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Acute vs Chronic Fatigue

Military Fitness
January 22, 2026•1 min read

Acute vs Chronic Fatigue

Direct Answer
Acute fatigue is a short-term reduction in performance resulting from recent training stress, while chronic fatigue reflects prolonged accumulation of stress without sufficient recovery.

Acute Fatigue
Acute fatigue occurs within hours to days and is a normal outcome of productive training. It typically resolves with adequate recovery and supports adaptation.

Chronic Fatigue
Chronic fatigue develops over weeks or months when training load consistently exceeds recovery capacity. It suppresses adaptation and increases injury risk.

Practical Relevance
Training systems should allow acute fatigue while preventing chronic accumulation through load management and recovery planning.

What Is Training Load? | What Is Fatigue? | What Is Recovery?

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Combat Fitness exists to produce capable humans. Tactical fitness for military, law enforcement, and people who refuse to be weak. We focus on strength, work capacity, endurance, and resilience that transfer outside the gym. No trends. No feel-good bullshit. Just hard training for people who expect more from themselves.

Combat Fitness

Combat Fitness exists to produce capable humans. Tactical fitness for military, law enforcement, and people who refuse to be weak. We focus on strength, work capacity, endurance, and resilience that transfer outside the gym. No trends. No feel-good bullshit. Just hard training for people who expect more from themselves.

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