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Regression

An abnormal plateau resulting from some type of stress or other factors mentioned above will eventually cause your MAF Test to get worse each time you check it. If this happens, your body is in a “red alert” and you should be very cautious. This is the time when you become most vulnerable to injury and ill health. In this case, one recommended strategy is to cut your training, even by up to 50 percent. This will ensure more rest and recovery, and give your body a chance to recover from whatever stress is affecting it. At the same time, however, it’s important to reevaluate all your training, diet and nutrition, and other lifestyle factors. If you are performing anaerobic training, this would be the first change to make—stop all anaerobic workouts, including racing. The most common cause of reduced aerobic function is anaerobic training, and/or too much racing.

During the early stages of regression, you may not necessarily feel bad or notice an injury or other health problem. Those obvious signs and symptoms occur in the later stages of deteriorating endurance. There may not be any early symptoms. Blood, urine, and other standard tests may also appear normal. The two most common signs that may (but don’t always) appear with a worsening MAF Test are an elevated resting (morning) heart rate and slight elevations in the stress hormone cortisol. But in most cases, the only sign that something is wrong may come from your MAF Test.

If you do not respect the advice of your body, which during a worsening MAF Test indicates you are regressing, you may ultimately be seeking symptomatic relief from complaints such as fatigue or exhaustion, physical injury, sickness, or some other breakdown, possibly including one on a mental level such as depression. Regressing endurance parallels poor health.

The most important aspect of performing your MAF Test regularly is to record the results. Make a graph, chart, or just write your results in a diary. One of the first things I did when athletes visited my clinic was to look at all the MAF Test results they’d recorded since the previous visit. In many athletes, this was one of my most important assessments.