•  
  •  
 

Abstract

Preparatory arousal is a strategy in which an individual purposefully engages in an activity to get themselves emotionally “pumped up” or “charged up” to increase the body’s level of arousal [1]. Preparatory arousal is a common mental preparation strategy used among competitive athletes [2]. It is suggested that preparatory arousal can increase performance of simple tasks requiring maximal strength and muscular endurance and power [3]. However, the majority of preparatory arousal research has only examined non sport specific skills and thus the findings may not be transferable to actual sports that require more complex and dynamic movement patterns. With the current lack of literature on preparatory arousal and its effect on more complex dynamic movement patterns, and the scarcity of knowledge of the possible mechanisms behind its potential ergogenic effect, this study aims to investigate the potential mechanisms behind preparatory arousal and the effects that it has on hand grip strength and swimming performance. It is hypothesised that a structured preparatory arousal strategy will enhance hand grip strength and 50 m freestyle swim performance while increasing arousal in trained competitive swimmers.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.