Description of a School Sports Training Program for Novice Gymnasts: The Load Distribution and Wellbeing Responses

Abstract

The description of the training program structure and the measurement of dose-response for novice gymnasts at the scholarly level is still not elucidated in the literature. The study aimed to describe a rhythmic gymnastics training program for novices and to examine their perceptions of training load and wellbeing. Eight Brazilian gymnasts (10.6±0.5 years old), from a specific school, participated in a training program that lasted 26 weeks, and was separated into general preparation (1), specific preparation (2), intensification (3), tapering (4), competitive (5), and transitioning (6) phases. In each session, wellbeing and the internal training load (ITL) were measured by a Likert scale. The comparison of wellbeing and ITL during the program was performed by repeated-measure tests, with a significance of p< 0.05. A significant difference in ITL amongst the phases was found (x2= 110, p<0.001), with Phases 3, 4, and 5 presenting higher values compared to 2 and 6. Phase 6 had lower ITL compared to 2. Higher values of wellbeing were described during the program, however, Phase 6 presented a significantly higher score compared to Phases 2 and 5 (x2= 12.0, p=0.018). In conclusion, the rhythmic gymnastics training program developed for novice scholar participants seems to be adequate in terms of structure and training load distribution. In addition to the gymnasts reporting higher overall wellbeing during the program, attention should be paid to the competitive week, to avoid a decrease in wellbeing and possible negative effects on the gymnasts’ performance.