# Recommendations for Advancing the Resistance Exercise Overtraining Research
## 3 Developing Resistance Exercise Overtraining Protocols Is a Challenging Task  
Studies designed to investigate potential diagnostic markers of NFOR/OTS have incorporated well-controlled but varied resistance exercise OT protocols. Such studies have included both high-volume [23; 24; 25] and high-intensity training [18; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33] that have utilized either single exercise protocols (typically a variation on a squat) [18; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 33] or multiple exercise training programs [23; 24; 32; 34; 35; 36; 37]. To explore the mechanisms that underpin the response to OT, several of these training protocols have not been designed to _improve_ physical performance (i.e., achieve FOR), but to _induce_ a state of OT for the purpose of elucidating diagnostic and mechanistic information. Interestingly, whilst some (at times extremely challenging) protocols have been developed to induce OT, the incidence of NFOR/OTS is still low. Studies that have failed to report a state of NFOR/OTS are more likely to reflect normal strength training practices [6]. The diverse range of training protocols used in OT research assists in the overall understanding of the response to demanding resistance exercise in a controlled environment, and aids in identifying potential mechanisms and markers that underpin OT due to the high level of control associated with laboratory research. Very few studies have used the same protocol across multiple research studies, therefore substantial methodological heterogeneity makes it difficult to compare results between studies where there is a lack of standardized training factors (i.e., frequency, duration, volume, exercise selection, and intensity of effort). Highly controlled training protocols provide a model on which to study the physiological mechanisms that may contribute to OTS. However, \"real world\" observational research conducted in environments where there is a risk of OT (i.e., training camps, planned overreaching) has the potential advantage of assessing training outcomes using resistance exercise training designed to induce FOR. The current landscape of protocols used in resistance training OT studies is representative of the many ways in which coaches and practitioners prescribe periods of resistance exercise, therefore should not be perceived negatively. High-performance strength coaches typically approach the prescription of such training intuitively, using an individualized approach [11]. Therefore, the development of a single best practice protocol used across a diverse range of sports, athlete types and complex-chaotic training settings is challenging and would eliminate the flexibility in which intentional resistance exercise OT is prescribed. Providing objective evidence of performance decrement following prolonged periods of resistance exercise OT is difficult [13]. As such, there is a lack of longitudinal research reporting follow-up performance tests, making it difficult to accurately determine if OTS has occurred. It is critical that future studies determine if performance suppression following periods of resistance exercise OT is due to acute fatigue, FOR/NFOR or OTS (or other disorders such as RED-S). With a heterogeneous and diverse range of associated symptoms and only a minimal understanding of the underlying mechanisms that dictate the response to OT, the time course to performance restoration and performance change is currently the only way to differentiate FOR from NFOR/OTS. Performance testing follow-up should be conducted at \(\geq\)4 weeks post-intervention to accurately determine NFOR from OTS. However, it is acknowledged that follow-up testing to verify diagnosis might be difficult considering the associated duration and frequency required for data collection. Could an Analysis of Inter-Individual Response Variability Be the Next Step to Understanding Resistance Exercise Overtraining? The concept of individual response variation to a given dose of exercise training is not a new concept [38].