Opinion Durability, fatigability, repeatability, and resilience in endurance sports: definitions, distinctions, and implications, 2025, Meixner et al.
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FATIGABILITY
Definition and Empirical Evidence
Fatigue represents a critical constraint in human performance, operationally defined as “an acute impairment of performance that includes both an increase in the perceived effort necessary to exert a desired force and an eventual inability to produce this force” (31). This dual-component framework—encompassing both the subjective perception of effort and objective performance decline—aligns with contemporary models describing fatigue as “a disabling symptom in which physical and cognitive function is limited by interactions between performance fatigability and perceived fatigability” (32).
In maximal repeated-effort contexts characteristic of endurance sports such as cycling, fatigability manifests distinctly as “the ability to repeat efforts at workloads corresponding to or near mean maximal power (MMP) output” (Muriel et al. 33), such as in events requiring repeated surges (e.g., breakaways and hill climbs). As such, fatigability is characterized by the rate and magnitude of physiological strain and performance loss that develops within a continuous task due to fatigue accumulation.
Unlike repeatability, fatigability reflects the vulnerability to functional decline under load, largely independent of recovery capacity between efforts (33). In comparison to durability, fatigability is characterized by the varying nature of intensity during the competition. Fatigability captures how quickly an athlete experiences performance decay when recovery is limited or absent. High fatigability is evident when performance metrics—such as power output, velocity, or technical proficiency—decline rapidly under load, particularly when comparing fatigued with fresh conditions (14, 34, 35). Furthermore, recent studies have displayed differences between males and females (15), depicting an important consideration for both the assessment and physiological mechanisms of this concept.
Definition and Empirical Evidence
Fatigue represents a critical constraint in human performance, operationally defined as “an acute impairment of performance that includes both an increase in the perceived effort necessary to exert a desired force and an eventual inability to produce this force” (31). This dual-component framework—encompassing both the subjective perception of effort and objective performance decline—aligns with contemporary models describing fatigue as “a disabling symptom in which physical and cognitive function is limited by interactions between performance fatigability and perceived fatigability” (32).
In maximal repeated-effort contexts characteristic of endurance sports such as cycling, fatigability manifests distinctly as “the ability to repeat efforts at workloads corresponding to or near mean maximal power (MMP) output” (Muriel et al. 33), such as in events requiring repeated surges (e.g., breakaways and hill climbs). As such, fatigability is characterized by the rate and magnitude of physiological strain and performance loss that develops within a continuous task due to fatigue accumulation.
Unlike repeatability, fatigability reflects the vulnerability to functional decline under load, largely independent of recovery capacity between efforts (33). In comparison to durability, fatigability is characterized by the varying nature of intensity during the competition. Fatigability captures how quickly an athlete experiences performance decay when recovery is limited or absent. High fatigability is evident when performance metrics—such as power output, velocity, or technical proficiency—decline rapidly under load, particularly when comparing fatigued with fresh conditions (14, 34, 35). Furthermore, recent studies have displayed differences between males and females (15), depicting an important consideration for both the assessment and physiological mechanisms of this concept.