The aim of this study is to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Croatian Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ-Cro) as part of the Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool 1 (SMHAT-1) validation. We assessed the reliability and applicability of the APSQ-Cro among Croatian athletes. The international sports community is increasingly focused on mental health issues in athletes, highlighting the need for early detection tools like the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ) and SMHAT-1. We included 869 Croatian competing athletes across 54 sports who received a link to access the WEB-based questionnaire. The Croatian Olympic Board helped in distributing the questionnaires, aiming to reach as many and as diverse a group of registered competing athletes in Croatia as possible. Results showed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.75 for the entire questionnaire, indicating acceptable reliability. An exploratory strategy of factor analysis was used to determine the underlying structure of the APSQ-Cro. For this purpose, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and Bartlett's test for sphericity were performed to ensure the suitability of the data. The KMO test ensured sampling adequacy, with a measure of 0.77 indicating suitability for factor analysis, while Bartlett's test confirmed significant correlations among variables (χ2 = 2779.155, df = 45, p < 0.001), validating the dataset's appropriateness for data reduction techniques. The factor analysis, together with the Cattell scree test and varimax rotation, resulted in a two-factor structure for the APSQ-Cro. Factor 1 included items related to internal psychological struggles, while Factor 2 included items related to external pressures from the athletic environment. These two factors explained 53% of the variability, with Cronbach's alphas of 0.75 and 0.88 for the respective factors. The APSQ-Cro is a valid and reliable tool for assessing distress in Croatian athletes. Croatian athletes' sporting experience will be improved with the broad adoption of the APSQ-Cro, which can help detect early signs of psychological distress and subsequently improve mental health outcomes.
A recently referenced method known as ultra short race pace training (USRPT), designed to familiarize swimmers with the pace of a swimming event by using high volumes and submaximal intensities, has emerged as an efficient approach, enhancing performance and predicting swimming outcomes. Despite its recognized benefits, particularly its lower physiological burden compared to other training methods, research on USRPT is still in its early stages. There are misunderstandings related to its intensity and the pace of calculation. This systematic review aims to provide valid statements identifying the pros and cons of USRPT as a training stimulus and providing swimming coaches with key messages and advice about this training method. For the analysis, 90,612 studies from PubMed, EBSCO, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases were screened to research the background, intensity, and pace calculation of the USRPT method, although only four met the inclusion criteria. The final screening of the selected studies was conducted using a PRISMA-P document. USRPT has the potential to become a dominant training stimulus, offering a precise alternative to the often vague training sets that many swimmers use. However, further studies focusing on specific aspects of intensity and pace calculation within USRPT sets are needed for comprehensive understanding. In conclusion, USRPT appears to be a submaximal variation of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with low blood lactate relevance to swimming events. Also, the pace calculation must be implemented considering the different demands of each point of a swimming event.
This review investigates the effect of two different concurrent training sequences on endurance performance. The sequences investigated are Endurance-Resistance (ER) and Resistance-Endurance (RE). A literature search is conducted of the SPORTDiscus and Medline databases. The included studies are randomized control trials, which compare the effect of ER and RE on at least one endurance performance variable. A PEDro scale is used to assess the methodological quality of the articles in this review. Of a total of 152 articles identified during the initial screening, 15 studies meet the inclusion criteria. These studies include 426 participants (298 males and 128 females), with 212 of the participants training with ER and 214 with RE. The results are presented as the percentage change of the mean from pre- to post-test. All the studies show an improvement in endurance from pre to post for both interventions, except for the RE group in one study. This review finds small and non-conclusive sequence effects between ER and RE, suggesting that the sequence of concurrent training is not of great importance in relation to endurance performance.