El papel de la carga mental en la planificación del entrenamiento deportivo

Abstract

One of the keys to achieving success in training is the correct alternation between exertion and rest. Accumulation of load causes fatigue, with a consequent deterioration of an athlete’s motor skills. This impact on the organism depends on the capacity of the athlete to adapt to the stimuli that generated it. Repetitive loads, systematically above the adaptive capacity of the athlete, can produce performance and mode deterioration in the form of dysfunctional overtraining or stalement. (Goodger, Gorely, Lavallee AND Harwood, 2007; Gould, 1996; Gould AND Dieffenbach, 2002; Kellmann, 2002). Loading stimuli can be physical and/or mental. Although the impact of the former has been widely studied, this is not the case with the latter. Therefore, our aim was (1) to review the concept of mental workload, including cognitive and emotional elements, (2) to explore the implications of controlling mental workload for training, and (3) to propose practical applications for designing training tasks