder.

The longer you hold a position, the more energy decreases, and grip strength eventually runs out.

Fatigue can temporarily prevent an attempt that you can perform when fresh. The ability is still there and can return later.

A back lever held 15 to 20 degrees above horizontal can be the result of fatigue and can still be considered sufficient.

Managing fatigue during a workout

Use current performance as a real measure of remaining capacity. If you can still perform a movement, energy remains.

Stop when you have done enough; there is no need to push hard every time.

When several exercises remain in a workout, calculate your energy and balance it across the whole workout.

Conserve energy for handstand work rather than raising the effort of the current exercise.

When fatigue would ruin the form of later repetitions, separate the work. Do repetitions one at a time, or complete one side, rest, and then do the other.

Hold a little less at the top of a movement to preserve energy.

Compare both sides of a movement to tell whether a form problem is side-specific or caused by fatigue.

Fatigue in specific movements

When the feet start descending during handstand work, three repetitions are enough for the day; the target number is five.

During a fatigued handstand hold, focus on loading the position rather than overthinking balance.

When the head lowers from fatigue in an elbow stand, try to push it up.

When fatigue appears during a swing, focus maximally on the knee and toe and push through both.

As repetitions accumulate and knee lift decreases, keep pulling the knees up as much as possible.

During an L-sit, use the other side to stay comfortable and reduce fatigue.

Planning the workout around fatigue

Practice skill work earlier in the workout, before fatigue builds, for better results.

Placing skill work at different points in a workout can help compare performance under different fatigue levels.