Fundamentals of physical and technical training for qualified athletes specializing in race walking at the first and second stages of long- term improvement

Based on the generally accepted methodology of the training process for an athlete who specializes in race walking, where the main exercise is a competitive one, namely race walking, which is performed in different zones of intensity, the improvement of technical skills should be carried out first of all along with the development of the special physical fitness. And this is one of the most important directions in the optimization of the training process for qualified race walkers, mainly at the second stage of long-term training. The process of teaching the technique and its further improvement should take into account the relevant rules even at the initial stages of long term training, that means at the first stage. The performance rates dynamics of race walkers in the 20 km walk at the Olympic Games, World Championships and Championships of Ukraine during the period of 1991-2021 was analyzed. It was determined that the performance of race walkers in the 20 km walk improved by 7-10%. Ukrainian athletes, who performed at the Olympics and World Championships, took places in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th dozen of participants. The main direction in the process of the physical preparedness and technical skills formation is not only the improvement in strength, speed, agility and endurance, but the participation of the best race walkers at the championships of Ukraine is also necessary. Such participation is mandatory for showing the qualification standards, which make it possible to participate at the top athletics forums of the year. In the process of training race walkers in the 20 km walk, it is necessary to apply the training programs, including those exercises, which are adequate in terms of kinematic and dynamic characteristics to the competitive exercise and exceed physical abilities of race walkers. This should be applied for both men and women.

Neither Beetroot Juice Supplementation nor Increased Carbohydrate Oxidation Enhance Economy of Prolonged Exercise in Elite Race Walkers

Given the importance of exercise economy to endurance performance, we implemented two strategies purported to reduce the oxygen cost of exercise within a 4 week training camp in 21 elite male race walkers. Fourteen athletes undertook a crossover investigation with beetroot juice (BRJ) or placebo (PLA) [2 d preload, 2 h pre-exercise + 35 min during exercise] during a 26 km race walking at speeds simulating competitive events. Separately, 19 athletes undertook a parallel group investigation of a multi-pronged strategy (MAX; n = 9) involving chronic (2 w high carbohydrate [CHO] diet + gut training) and acute (CHO loading + 90 g/h CHO during exercise) strategies to promote endogenous and exogenous CHO availability, compared with strategies reflecting lower ranges of current guidelines (CON; n = 10). There were no differences between BRJ and PLA trials for rates of CHO (p = 0.203) or fat (p = 0.818) oxidation or oxygen consumption (p = 0.090). Compared with CON, MAX was associated with higher rates of CHO oxidation during exercise, with increased exogenous CHO use (CON; peak = ~0.45 g/min; MAX: peak = ~1.45 g/min, p < 0.001). High rates of exogenous CHO use were achieved prior to gut training, without further improvement, suggesting that elite athletes already optimise intestinal CHO absorption via habitual practices. No differences in exercise economy were detected despite small differences in substrate use. Future studies should investigate the impact of these strategies on sub-elite athletes’ economy as well as the performance effects in elite groups.

RACE WALKING: INVERSION OF FUNCTION FROM THE ASPECT OF SPEED AND RESULT SUCCESS

Race walking (RW) is a cyclic athletic discipline, of aerobic character, which is characterized by high intensity and high energy consumption. The result is correlated with the anthropological dimensions of the walker as well as good technical performance. The study includes 25 male students, third year of study, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports in East Sarajevo. For the purposes of the research, the results of RW at 2km (criterion variable) were measured, on the basis of which average values of walking speed (WS) were calculated. The aim of the research was to determine the correlation between the achieved result depending on the walking speed. By applying the Pearson product of the correlation moment, the obtained results confirmed a significant and high correlation between the result and the walking speed (r = -0.988; p<0.05) with an inverse function that confirms the high dependence of the result on the WS. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0778/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

DEVELOPMENT OF FOCUSED RECOVERY AND STIMULATION MEANS IN PRE-COMPETITIVE PRACTICE AMONG HIGHLY QUALIFIED ATHLETES IN RACE WALKING

Introduction. Currently, modern technologies of integrated sports training in race walking are being developed, taking into account the whole range of requirements of modern sports of the highest achievements, including means of recovery and stimulation of working capacity. Research hypothesis: to find out the availability of opportunities for improving the quality of practical work of coaches with highly qualified athletes in pre-competition training in race walking. The purpose of the study: to clarify the problematic issues of pre-start training, to substantiate the possibilities of the development and targeted use of specific means of recovery and stimulation of working capacity in the pre-competition practice of highly qualified athletes in race walking. Material and methods: a survey of 12 trainers (n = 12), specializing in training athletes in race walking, was conducted: Merited coachers of Ukraine – 3, highest category – 3, first category – 6. We used the method of interviewing respondents (questionnaires) using the scale of estimates. Results: the respondents showed a positive attitude to modern means of recovery and increased performance, injury prevention, solving issues of improving the technique in race walking, were used non-parametric methods for evaluating the data distribution function, which are presented in table form. Conclusions: the perspectives of using the research results for the effectiveness of the coaches co-operation with high-class athletes in the context of intensification in modern preparation for athletes, its high integration are presented. Key words: race walking, pre-performavce training, coachers, questionnaire.

Timeless evolution of walking and pace strategy of women’s race walking

Background and Study Aim. The purpose of this research was to study the timeline evolution of walking, as well as the Pacing Strategy Profiles of high-level women in the 20 km of race walking. Material: The practical example of applying the theoretical basis was made during the Women’s Greek Championship (Megara 2016), in which 12 athletes aged 19 to 40 participated (28.50 ± 7.20). Material and Methods. The certified distance of the 20km route was divided into 10 sections of 2 km each. The same happened with the times (intermediate, final) corresponding to the individual sections (2 km) of the route. The athletes were divided into 4 groups: the first 3, those who finished 15% slower than the first, those who finished 15% - 30% slower, and those who finished more than 30% slower than the winner. Finally became comparison of the first 6 and last 6 athletes’ groups. Results. The individual pace strategies that describe the tactics of the athletes in this race have been calculated. It was found that the winners of the race used Even Pacing Strategy, maintaining a steady speed on most of the route. As the level of women athletes became lower, Variable Pacing Strategy was used, while the athletes who finished last did not seem to be able to maintain any particular pacing strategy. Conclusions. It is suggested that athletes should follow Even Pacing Strategy during the race in order to improve their performance.

The IART System for Race Walking: Experience with World-Class Olympic Race Walkers

Race walking is a discipline in which the best chronometric performance is constrained by infringements. Currently, the judgment and training of race walkers is entrusted to subjective observations made by judges. In this paper, with the objective of supporting coaching and judging, we present a wearable inertial sensor system (IART) for the evaluation of performances and infringements in race walking. The system is composed of an inertial sensor positioned close to the center of mass of the subject and a management unit designed for coaches and judges. IART allows: (i) a step sequence classification according to the competition rules; (ii) a customized assessment of elite race walkers based on key performance and infringement indices. The system is experimentally validated in field conditions by nine world-class Olympic race walkers. The results show that IART improves the current evaluation of step sequences and offers a meaningful support for the overall evaluation of the technical gesture.