A new integrative model of overtraining based on burnout and stress-recovery psychological approaches

The basic concepts and psychological issues related to overtraining syndrome are reviewed in the first part of the present article. The most important models that, from different approaches, try to explain this situation are then presented. In the second section, models related to the burnout hypothesis, such as Smith s cognitive-affective model (1986), Schmidt and Stein s sport commitment model (1991), Coakley s social model (1992), Kelley s stress and burnout model (1994) and Garcés and Vives s integrated model (2003) are exposed. The hypothesis of the stress-recovery state is subsequently developed, explaining the most significant implications of both stress and recovery in sport. The characteristics of two of the most important models based on this hypothesis: Kellmann s scissor model of stress-recovery state (1991) and Kenttä and Hassmén s stress-recovery state model (1998) are described. Finally, in order to get a better understanding of the short and long-term manifestations of overtraining, a new model based on both the burnout and stress-recovery approaches is proposed.