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Performance Enhancement in Swimming Baumaister PDF
Performance Enhancement in Swimming Baumaister PDF
In this study, the relationship between mental training with biofeedback and swimmers'
performance was investigated. The Wingate five-step approach was used as a mental
preparation technique for enhancing the performance among 16-18 year-old pre-elite
swimmers. Participants (n=40) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a}
experimental - regular training plus the Wingate 5-step mental training program (adapted for
swimming), and (b) control - regular training plus relaxing activities. After a baseline
measurement, participants were tested on running and swimming five times during a 10-
week period. Results indicated that the experimental group improved its performance over
time on both r u n n i n g and swimming, with improvement being most substantial during
transformation and realisation (steps 4 and 5). In contrast, the control group remained
relatively stable on both dependent measures. Results are discussed in reference to previous
work on the 5-step approach, including several methodological and theoretical aspects that
are particularly relevant to the use of such interventions with other athletic tasks and
populations.
(J Sci Med Sport 2004;7:4:454-464
Introduction
To e n h a n c e h u m a n p e r f o r m a n c e in sport, a variety of m e n t a l training
techniques have been suggested, which reflect various strategies intended for
athletes' self-regulation of a r o u s a l 1. To achieve appropriate arousal levels,
biofeedback (BFB) is quite often mentioned as one of the m o s t powerful m e a n s
for facilitating the learning of self-regulation by a competing athlete 2. BFB - a
technique t h a t u s e s i n s t r u m e n t s (ie, sensors and transducers) to display to a n
individual information regarding h i s / h e r own biological states t h a t are not
u n d e r voluntary control - h a d already been viewed by sport psychology in the
1980s 3, as having a great potential for athletic p e r f o r m a n c e e n h a n c e m e n t .
Since then, BFB h a s been found to be effective in reducing athletic p e r f o r m a n c e
anxiety, as well as in increasing m u s c l e strength a n d flexibility, reducing pain
and fatigue and regfllating h e a r t rate 4.
About a decade ago, it was observed t h a t the application of BFB techniques
was u n d e r r e p r e s e n t e d in the professional sport psychology practice literature 5.
In particular, it was believed t h a t the efficacy of BFB-assisted m e n t a l training
interventions in enhancing athletic p e r f o r m a n c e should be investigated at a
faster rate t h a n previously, b e c a u s e the use of BFB as p a r t of larger multi-
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fully operated the first three steps - - namely, introduction, identification and
stimulation - - in a field experiment conducted with 11-14 year-old child
swimmers. With child swimmers, these steps are connected more to the
instructional, coach-athlete training processes t h a t have the p r i m a r y p u r p o s e
of acquisition of the technical skills required for a d e q u a t e performance.
However, for the entire p r o g r a m to be effective with higher-level, older
swimmers, the operation of the last two steps - t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a n d realisation
- is required, since they are directly relevant to elite athletes preparing for
competition. Accordingly, the p r e s e n t s t u d y m a d e a n initial a t t e m p t to examine
experimentally the effectiveness of this a p p r o a c h in a field setting using a five-
step version specifically a d a p t e d to m a t c h the unique characteristics of
swimming.
Method
Participants and design
Participants were 40 male (n= 26} a n d female (n= 14) Israeli pre-elite swimmers,
aged 16 to 18 y e a r s (M= 16.70, SD= 0.54). All participants were residents of
G u s h Dan, the largest u r b a n a r e a in Israel, comprising Tel Aviv a n d several
neighbouring cities. The s w i m m e r s were pre-elite in t h a t they h a d trained
regularly for a b o u t eight y e a r s (M= 8.20, SD= 2.50) in one of the local clubs in
this area, a n d participated in 7-8 competitions a year (on a local, regional or
national level).
It should be noted t h a t for statistical p u r p o s e s there is not a sufficient
n u m b e r of elite-level s w i m m e r s in Israel, so it was decided to focus on the pre-
elite ones. The definition of a participant as a pre-elite s w i m m e r was b a s e d on
experts' opinions (ie, three of the top Israeli swimming coaches) in reference to
the E u r o p e a n swimming norms. More specifically, we u s e d the G e r m a n
Comparative Performance Tables for Swimming 15, accepted b y all E u r o p e a n
swimming associations, which give results in a point system. This point s y s t e m
enables the comparison of s w i m m e r s who perform different swimming styles;
in our case, it was u s e d to build appropriately the groups of pre-elite swimmers,
which comprised different swimming styles.
The maximal n u m b e r of points available in the G e r m a n tables is 1200. In 50
m freestyle, elite s w i m m e r s in the World usually achieve 800-1000 points; for
example, the b e s t result of the first s w i m m e r in the World's 50 m freestyle
ranking list is worth 1104 points a n d the last winner of the E u r o p e a n
c h a m p i o n s h i p (Madrid, 2004) in this discipline achieved 933 points. The Israeli
elite s w i m m e r s in this discipline usually range between 600 a n d 800 points (ie,
s o m e w h a t below the world's elite level), so t h a t in Israeli t e r m s "pre-elite" would
m e a n 500-600 points. The average n u m b e r of points achieved b y the s w i m m e r s
included in our s t u d y was 555, a n d therefore these s w i m m e r s c a n be
considered "pre-elite".
Four clubs, their c e a c h e s a n d their s w i m m e r s voluntarily participated in the
study. Clubs, r a t h e r t h a n participants, were r a n d o m l y assigned to either the
experimental (two clubs) or the control (two clubs) conditions. Experimental
and control conditions were r a n d o m i s e d between the clubs, with e a c h club
corresponding to only one condition to reduce b o t h social c o m p a r i s o n a n d the
possibility of c o m m u n i c a t i o n exchange a m o n g participants from different
groups. The clubs were located in different p a r t s of the abovementioned u r b a n
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Group
Session (35-40 rain each) Experimental (11=20) Control (n=20)
1 (week 1) p r e - i n t e r v e n t i o n • 30 m run • 30 m run
• 50 m swim o w n style • 50 m swim o w n style
2-7 (weeks 1-2) • Step 1: I n t r o d u c t i o n • relaxation activities
• regular training • regular training
8 (week 2) • 30 m run • 30 m run
• 50 m swim o w n style • 50 m swim o w n style
9-13 (weeks 3-4) • Step 2: Identification • relaxation activities
• regular training • regular training
14 (week 4) • 30 m run • 30 m run
• 50 m swim o w n style • 50 m swim o w n style
15-19 (weeks 5-6) • Step 3: Simulation • relaxation activities
• regular training • regular training
20 (week 6) • 30 m run • 30 m run
• 50 m swim o w n style • 50 m swim o w n style
21-25 (weeks 7-8) • Step 4: Transformation • relaxation activities
• regular training • regular training
26 (week 8) • 30 m run • 50 m swim o w n style
• 30 m run • 50 m swim o w n style
27-30 (weeks 9-10) • Step 5: Realisation • relaxation activities
• regular training • regular training
31 (week 10) • 30 m run • 30 m run
• 50 m swim o w n style • 50 m swim o w n style
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Performance enhancement in swimming...
Measurement
TaSk COndition 1 2 3 4 5 6 Across
(pre- measurements
intervention)
Running Experimental (n=20)
M 5.26 5.25 5.23 5,15 5.09 5.03 5.17
SD 0.47 0.46 0.49 0.47 0.48 0.46 0.47
Control (n=20)
M 5.19 5.17 5.18 5.11 5.14 5.14 5.16
SD 0.46 0.44 0.47 0.47 0.48 0.47 0.46
Across conditions
(n=40)
M 5.23 5,21 5,20 5.13 5.11 5.08 5.16
SD 0.47 0.45 0.48 0.47 0.48 0.47 0.47
Table2: Means and standard deviations of running and swimming times (in seconds) for training
conditions by measurements.
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/
It is therefore reasonable to conclude that it was indeed important to control
for competition and social-comparison effects, to demonstrate the effectiveness
of the present mental training approach in enhancing athletic performance. It
appears that the present approach does produce the best performance w h e n
social-comparison processes and competition are controlled for. However, such
a conclusion would be further justified only when, to control for any con-
taminating effects, one also makes sure (as was done in this study) that there
is a similar training/coaching environment in b o t h groups. In this way,
performance e n h a n c e m e n t (naturally) occurring as a result of regular training
alone is also effectively controlled for, which further facilitates demonstrating
the unique effects of the five-step approach.
All in all, the findings of the present s t u d y support the conclusion that the 5-
step approach can produce substantial improvements in swimmers' perform-
ances. These findings are important not only because they empirically
demonstrate the effectiveness of using mental training incorporating BFB, b u t
also because they provide further evidence for the general principle advocated
by leading sport psychologists6; namely that of applying larger, psycho-
physiologically-oriented, multifaceted t r e a t m e n t programs to enhance athletes'
performances. Since the present program should be tailored to the unique
characteristics of the athlete u n d e r consideration and to the specifics of his or
her sport discipline 1°,13, it is recommended that in future research the
effectiveness of the (Wingate) five-step approach be examined in other sport
disciplines as well, such as combat, team and e n d u r a n c e sports.
For this purpose, not only nomothetic-quantitative methods should be em-
ployed b u t also qualitative and ideographic methods, s u c h as applied behavior
analyses and case studies. Effective future BFB-oriented research in sport
should be transactional in the sense that unique personality and situational
variables t h a t help determine one's response to being assigned a specific
treatment condition should be carefully examined 11. In this way, we will not
only find out whether, through applying comparable intervention programs in
other athletic settings, similar performance e n h a n c e m e n t s could be achieved,
b u t also learn m u c h more about the credibility level of such intervention
programs in general.
References
1. Crews DJ, L o c h b a u m MR & Karoly P. Self-regulation: Concepts, methods, a n d strategies in
sport a n d exercise. In: RN Singer, H Hausenblas & C Janelle (Eds), Handbook of Sport
Psychology (2nd ed.) (pp.566-581). New York. Wiley. 2001.
2. Blumenstein B, Bar-Eli M & T e n e n b a u m G {Eds). Brain and Body in Sport and Exercise:
Biofeedback Applications in Performance Enhancement. Chichester UK. Wiley. 2002.
3. Zaichkowsky LD & Fuchs CZ. Biofeedback-assisted self-regulation for stress m a n a g e m e n t
in sports. In: D Hackfort & CD Spielberger (Eds.), Anxiety in Sports: An International
Perspective (pp.235-245). New York. Hemisphere. 1989.
4. B l u m e n s t e i n B. Biofeedback applications in sport and exercise: Research findings. In: B
Blumenstein, M Bar-Eli & G T e n e n b a u m (Eds), Brain and Body in Sport and Exercise:
Biofeedback Applications in Performance Enhancement (pp. 37-54}. Chiehester UK. Wiley.
2002.
5. T e n e n b a u m G & Bar-Eli M. Contemporary issues in exercise a n d sport psychology research.
In SJH Biddle (Ed), European Perspectives on Exercise and Sport Psychology (pp.2924-323).
Champaign, IL. H u m a n Kinetics. 1995.
6. Collins D. Psychophysiology a n d athletic performance. In: B Blumenstein, M Bar-Eli & G
T e n e n b a u m (Eds), Brain and Body in Sport and Exercise: Biofeedback Applications in
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