Effect of stress in the competitive period on the executive functions of professional mixed martial arts athletes

Authors:

Evgeniy V. Ageev (1,2,*), Yuliya A. Shchedrina (1), Denis A. Denisov (3), 1 P.F. Lesgaft National State University of Physical Culture, Sports and Health St. Petersburg, Russia, ORCID: 0000-0002-3735-0982, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.*, ORCID: 0000-0001-5267-1314, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 2 Saint-Petersburg scientific-research institute for physical culture St. Petersburg, Russia, 3 Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI) Novocherkassk, Russia This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract:

The process of competitive training for a professional fight is associated with the influence of a number of stressogenic factors that can have a limiting effect on the activity of mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes’. executive functions However, to date, there were no studies devoted to this problem. Purpose: to study the influence of the competitive period on the activity of professional MMA athletes’ executive functions. Materials and methods. The study involved 20 professional MMA athletes, male, competing in lightweight and welterweight categories, with at least 6 professional fights. Participants were asked to perform a battery of tests that included tasks aimed at assessing executive function performance, as well as psychological testing involving subjective assessment of competitive anxiety characteristics. Participants completed testing 21 days and 2 days prior to the scheduled bout. Results. It was shown that at the end of the competition period there was a statistically significant increase in the time of passing the tests: “Landolt rings”, “volume of visual perception”, “Gorbova-Schulte”, an increase in the number of errors when performing the task of switching attention, the time of complex sensorimotor reaction and sensorimotor reaction in conditions of distributed attention, the percentage of anticipatory reactions and a decrease in the speed of processing visual information, a decrease in working visual memory and the percentage of accurate reactions. In addition, they showed an increase in cognitive and somatic anxiety. Conclusion. This study shows the negative impact of the competitive period on the performance of the executive functions of professional MMA athletes. Scientific novelty. The influence of the competitive period on the activity of executive functions of professional MMA athletes is determined for the first time. Practical significance. Taking into account the obtained results will allow to develop ways to optimize the functional state and increase the effectiveness of pre-competition training in this sport.

Keywords:

Mixed martial arts, MMA, stress, executive functions, professional athletes

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