Wiesław Błach, Dr.Phil.
Department of Sport Didactic, University School of Physical Education, Wrocław, Poland
Zbigniew Obmiński, Dr.Phil.
Department of Endocrinology, Institute of Sport, Warsaw, Poland 

Key words: females, judo, training, coaching style, competition, hormones, emotions, final outcome 

Introduction. There are several biomedical indicators which are commonly used for detection of the general adaptation to maximal exercises, for rating performance capacity for sports competitions. The procedures leading to reliable appraisal of precompetitive athletic abilities, effectiveness of training schedule and coaches’ competence include several physical and psycho-physiological examinations like measurements of physical performance, mood state, motivation and so on. Some indicators of psycho-physiological condition are based on blood test. Among blood indices steroidal hormones, cortisol and testosterone levels are the most popular, playing an important role in humans, as regulators of metabolic processes. The behavior of mentioned hormones, together with some other psycho-physiological indices help to identify chronic fatigue syndrome (overtraining) which is responsible for lowered abilities to performing maximal efforts (underperformance) or for deterioration of some cognitive functions [2]. The results of the hormonal studies conducted directly before, during, and after the competition are of particular interest. It is known, that in these circumstances, the extent of the hormonal changes was related to the level of psycho-physical stress. There are close relationships among the hormonal status and outcomes achieved during a competition [3, 6, 9, 10]. The results of extensive psycho-hormonal studies suggest that female contestants usually demonstrate higher susceptibility to competitive stress than their male counterparts [7]. For this reason tests among female athletes provide important information regarding the possible actions during a competition and sometimes help to explain the ultimate outcome.

This fact has prompted us to observe changes of some psycho-physiological indices prior to the competitions among Polish female judokas, who took part in two successive judo tournaments of various ranks.

Material and methods

Seven Polish female junior judokas, aged up to 19 years with different body mass were involved in the routine study. They were examined three times throughout an annual season, on January, during the routine exercise study (30s Wingate) that may be considered as neutral condition, afterwards  during one-day competition of moderate  rank: International Warsaw Judo Tournament (WJT) held in March, and subsequently during the competition of higher rank, European Junior Judo Championships (EJCh) in May. The preparatory training period to WJT lasted 6 weeks and took place in the Clubs under the supervision of Club coaches. The 4 week preparatory training to EJCh was more intensive and exhausting, and was held in a training camp under the supervision of the new, young coach, who had no coaching experience with young female athletes. The study comprised assessments of  plasma cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) levels in samples taken twice on a day, in the morning (7:30) and prior to workout (10:00-11:30 am). At the same circumstances and time points as blood was sampled, hand grip strength of dominant and non-dominant hand was determined. The intensity of anticipatory stress prior to Wingate test and competitions were evaluated by self reported nocturnal sleep quality (NSQ) of n preceding each event in the morning after waking up and the test of intensity of stress-tension. The hormones were determined in plasma using the commercial kit (DRG-GERMANY). Hand-grip strength was measured for dominant and non-dominant hands. Nocturnal Sleep Quality (NSQ) preceding various loads and Intensity of Tension-Stress (IT-S) were estimated with the use of a 8-point scale, as follows:                                                                                                                                       

• NSQ.  Insomnia (0), extremely low (1), very  low (2), low (3), moderate (4), high (5), very high (6), extremely high (7) excellent (8).
• IT-S. Extreme (8), extremely high (7), very high (6), high (5), moderate (4), low (3), very low (2), extremely low (1), full relax (0).

The report of this study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Sports.       

Results

The results of measured variables are displayed in Table 1. Each examined contestant was classified conventionally and assigned into the group of losers (L, n=4) or more successful contestants (MS, n=3) considering their outcome and general ratings achieved on EJCh. L and MS females varied in behavior prior to their first qualifying fights. Losers seriously failed in their first fights ahead of time, mainly due to very passive behavior. In addition, two days prior to EJCh they showed very low self-esteem, before they learnt their first opponents. Those opponents were not highly skilled or on a top of the ranking list, therefore, their quick failure was a surprise for the coach. The variables recorded among L and MS groups of female athletes are displayed in Table 1.

Table 1. Plasma cortisol (C) and testosterone (T) concentration, hand grip of dominant limb (HGD) and non-dominant limb (HGN), rating of nocturnal sleep quality (NSQ) and stress intensity rating (SI), recorded in the neutral state (NS) prior to Warsaw Judo Tournament (WJT) and European Judo Championships (EJCh) in losers and more successful female judokas of EJCh.

Compared to MS group, L one showed lower C level in the morning and directly prior to the first fights of EJCh. Interestingly, only in this group the C level tended to decrease over a certain time period according to the diurnal rhythm, that is the typical change for neutral condition and it may suggest the lack of psychological arousal or chronic fatigue syndrome. Before EJCh the mean decrement of HGS considering the initial values at NS was approximately two times higher among L then in MS group. Losers also differed from MS in regards to their NSQ and SI scores and a few days after their failure they reported negative psychological climate during the entire 4-week preparatory period and the state of coach’s very nervous behavior a few days prior to the event. In addition, L group representatives reported the lack of social support from the new coach and very exhausting training sessions in comparison to those held in their clubs when training for WJT.      

Discussion

There are several psycho-physiological indices which help to predict behavior and athletic outcome quite accurately. Contradictory relationships between the female`s hormonal status and athletic outcome have been extensively studied by the others. In female wrestling the higher salivary testosterone level did not discriminate among losers and winners [8], but it was in female boxing [9] and among male judokas [11] a factor of more offensive style of fight and higher motivation to win and consequently better result [11]. On the other hand, success in a judo competition strongly depends on the technical skill level, especially on the high number of throws with various directions of attacks [5].      

The cortisol levels of female losers decreased remarkably after the preparatory period preceding EJCh, which was unexpected for their coach. That may suggest either physical fatigue, so-called overtraining syndrome, or emotional exhaustion, so-called burn-out syndrome, expressed as lowered motivation to an any activity. That problem appeared after the 4-week preparatory period prior to EJCh, when the females lived together, far from their family, without contact with their Club coaches and social supports.    

It's hard to distinguish overtraining from the burnout syndrome without additional studies. At first sight, it seems that the 4-weeks training period, even with strenuous exercises, would be too short for the full development of chronic fatigue. Nevertheless, psycho-emotional exhaustion may appear among athletes of general lowered tolerance to repeated strong stimuli, especially, in a case of lack of the verbal encouragement and unfavourable psychological climate (lack of support but high expectations and demand from the coach). Such a period was more difficult and the deterioration of overall conditioning was noticed, as opposed to the earlier situation, when the females trained together, but lived at home. The similar circumstances apply to the place, where a competition is hold, in ones country vs. abroad. This aspect was important for judokas too [4].  Taking into account the mentioned above circumstances, we are sure that the unfavourable psychological climate prior to EJCh and big precompetitive stress can help distinguish judokas by worse and better tolerance to strong stimuli. On the other hand the novice coach, who used to work only with male junior judokas in the similar manner of coaching without such negative results did not know, that excess of stress together with the lack of social support may lead to a loss of motivation especially among junior female athletes. Gender differences exist in susceptibility to not only sport stress but also to other life events and females need social support more than men, otherwise the risks of accumulation of fatigue and development of depression are higher for females  [1]. 

Conclusions.  The findings highlighted the importance of several biological and sociological factors including coaching style that may be related to the final outcome of a judo competition.   

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