Results Conclusion & Practical Application Methods

Preparing for a National Weightlifting Championship: A Case Study 1S. 1Center

Kyle Travis, 1Satoshi Mizuguchi, 1Michael H. Stone, 2William A. Sands, 1Caleb D. Bazyler

of Excellence for Sport Science and Coach Education, Department of Sport, Exercise, Recreation, and Kinesiology, East 2United States Ski and Snowboard Association, Park City, UT

Abstract

Methods

INTRODUCTION: Monitoring an athlete’s psychological, physiological, and performance level is important when preparing for a major competition (COMP). No study to date has tracked a high-level weightlifter peaking for a major COMP all the way up to the day of COMP. Assessing performance at a COMP is vital to ascertain if the athlete has reached a peak and if peak performance will actually be expressed during the COMP. PURPOSE: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine when peak jumping performance was achieved and whether psychological or physiological variables explained any jump performance changes in a high-level female weightlifter preparing for a national COMP. We hypothesized that jumping performance would peak on COMP day corresponding with improved recovery and stress states and preserved muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) relative to baseline values. METHODS: A USA national-level female weightlifter (23.5y;54.0±0.6kg;155.4cm) competing in the 53kg weight class participated in this investigation. Laboratory testing was carried out over a 7-month period as part of an ongoing long-term athlete monitoring program. At 11-weeks out, testing was administered twice a week for each week leading up to COMP, at the COMP, and returning from the COMP. Each testing session evaluated body mass, recovery-stress inventories using the short recovery stress scale (SRSS), and vastus lateralis CSA via ultrasonography followed by a standardized warm-up preceding unloaded squat jumps (SJ) performed on dual force plates sampling at 1kHz. Hopkin’s effects size (ES) classifications for each data point was used to determine the potential magnitude of change observed for each test relative to baseline values. The smallest worthwhile change was used to determine a meaningful change relative to baseline values. The typical error and smallest worthwhile change were used to quantify the probability (i.e., precision, likelihood) that a performance change took place. Values greater or less than baseline values with precision >95% signified a very likely change for each testing session relative to the COMP. RESULTS: Weightlifting performance goals were met for the national championship (snatch=67kg, clean and jerk=92kg, total=159kg). Jumping performance (precision=99%; ES=2.7) was almost certainly peaked on COMP day with increased recovery (ES=0.7) and decreased stress scores (ES=0.5). However, the athlete possibly exhibited a small decrease in muscle CSA (precision=64.8%, ES=0.4) the week of COMP that corresponded with very large decreases in body mass (precision=99%; ES=2.8). CONCLUSIONS: The training program was effective in ensuring the athlete was peaked the day of COMP based on jumping performance and recovery-stress scores despite possibly small decreases in CSA. Thus, weightlifting coaches and sport scientists working with high-level weightlifters should monitor jumping performance and recovery-stress states to ensure athletes peak at an appropriate time. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Sport scientists and coaches implementing a 1-week overreach and 3week exponential taper might expect high-level weightlifters to achieve and maintain peak performance 3-4 days prior to COMP.

• Effect sizes (ES) for each time point relative to baseline values were calculated for the mean difference between the baseline and subsequent time point value and then divided by the pooled standard deviation from the baseline testing values. Smallest worthwhile change (SWC, ES95% (very likely), ** indicates >99% (almost certainly). For figures C, D, E, F: B=average of baseline measurements. Error bar is the standard deviation across baseline values. Grey regions is the trivial or SWC. For Figures C, D, and F: Gray marker above time point 0 is the day of COMP.

Conclusion & Practical Application

References

• Primary findings: (1) COMP goals were met, (2) subjective recovery and stress improved on COMP day, (3) muscle size was possibly not preserved following the taper, and (4) jumping performance was peaked on COMP day with improvements above baseline 3-4 days prior to competing. • Training volume-load was reduced by 48% during the taper comparable to other weightlifting studies that highlight tapering practices. 6-8 • Significant reductions in body mass along with decreases in training volume-load may explain the loss in muscle size which is similar to findings of another special case high-level USA national female weightlifter.6 • Recovery improved 1 day prior and stress improved only on the day of COMP corresponding with previous findings that suggest elite female weightlifters can have high-stress levels leading up to an important COMP that can be used as a positive correlate to perform.2 • Increased jumping performance after overreaching microcycles indicates the athlete’s ability to tolerate higher training stress, recoverability, and adaptability considering overreaching typically causes temporary performance decrements requiring longer periods to recover and adapt to the higher training stimulus. • The weightlifter was considered to be in a peaked state on the day of the major COMP according to her subjective recovery and stress scores along with jumping performance capability. • There is no way to truly know if a higher peak could have been achieved, but our findings suggest that she was indeed peaked for the major national COMP. • This study provides insight into how a high-level weightlifter can prepare for a major COMP. • SRSS and SJ may be used in order to assess when a weightlifter will express peak preparedness. • Sport scientists and coaches implementing a 1-week overreach and 3-week exponential taper might expect high-level weightlifters to achieve and maintain peak performance 3-4 days prior to COMP.

1. Thomas, L., & Busso, T. (2005). A theoretical study of taper characteristics to optimize performance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 37(9), 1615–1621. 2. Mahoney, M. J. (1989). Psychological predictors of elite and non-elite performance in Olympic weightlifting. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 20(1), 1–12. 3. Fry, A. C., Schilling, B. K., Staron, R. S., Hagerman, F. C., Hikida, R. S., & Thrush, J. T. (2003). Muscle fiber characteristics and performance correlates of male Olympic-style weightlifters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17(4), 746–754. 4. Häkkinen, K., Pakarinen, A., Alen, M., Kauhanen, H., & Komi, P. V. (1988). Neuromuscular and hormonal adaptations in athletes to strength training in two years. Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md.: 1985), 65(6), 2406–2412. 5. Travis, S.K.; Goodin, J.R.; Beckham, G.K.; Bazyler, C.D. Identifying a Test to Monitor Weightlifting Performance in Competitive Male and Female Weightlifters. Sports 2018, 6, 46. 6. Bazyler, C. D., Mizuguchi, S., Zourdos, M. C., Sato, K., Kavanaugh, A. A., DeWeese, B. H., … Stone, M. H. (2018). Characteristics of a National Level Female Weightlifter Peaking for Competition: A Case Study. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, Publish Ahead of Print. 7. Stone, M. H., Josey, J., Hunter, G., Kearney, J. T., Fry, A. C., Kraemer, W. J., … Haff, G. G. (1996). Different taper lengths: effects of weightlifting performance. In Overtraining and Overreaching in Sport Conference (p. 59). University of Memphis, TN. 8. Hornsby, W. G., Gentles, J. A., MacDonald, C. J., Mizuguchi, S., Ramsey, M. W., & Stone, M. H. (2017). Maximum strength, rate of force development, jump height, and peak power alterations in weightlifters across five months of training. Sports, 5(4), 78. 9. Kinugasa, T. (2013). The Application of Single-Case Research Designs to Study Elite Athletes’ Conditioning: An Update. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 25(1), 157–166. 10.Hopkins, W. G., Marshall, S. W., Batterham, A. M., & Hanin, J. (2009). Progressive statistics for studies in sports medicine and exercise science. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 41(1), 3–13. 11.Hopkins, W. G. (n.d.). A scaled of magnitudes for effect statistics [Internet]. Retrieved from http://www.sportsci.org/resource/stats/effectmag.html