Costill, D. L., & King, D. S. (1983). Workout evaluation. Swimming Technique, August-October, 24-27.

Costill and King directly commented on the value of "hell-week" programming where athletes are subjected to repeated days of intense and large volume swimming. Those experiences do not produce training effects because:

• recovery is not provided;
• their continuation is not possible because of the usual depletion of energy sources (particularly muscle glycogen); and
• the susceptibility of the athletes to injury is increased because of the deterioration in an athlete's ability to repair minor tissue damage.

Implication.The practice of subjecting athletes to excessive amounts of training as a method for developing "character" or locating the "mentally-tough" athletes in a squad is irresponsible and could be construed as physical abuse. There is enough evidence to support the contention that "hell-week" forms of training are sufficiently threatening to the well-being of athletes that litigation asserting negligence on the part of a coach demanding participation in such an experience is a distinct possibility.

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