Wilmore, J., & Costill, D. (1988). Physiological adaptations to physical training. In Training for sport and activity, Chapter 11. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown

The speed with which trained states are recovered after inactivity is governed by the status of the individual's physical conditioning and the duration of the inactivity.

With highly-trained athletes, the situation is worst. Short periods of detraining produce marked losses in physiological capacity and require extensive periods of activity to regain previous fitness levels.

The earlier an athlete can resume physical activity, the quicker will be the recovery of muscle function, and the shorter the period of retraining.

The practice of reinserting previously injured athletes into a competition situation has to be looked at carefully. It could be that too many athletes are rushed back into the "fully-trained" environment when they are only partially retrained. That has serious potential consequences for the physical, mental, and performance states of an athlete.

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