Exploratory longitudinal monitoring of physiological, hematological, psychological, and irisin responses during an 8-week pre-competition period in elite rhythmic gymnasts
- 1Research Center for Molecular Exercise Science, Doctoral School of Sport Sciences, Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary
- 2Department of Sports Management, Hungarian University of Sports Science, Budapest, Hungary
- 3Chengdu Sport University, Chengdu, China
Abstract
Introduction: Training load monitoring has been widely studied across many sports, yet evidence in rhythmic gymnastics remains limited despite its high energetic demands, technical complexity, and strict body composition requirements. This exploratory pilot study examined physiological, hematological, perceptual, psychological, and irisin responses during an 8-week pre-competition period in eight high-level female rhythmic gymnasts.
Methods: A multidimensional monitoring approach included heart rate assessment, lipid profiling, urinalysis, complete blood count, body composition analysis, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and the Chinese-language Athlete Training State Monitoring Scale developed by Yan.
Results: Irisin concentrations increased over the training period (nominal p = 0.033), while mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration remained below reference ranges. Exploratory associations were observed between changes in irisin and selected psychological variables, including a strong negative association with individual mean emotional stress across the monitoring period (r = −0.859, nominal p = 0.006) and a positive association with individual mean psychological exhaustion (r = 0.704, nominal p = 0.051). Several psychological outcomes showed no clear evidence of longitudinal change.
Discussion: These findings suggest that multidimensional monitoring may provide useful insight into the interaction between physiological adaptation and perceived recovery status during intensified pre-competition training in high-level rhythmic gymnasts. Given the small sample size and exploratory design, these findings should be interpreted cautiously.
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BibTeX
@article{ye2026exploratory,
title = {{Exploratory longitudinal monitoring of physiological, hematological, psychological, and irisin responses during an 8-week pre-competition period in elite rhythmic gymnasts}},
author = {Min Ye and Yu Qian and Shuang Ren and Johanna Kéringer and Chenxin Lin and Mengying Wang and Zsolt Radák},
journal = {Frontiers in Sports and Active Living},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fspor.2026.1925319},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2026.1925319},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exploratory longitudinal monitoring of physiological, hematological, psychological, and irisin responses during an 8-week pre-competition period in elite rhythmic gymnasts
AU - Min Ye
AU - Yu Qian
AU - Shuang Ren
AU - Johanna Kéringer
AU - Chenxin Lin
AU - Mengying Wang
AU - Zsolt Radák
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
DO - 10.3389/fspor.2026.1925319
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2026.1925319
AB - Introduction: Training load monitoring has been widely studied across many sports, yet evidence in rhythmic gymnastics remains limited despite its high energetic demands, technical complexity, and strict body composition requirements. This exploratory pilot study examined physiological, hematological, perceptual, psychological, and irisin responses during an 8-week pre-competition period in eight high-level female rhythmic gymnasts. Methods: A multidimensional monitoring approach included heart rate assessment, lipid profiling, urinalysis, complete blood count, body composition analysis, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and the Chinese-language Athlete Training State Monitoring Scale developed by Yan. Results: Irisin concentrations increased over the training period (nominal p = 0.033), while mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration remained below reference ranges. Exploratory associations were observed between changes in irisin and selected psychological variables, including a strong negative association with individual mean emotional stress across the monitoring period (r = −0.859, nominal p = 0.006) and a positive association with individual mean psychological exhaustion (r = 0.704, nominal p = 0.051). Several psychological outcomes showed no clear evidence of longitudinal change. Discussion: These findings suggest that multidimensional monitoring may provide useful insight into the interaction between physiological adaptation and perceived recovery status during intensified pre-competition training in high-level rhythmic gymnasts. Given the small sample size and exploratory design, these findings should be interpreted cautiously.
SN - 2624-9367
ER -