Effect of High-Volume Training on Psychological State and Performance in Competitive Swimmers

Oussama Gaied Chortane, Sofiene Amara, Tiago M. Barbosa, Raouf Hammami, Riadh Khalifa, Sabri Gaied Chortane and Roland van den Tillaar
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Oussama Gaied Chortane: Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis 2010, Tunisia
Sofiene Amara: Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis 2010, Tunisia
Tiago M. Barbosa: Research Center in Sport, Health and Human Development, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Raouf Hammami: Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis 2010, Tunisia
Riadh Khalifa: Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis 2010, Tunisia
Sabri Gaied Chortane: Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, University of La Manouba, Tunis 2010, Tunisia
Roland van den Tillaar: Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, Nord University, 7600 Levanger, Norway

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 13, 1-8

Abstract: This study aimed to examine the effect of four weeks of aquatic high-volume training (HVT) on the psychological state (somatic, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence) and sprint swimming performance (50 m front crawl) compared to the standard training program (moderate volume training) in competitive swimmers. Twenty-eight male competitive swimmers participated in this study and were randomly allocated into two groups: HVT group ( n = 14; age = 16.4 ± 0.31 years) and control group that underwent the standard training program ( n = 14; age = 16.1 ± 0.30 years). All psychological state variables and swimming performance were measured in pre and post-test. Our findings showed a significant increase in anxiety state (34.13% to 45.83%; ES = 3.26 to 3.38) and a significant decrease in self-confidence (18.43%; ES = 2.39) after four weeks of HVT, while all psychological state variables remained unchanged in the control group ( p > 0.05). In addition, our results showed no significant enhancement in swimming performance in both groups ( p > 0.05). The sudden increase in training mileage negatively affected the anxiety, decreasing the state of self-confidence of the participants. In addition, four weeks of high training volume are insufficient to improve swimming performance. To conclude, gradually increasing the volume of the training load may be an adequate solution to promote adaptation to the effort, thus maintaining the stability of the psychological state of swimmers. In addition, it is recommended to integrate a concurrent mental preparation program with high-volume training to monitor the psychological state of competitive swimmers.

Keywords: somatic anxiety; cognitive anxiety; self-confidence; external training load (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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