Associate Professor, PhD V.P. Simen'
Professor, Dr.Hab. G.L. Drandrov
Master's student D.V. Shcherbina
Chuvash State Pedagogical University n.a. I.Y. Yakovlev, Cheboksary

Keywords: kettlebell lifting sport, Class I-III athletes, elite athletes, purposefulness, insistence, courage, decisiveness, endurance, self-control.

Background. Modern competitive sports imply that the athletes should persistently overcome a variety of objective and subjective obstacles and cope with biodynamical and mental problems in the process. Therefore, a systemic competitive athletic training process, on the one hand, needs to be based on reasonably high volitional qualities to meet the process challenges and, on the other hand, provide encouraging environment and means for their display and development process.

Kettlebell lifting sport, like many other sport disciplines, has its own obstacles and challenges due to its specifics and, therefore, sets a set of sport-specific requirements to a variety of volitional qualities need to be developed in the athletes. Our analysis of the available theoretical and practical literature showed that the sport science at this juncture has identified the theoretical and practical basics for the volitional conditioning process in competitive sports on the whole, with the willpower improvement practices in the personality development process being subject for a few dissertations that have been defended for the last few years. The studies related to kettlebell lifting sport have explored the mental fatigue rating criteria in a competitive process [6]; prestart condition control [1, 2, 4, 7], competitive performance control [3, 4, 7] and mental condition control methods and tools. However, the kettlebell lifting sport theory and practices are still in need of more detailed studies of a variety of aspects related to the psychophysiological mechanisms behind the personal volitional qualities, their practical mobilization and development in kettlebell lifters [4, 5].

Objective of the study was to explore the volitional qualities development process specifics in application to junior kettlebell lifters of different sport skill levels.

Methods and structure of the study. The following research methods were applied for the purposes of the study: analyses and summaries of the theoretical and practical reference literature; psychological diagnostics; and mathematical statistics.

Subject to the study were 32 kettlebell lifters of 15–17 years of age split up into two groups. Group I was composed of 15 elite athletes qualified from Class I to Master of Sport (1 Master of Sport, 4 Candidates for Master of Sport, and 10 Class I athletes); and Group II included 17 Class I-III athletes (3 Adult Class III athletes and 14 Junior Class I athletes). The athletes’ willpowers were rated by the Volitional Qualities Self-rating Test. Subject to the tests were purposefulness, courage, decisiveness, insistence, firmness, self-reliance, initiative, endurance and self-control rates.

Study results and discussion. The study tested  (see Table 1) the 15-17 years-old junior kettlebell lifters with high purposefulness (18.59 points); insistence and firmness (18.16 points); courage and decisiveness (15.59 points); self-reliance and initiative (15.00 points); endurance and self-control (15.59 points) test rates, the three latter qualities test rates being virtually the same and significantly lower (р < 0.01) than the purposefulness, insistence and firmness test rates.

Table 1. Volitional quality test rates of the 15–17 years-old kettlebell lifters, Х ±δ

The above finding may be explained by the fact that the modern kettlebell lifters’ competitive and training processes are dominated by the obstacles and challenges that require purposefulness and insistence being developed higher than the other volitional qualities. Presently the kettlebell lifting competitions seldom offer the situations that require courage and decisiveness being mobilized and displayed – for the reason that the sport discipline is free of extreme competitive exercises and situations. The kettlebell lifting exercises are performed as required by the standard movement programs in relatively the same conditions and, therefore, almost never claim self-reliance, initiative, endurance and self-control qualities being mobilized by the athletes for success. A comparative analysis of the test data classified by the sport qualifications of the tested kettlebell lifters failed to show any significant differences in the volitional quality test rates (see Table 2).

Table 2. Volitional quality test rates of the kettlebell lifters grouped by their sport qualifications, Х ±δ

Furthermore, the tests did not find any significant gender-specific differences in the volitional quality test rates of the subject kettlebell-lifters (see Table 3).   

Table 3. Gender-specific volitional quality test rates of the kettlebell lifters, Х ±δ

Conclusion. The 15–17 years-old kettlebell lifters were tested with high purposefulness, insistence and firmness development rates that may be due to the sport-specific obstacles and challenges. The volitional quality test rates of the 15–17 years-old kettlebell lifters showed no significant sport-qualification- and gender-specific differences.

References                                                 

1. Voropaev V.I. Dinamika psikhicheskogo sostoyaniya sportsmena-girevika v protsesse podgotovki k sorevnovaniyam (Dynamics of mental state of kettlebell lifter in pre-season training) // Kettlebell lifting: handbook / Comp. by S.I. Kosyanenko, A.A. Volkov, E.M. Ponarskaya. – Rybinsk: s.n., 2002. – P. 88–91.
2. Kataev I.V. Psikhologicheskaya predstartovaya podgotovka sportsmenov-girevikov (Psychological pre-season training of kettlebell lifters) // Aktual'nye problemy razvitiya girevogo sporta v Rossii i za rubezhom (Actual problems of development of kettlebell sport in Russia and abroad): Proc. of res.-practical conf. (Omsk, 16-17 October 2014). – Omsk: Obrazovanie Inform, 2014. – P. 23–29.
3. Pavlov V.Y. Kompleksnoe primenenie sredstv vosstanovleniya v trenirovochnom protsesse kvalifitsirovannykh girevikov (Complex application of rehabilitation means in training process of skilled kettlebell lifters) / V.Y. Pavlov, V.V. Achkasov, L.P. Kanakova // Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta (Bulletin of Tomsk State Pedagogical University). – 2009. – # 8. – P. 79–83.
4. Simen' V.P. Sovershenstvovanie metodiki psikhologicheskoy podgotovki girevikov v strukture poetapnoy mnogoletney sportivnoy trenirovki (Improvement of mental conditioning techniques of kettlebell lifters in long-term sports training structure) / V.P. Simen', G.L. Drandrov // Vestnik Chuvashskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta im. I.Y. Yakovleva (Bulletin of Chuvash State Pedagogical University n.a. I.Y. Yakovlev). – 2016. – # 2 (90). – P. 177–184.
5. Spataeva M.H. Volevaya podgotovlennost' vysokokvalifitsirovannykh girevikov (Will training of elite kettlebell lifters) / M.H. Spataeva, T.P. Zamchiy // Aktual'nye problemy teorii i metodiki girevogo sporta (Actual problems of theory and methodology of kettlebell lifting): collected works / Ed. by V.P. Simen'. – Cheboksary: Chuvash State Pedagogical University, 2013. – P. 45–49.
6. Khomyakov G.K. K voprosu obucheniya uprazhneniyu «tolchok» v girevom sporte ("Push" exercise training in kettlebell lifting) / G.K. Khomyakov, A.N. Panasenko, V.Y. Lebedinskiy // Vestnik Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta (Bulletin of Irkutsk State Technical University). – 2014. – # 12. – P. 452–459.
7. Shikunov A.N. Metody formirovaniya psikhologicheskoy ustoychivosti u girevikov (Methods of formation of psychological stability in kettlebell lifters) / A.N. Shikunov. – 2009. – http: // www.sportspravka. com/main. mhtml?Part=307&PublD=4957.

Corresponding author: simen.vladimir@yandex.ru

Abstract

The study was intended to explore specific aspects of the volitional qualities development process in junior kettlebell lifters of different sport qualifications. The athletes’ willpowers were rated by the Volitional Qualities Self-rating Test. Subject to the tests were purposefulness, courage, decisiveness, insistence, firmness, self-reliance, initiative, endurance and self-control rates. The study obtained and analyzed the self-tested volitional quality rates in two groups of 15-17 years-old junior kettlebell lifters of different sport qualifications. Group I was composed of 15 elite athletes qualified from Class I to Master of Sport; and Group II included 17 Class I-III athletes. The study tested the 15-17 years-old junior kettlebell lifters with high purposefulness, insistence and firmness rates irrespective of their sport qualifications. The volitional quality test rates were found virtually the same in the tested men (n=25) and women (n=7) athletes.