Training During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Knowledge, Beliefs, and Practices of 12,526 Athletes from 142 Countries and Six Continents

Abstract

Objective: Our objective was to explore the training-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices of athletes and the influence of lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Methods: Athletes (n = 12,526, comprising 13% world class, 21% international, 36% national, 24% state, and 6% recreational) completed an online survey that was available from 17 May to 5 July 2020 and explored their training behaviors (training knowledge, beliefs/attitudes, and practices), including specific questions on their training intensity, frequency, and session duration before and during lockdown (March-June 2020).

Results: Overall, 85% of athletes wanted to "maintain training," and 79% disagreed with the statement that it is "okay to not train during lockdown," with a greater prevalence for both in higher-level athletes. In total, 60% of athletes considered "coaching by correspondence (remote coaching)" to be sufficient (highest amongst world-class athletes). During lockdown, < 40% were able to maintain sport-specific training (e.g., long endurance [39%], interval training [35%], weightlifting [33%], plyometric exercise [30%]) at pre-lockdown levels (higher among world-class, international, and national athletes), with most (83%) training for "general fitness and health maintenance" during lockdown. Athletes trained alone (80%) and focused on bodyweight (65%) and cardiovascular (59%) exercise/training during lockdown. Compared with before lockdown, most athletes reported reduced training frequency (from between five and seven sessions per week to four or fewer), shorter training sessions (from ≥ 60 to < 60 min), and lower sport-specific intensity (~ 38% reduction), irrespective of athlete classification.

Conclusions: COVID-19-related lockdowns saw marked reductions in athletic training specificity, intensity, frequency, and duration, with notable within-sample differences (by athlete classification). Higher classification athletes had the strongest desire to "maintain" training and the greatest opposition to "not training" during lockdowns. These higher classification athletes retained training specificity to a greater degree than others, probably because of preferential access to limited training resources. More higher classification athletes considered "coaching by correspondence" as sufficient than did lower classification athletes. These lockdown-mediated changes in training were not conducive to maintenance or progression of athletes' physical capacities and were also likely detrimental to athletes' mental health. These data can be used by policy makers, athletes, and their multidisciplinary teams to modulate their practice, with a degree of individualization, in the current and continued pandemic-related scenario. Furthermore, the data may drive training-related educational resources for athletes and their multidisciplinary teams. Such upskilling would provide athletes with evidence to inform their training modifications in response to germane situations (e.g., COVID related, injury, and illness).

Fig. 1

Training frequency and duration. A Your frequency of training sessions per week (representative of most of lockdown)? (n = 11,646). B How long do/did you train during each training session? (n = 10,147). For both training “frequency” and “duration” a significant relationship (χ²) existed with the athlete classification both “before” and “during” the lockdown p < 0.001%, within athlete classification, represent “yes” answer, relative to “no” answer. ^aSignificantly higher; ^bSignificantly lower. before indicates before lockdown, during indicates during lockdown

Fig. 2

Training intensity during lockdown. Question: Do/did you maintain your pre-lockdown intensity for sports-specific training (practicing your sport) during the lockdown? Can you estimate how much in percentage? (100% represents the same intensity as before the lockdown) (N = 12,518). The dotted line represents average intensity across athlete classification (62%). *Significant difference from world class, international, and national. The violin plot includes a 5-point summary (lowest to highest): minimum, first quartile, median, third quartile, and maximum. The maximum or minimum number in the dataset, respectively, is shown by the upper extreme or lower extreme of the chart. Upper (third, dotted line) and lower (first; dotted line) quartiles, respectively are the 75th and 25th percentiles. The median (middle of data set) is shown as a line (i.e., thicker) in the center of each chart

Fig. 3

Reported practices for space/access and equipment to training (n = 11,451). Do/did you have A sufficient space/access and B necessary equipment to train. Significance of relationship indicated by the chi-squared test for independence. %, within athlete classification, represents a “yes” answer relative to a “no” answer. *Significant relationship with athlete classification, p < 0.05. ^aSignificantly higher. ^bSignificantly lower. Technical skills training: “cardiovascular” consisted of running, cycling, jogging, and high-intensity interval training, “strength” consisted of weightlifting training