Does Sport Specific Brain Endurance Training Enhance Physical and Cognitive Performance in Elite Orienteering Athletes?

NCT06405022 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: BET in orienteering
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 18
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of the study is to measure the effects of a 6 week sport specific BET intervention on physical and cognitive performance parameters in elite orienteering athletes.

Conditions

Healthy

Keywords

Elite Athletes

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in 5000 m run performance (time)

  Self Paced endurance test (physical test part 1) To measure maximal self-paced endurance performance, a track and field test will be performed. This test is completed on a standard athletic track measuring 400m.

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

• Change in Cognitive performance #1 (score)

  Change in Inhibition task performance (cognitive test part 1a) This cognitive test consists of the Stroop colour-word task. Participants perform this task on a computer whilst sitting in a quiet and dim lit room. Four words (yellow, blue, green, red) are serially presented on the screen until the participant validates an answer which is followed by a 1,500 ms interval.

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

• Change in Cognitive performance #2 (score)

  Route Choice Assessment program (RCA) (cognitive test part 1b) Participants perform the RCA on a computer whilst sitting comfortably in a quiet and dim lit room. The RCA program is a specially designed computer program. The program contains approximately 1500 different orienteering legs.

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• 1000 m submaximal running performance

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

• Mood change

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

• Subjective workload change

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

• Motivation change

  At baseline, after 6 (after CON) and after 12 (after BET) weeks

Study Arms (2)

Control (CON)

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The control condition entails a six-week period. The participant will complete three regular high intensity training per week followed by 20 min of rest

Other: Control

Brain Endurance Training (BET)

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention period also entails a 6 week period but with three weekly blocks with a 20 min brain endurance training program following a regular high intensity training session.

Other: Brain Endurance Training

Interventions

Brain Endurance Training OTHER

Six week period with three weekly blocks with a 20 min brain endurance training program following a regular HIT session. Before the HIT session questionnaires are completed to measure the motivation for the HIT session and the current state of mood. In between the HIT session and the RCA session, questionnaires are completed to measure the experienced workload of the HIT session, the current state of mood, and the motivation for following the RCA session. Immediately after the RCA session, questionnaires are completed to measure the experienced workload of the RCA session and the current state of mood.

Brain Endurance Training (BET)

Control OTHER

No intervention

Control (CON)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Danish National Team Elite Orienteering Runners

You may not qualify if:

• Consent withdrawal
• Injury

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Department of Public Health, Denmark: lead
• Team Denmark: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Aarhus University

Aarhus C, 8000, Denmark

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Teaching Associate Professor, PhD

Model Details: The study is constructed as a cross-over design (Fig. 1), where participants function as their own control condition. The control condition (the first period) and the intervention (the latter period) consists of a 6 week training period, both leading up to a prioritized international competition

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 16, 2021
• First Posted: May 8, 2024
• Study Start: March 1, 2021
• Primary Completion: August 1, 2021
• Study Completion: November 1, 2021
• Last Updated: May 8, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-05

Locations

DK (1)