Avaliação multiparamétrica e adaptações do treinamento esportivo na natação paralímpica

Abstract

It is unknown whether training periods with different training loads influence the sleep, mood, jumping, and reaction time of Paralympic swimming para-athletes and whether or not this could impact sports performance during sports training. Furthermore, it is important to assess and monitor external training load in different Paralympic modalities, so that coaches and multidisciplinary teams have greater control over sports training. Therefore, the general objective of the thesis was to systematically explore ways to assess external training load in different Paralympic modalities and investigate the adaptations of perceptual, sleep, and performance parameters during different periods of sports training. To this end, the first specific objective of the thesis was to systematically explore current practices for quantifying external load in Paralympic sports and to provide an overview of the methods and techniques used. Of the 1961 articles that returned in the database searches, only 22 were included. Objective methods for assessing external load varied according to the characteristics of the sports and, to date, the following have been used: internal radiofrequency-based tracking system (wheelchair rugby), a miniaturized data logger (wheelchair rugby, tennis, and basketball), linear position transducer (powerlifting and wheelchair basketball), camera (swimming, goalball and wheelchair rugby), a global positioning system (wheelchair tennis), heart rate monitors that assess external load variables together (paracycling and swimming) and electronic timing (swimming). The second specific objective of the thesis was to monitor and compare perceptive parameters (stress perception, recovery, and mood), sleep, and performance (specific in the pool, reaction time, and jump) of Paralympic swimming para-athletes in different periods of sports training. For this, ten para-athletes were evaluated at the end of each training period which was divided into base, strength, power, and taper, lasting ~20 weeks until the competition. It was observed that the para-athletes progressively improved their performance in the pool and the countermovement jump over time. However, during the strength period, when there was a greater external load in training, the reaction time and number of lapses, in addition to the perceptual aspects and total sleep time were worse. The third specific objective of the thesis was to compare the sleep parameters, mood, sports performance, and reaction time of Paralympic swimmers during tapering and to investigate the relationship between these variables during this phase of training. Eight swimmers were evaluated for 17 days, with assessments being carried out at five moments over time. A gradual reduction in the internal training load was observed, which was accompanied by an improvement in sports performance, reaction time, and sleep parameters, as well as a decrease in the perception of fatigue. In addition, the increase in total sleep time and the decrease in the perception of fatigue at the end of tapering were correlated with the improvement in reaction time and sports performance. Finally, it can be concluded that eight methods with objective instruments to assess the external training load in eight Paralympic modalities were found. On the other hand, during training periods with greater external and internal load, Paralympic swimming athletes presented worse values in the perceptive and sleep parameters, however, this does not always impact physical and sports performance, except for reaction time. In contrast, when there is a reduction in the training load before competitive periods, there is an improvement in the perceptive, sleep, and performance parameters.