Changes in Performance and Morning-Measured Responses in Sport Rock Climbers.

The aim of this study was to determine changes in climbers' hormonal, cardiovascular, neuromuscular, sleep and fatigue status, and their relationship with performance and workloads during a sport rock climbing camp. Mean difficulty of individual leading climbing routes (mean Difficulty) was calculated for six male, intermediate level sport rock climbers participating in a 2-week camp in Orpierre. Additionally, each morning climbers were tested for: cortisol (d-Cortisol) and testosterone (d-Testosterone) concentrations, testosterone/cortisol ratio (T/C), heart rate and heart rate variability in supine (d-L-HR, d-L-SD1, d-L-SD2) and standing positions (d-S-HR, d-S-SD1, d-S-SD2), difference in S-HR and L-HR (HR-S-L), maximal voluntary hand grip strength (MVC), sleep duration (Sleep) and the self-perception of fatigue (M-Fatigue). Only M-Fatigue and d-Testosterone did not change significantly during the camp. Changes in other variables were large and significant, especially in the second week of the camp when the mean Difficulty was > 70%. The greatest changes were noted on the last day, when T/C, HR-S-L, and Sleep decreased and d-Cortisol, d-L-HR, and d-SD1 increased. The monitoring of the uncoupling of neuromuscular, hormonal, and cardiovascular markers can be instrumental in determining the level of athletes' morning fatigue and readiness during a climbing camp. An increase in d-Cortisol and a decrease in T/C and HR-S-L are relevant indicators of overreaching in sport climbers.

The Effect of Physical and Mental Stress on the Heart Rate, Cortisol and Lactate Concentrations in Rock Climbers.

Rock climbing is a physical activity that not only causes an increase in muscle tension, heart rate and blood pressure, but also results in the elevation of stress hormones including cortisol. It has not been established which of the above mentioned variables serve as the most accurate indicator of rock climbing-induced physical and mental stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of physical activity, short-term fatigue and mental demand on heart rate (HR), salivary cortisol (C) and blood plasma lactate (LA) concentrations in rock climbers under laboratory conditions. Twelve male and female rock climbers of comparable climbing performance (5a - 6b OS) were recruited. The participants completed two routes of different climbing difficulty (effect of physical demand), repeated a difficult route with a short 5-min recovery period three times (effect of fatigue), and repeated a difficult lead climb (effect of mental demand). Heart rate as well as C and LA concentrations were determined. The results indicated that more difficult climbing routes elicited increases in HR (especially relative values) and LA concentrations, whereas fatigue accumulation had an effect on climbing HR and relative C concentration values. Lead climbing only caused an increase in climbing HR. Based on the results it was concluded that HR was a good indicator of physical and mental stress intensity. Performing the same difficult route three times with a short recovery period in-between turned out to be the most demanding task and resulted in the highest increase of the cortisol concentration. Dynamics of changes in lactate concentrations depend on muscle loading (local muscular effort), lactate clearance and technical/tactical skills of the climber.

The structure of performance of a sport rock climber.

This study is a contribution to the discussion about the structure of performance of sport rock climbers. Because of the complex and multifaceted nature of this sport, multivariate statistics were applied in the study. The subjects included thirty experienced sport climbers. Forty three variables were scrutinised, namely somatic characteristics, specific physical fitness, coordination abilities, aerobic and anaerobic power, technical and tactical skills, mental characteristics, as well as 2 variables describing the climber's performance in the OS (Max OS) and RP style (Max RP). The results show that for training effectiveness of advanced climbers to be thoroughly analysed and examined, tests assessing their physical, technical and mental characteristics are necessary. The three sets of variables used in this study explained the structure of performance similarly, but not identically (in 38, 33 and 25%, respectively). They were also complementary to around 30% of the variance. The overall performance capacity of a sport rock climber (Max OS and Max RP) was also evaluated in the study. The canonical weights of the dominant first canonical root were 0.554 and 0.512 for Max OS and Max RP, respectively. Despite the differences between the two styles of climbing, seven variables - the maximal relative strength of the fingers (canonical weight = 0.490), mental endurance (one of scales : The Formal Characteristics of Behaviour-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI; Strelau and Zawadzki, 1995)) (-0.410), climbing technique (0.370), isometric endurance of the fingers (0.340), the number of errors in the complex reaction time test (-0.319), the ape index (-0.319) and oxygen uptake during arm work at the anaerobic threshold (0.254) were found to explain 77% of performance capacity common to the two styles.