Psychological Stress impairs muscular recovery

This one popped across my screen today.  Stress is always an issue with all sorts of impacts on health.  Interesting to see this study of its impact on the muscles and how they react to training:

Psychological Stress Impairs Short-Term Muscular Recovery From Resistance Exercise

PURPOSE:
The primary aim of this study was to determine whether chronic mental stress moderates recovery of muscular function, perceived energy, fatigue and soreness in the first hour following a bout of strenuous resistance exercise.
METHODS:
31 undergraduate resistance training students (age = 20.26 ± 1.34 y) completed the perceived stress scale (PSS) and Undergraduate Stress Questionnaire (USQ; a measure of life event stress) and completed fitness testing. Following 5 to 14 days of recovery, they performed an acute heavy-resistance exercise protocol (10-RM leg press test plus six sets: 80-100% of 10-RM). Maximal isometric force (MIF) was assessed prior to, following, and at 20, 40, and 60 min post-exercise. Participants also reported their levels of perceived energy, fatigue, and soreness. Recovery data was analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) growth curve analysis.
RESULTS:
Life event stress significantly moderated linear (p = .013) and squared (p = .05) recovery of MIF. This relationship held even when the model was adjusted for fitness, workload, and training experience. Likewise, perceived stress moderated linear recovery of MIF (p = .023). Neither USQ nor PSS significantly moderated changes in energy, fatigue, or soreness.
CONCLUSION:
Life event stress and perceived stress both moderated the recovery of muscular function, but not psychological responses, in the first hour post strenuous resistance exercise.

I think this may well have relevance to the work of Marcora that I've poined to before.   so much of this stuff is mental.  Perceptions are so important.  When you feel stressed everything will feel harder and of course your performance will be impacted