Wingate Institute survey: accomplished athletes are older and train less during the quarantine period

A survey conducted by the Center for Sports Medicine and Research at the Wingate Institute, the National Institute for Sports Excellence in Israel, among 171 accomplished athletes reveals that during the first quarantine period there was a 28% decrease in the number of weekly training hours, a 15% increase in the number of sleeping hours, and 25% reported that they ate more than usual rule

Physical fitness training. Illustration: Illustration: depositphotos.com
Physical fitness training. Illustration: Illustration: depositphotos.com

A few days after the State of Israel came out of the second quarantine, the Wingate Institute, the National Institute for Excellence in Israeli Sports, publishes a survey that examined the effects of the first two-month quarantine that was implemented in the country in March 2020, on the training, sleeping and nutrition habits of the high-achieving athletes who train at the institute. The survey was conducted among 171 male and female athletes by the team of the Center for Sports Medicine and Research led by exercise physiologist Rotem Kaslo Cohen and physiologists Barak Gershon and Idan Herat.


The findings of the survey show that during the first period of the lockdown, there was an impairment in the training habits and the sleep and nutrition patterns among the adult and young high-achieving athletes, despite the fact that the vast majority of them (89%) maintained contact with the professional environment.

The main statistic that emerges from the survey is that there was a significant decrease of 28% in the total number of training hours per week - an average of 15.5 training hours per week during the quarantine period compared to 21.6 training hours per week on normal days. 56.7% of the survey participants also testified that training during the quarantine period was easier than usual.

An increase in the number of hours of sleep

It also appears from the reports of the athletes that during the period of the first lockdown there was an increase in the number of hours of sleep in the middle of the week and at the end of the week, as well as reports of later hours of sleep and getting up. The researchers believe that these findings may reflect the damage to the training routine.

53% of the athletes went to bed later than usual, 27% at an irregular time, while 62% reported that they woke up later than usual every day. 20% woke up at an irregular time. At the same time, there was an increase in the average number of hours of sleep during the middle of the week - 8.5 hours compared to 7.4 on normal days, but the difference in the average number of hours of sleep on the weekends is smaller - 8.8 during the closure compared to 8.4 on normal days. 39% of the athletes reported that the quality of their sleep was compromised, but 7% reported that they felt the quality of their sleep remained the same and only 4% actually reported an improvement in the quality of their sleep.

As for the dietary habits, 45% of the respondents indicated that they used the period to improve their dietary habits, but a third of the respondents indicated that they did not improve their dietary habits or, alternatively, that their dietary habits worsened. 25% of the athletes reported that they ate more during the quarantine period, 38% reported that they ate less, while 37% reported that they ate the same amount. These results are reflected in the following findings according to which: 23% gained weight, 38% lost weight, while 33% reported that their weight remained unchanged.

According to the team of the Center for Sports Medicine, the institute's researchers, the findings of the survey show that following the first lockdown there was damage to the training habits and health of the adult and young accomplished athletes, which is manifested in a significant decrease in the number of weekly training hours. Despite the increase in resistance training hours, it is not certain that this led to the desired result in view of the report of easier training, and the fact that not everyone enjoyed access to appropriate training equipment.

According to Exercise Physiologist, Rotem Kaslo Cohen: "\We hope that this survey will help to improve the preparation of the professional staff and the athletes themselves for the quarantine period. It is possible that this period in which there are no target competitions and the training load is not high, is suitable for the assimilation of correct sleeping habits, for the integration of relaxation workshops, for improving sleep hygiene and for performing sleep monitoring For the purpose of diagnosing sleep problems."

171 athletes took part in the survey (of which 64 were athletes from the Academy of Excellence) with a similar gender distribution (48% men and 52% women) from individual sports (sailing, windsurfing and waves, swimming, triathlon, bicycles, kayaks, fencing, weightlifting and a few of the sports and athletics) and team sports (girls' basketball, girls' soccer, boys' and girls' volleyball, rugby, beach volleyball, handball and water polo) at the ages of 18-12 (59.6%), 29-19 (35.7%) and 38-30 (4.7%).

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