Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers

Swimming training load (TL) is regarded as a major stimulus for hormonal adaptation, but research findings are inconsistent. Methodological limitations also exist (e.g., cross-sectional sampling) with little knowledge of acute hormone responses and hormone-psychological interactions that regulate tr...

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Main Authors: Olga Surała, Jadwiga Malczewska-Lenczowska, Dariusz Turowski, Paweł Słomiński, Maciej Certa, Blair T Crewther
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Termedia Publishing House 2024-12-01
Series:Biology of Sport
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Online Access:https://www.termedia.pl/Effects-of-a-12-week-training-programme-on-selected-hormonal-r-nand-psychological-parameters-and-their-interrelationships-in-r-nhighly-trained-male-and-female-swimmers,78,55335,1,1.html
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author Olga Surała
Jadwiga Malczewska-Lenczowska
Dariusz Turowski
Paweł Słomiński
Maciej Certa
Blair T Crewther
author_facet Olga Surała
Jadwiga Malczewska-Lenczowska
Dariusz Turowski
Paweł Słomiński
Maciej Certa
Blair T Crewther
author_sort Olga Surała
collection DOAJ
description Swimming training load (TL) is regarded as a major stimulus for hormonal adaptation, but research findings are inconsistent. Methodological limitations also exist (e.g., cross-sectional sampling) with little knowledge of acute hormone responses and hormone-psychological interactions that regulate training outputs. These issues were addressed in a 12-week training study on highly-trained swimmers. Eighteen swimmers (10 males, 8 females) completed a 12 week training programme, involving a stepwise reduction in TL before a major competition. Testing was conducted from Monday–Friday at week one (T1), week five (T2), and week 12 (T3), including measures of salivary testosterone and cortisol, willingness to train, stress, and sleep quality. Post-session hormones were assessed on Mondays and Fridays. Daily-averaged swimming distance decreased by -21% (T2) and -57% (T3), relative to T1 ( p < 0.001). We found no significant training effect on the cortisol and testosterone measures, both baseline and acute exercise response, willingness to train, and sleep quality. Only stress varied with training, decreasing significantly at T2 and T3 from T1 in female swimmers. Among male swimmers, daily changes in baseline cortisol and testosterone were related ( r = 0.45) at T1, as was sleep quality and stress ( r = 0.39) at T3. In summary, highly-trained swimmers showed little or no adaptive changes prior to a major competition. The one exception was self reported stress among female swimmers, which decreased along with TL. The emergence of daily interrelationships (in male swimmers only) between selected hormonal or psychological outputs could provide a new lens to assess pre-training preparation.
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spelling doaj-art-b3d661373c1b4a54bbbb3c2fe5ae56112025-08-20T01:50:42ZengTermedia Publishing HouseBiology of Sport0860-021X2083-18622024-12-0142227928710.5114/biolsport.2025.14591055335Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmersOlga SurałaJadwiga Malczewska-LenczowskaDariusz TurowskiPaweł SłomińskiMaciej CertaBlair T CrewtherSwimming training load (TL) is regarded as a major stimulus for hormonal adaptation, but research findings are inconsistent. Methodological limitations also exist (e.g., cross-sectional sampling) with little knowledge of acute hormone responses and hormone-psychological interactions that regulate training outputs. These issues were addressed in a 12-week training study on highly-trained swimmers. Eighteen swimmers (10 males, 8 females) completed a 12 week training programme, involving a stepwise reduction in TL before a major competition. Testing was conducted from Monday–Friday at week one (T1), week five (T2), and week 12 (T3), including measures of salivary testosterone and cortisol, willingness to train, stress, and sleep quality. Post-session hormones were assessed on Mondays and Fridays. Daily-averaged swimming distance decreased by -21% (T2) and -57% (T3), relative to T1 ( p < 0.001). We found no significant training effect on the cortisol and testosterone measures, both baseline and acute exercise response, willingness to train, and sleep quality. Only stress varied with training, decreasing significantly at T2 and T3 from T1 in female swimmers. Among male swimmers, daily changes in baseline cortisol and testosterone were related ( r = 0.45) at T1, as was sleep quality and stress ( r = 0.39) at T3. In summary, highly-trained swimmers showed little or no adaptive changes prior to a major competition. The one exception was self reported stress among female swimmers, which decreased along with TL. The emergence of daily interrelationships (in male swimmers only) between selected hormonal or psychological outputs could provide a new lens to assess pre-training preparation.https://www.termedia.pl/Effects-of-a-12-week-training-programme-on-selected-hormonal-r-nand-psychological-parameters-and-their-interrelationships-in-r-nhighly-trained-male-and-female-swimmers,78,55335,1,1.htmlrecovery endocrinology anxiety overtraining tapering
spellingShingle Olga Surała
Jadwiga Malczewska-Lenczowska
Dariusz Turowski
Paweł Słomiński
Maciej Certa
Blair T Crewther
Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers
Biology of Sport
recovery
endocrinology
anxiety
overtraining
tapering
title Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers
title_full Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers
title_fullStr Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers
title_full_unstemmed Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers
title_short Effects of a 12-week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly-trained male and female swimmers
title_sort effects of a 12 week training programme on selected hormonal and psychological parameters and their interrelationships in highly trained male and female swimmers
topic recovery
endocrinology
anxiety
overtraining
tapering
url https://www.termedia.pl/Effects-of-a-12-week-training-programme-on-selected-hormonal-r-nand-psychological-parameters-and-their-interrelationships-in-r-nhighly-trained-male-and-female-swimmers,78,55335,1,1.html
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