The Influence of a Ten-week ExerCube Training on Executive Functions as Well as on Training Motivation, Enjoyment and Mental Well-being in Young Athletes
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Enrollment
- 32
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- FitLight
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Competitive game sports require the existence of several sport-specific skills. In particular, game sport athletes need a good set of skills in order to perform well on the field. Therefore, it is important for athletes, especially young athletes, not only perform their sport, but also perform variable trainings, which differently train/trigger sport-specific skills. One skill set that is important in competitive game sports are so-called executive functions. Executive functions are needed for action planning and adaptation to the individual environmental situation, e.g. inhibition, flexibility and divided attention. A form of training that is very promising in this respect is exergaming as nowadays coaches are using virtual reality simulations to create realistic training environments. An exergame that combines this cognitive stimulation with whole-body movements in a motivating training environment is the ExerCube. Until now, however, evidence is lacking how an additional holistic exergame training can influence executive functioning in young athletes. Therefore, this study aims to get preliminary insight into the effects of the ExerCube performance on the executive function in young athletes (primary objective). The participants will be allocated into either the intervention group (ExerCube training) or the control group (no additional ExerCube training). The intervention group will train 2 times per week for about 30 minutes over a time frame of 10 weeks. Additionally, to consider the effects of the training environment, the secondary objectives include training motivation, enjoyment and flow as well as mental well-being.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Non Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Other
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 15 Years to 20 Years (Child, Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •Female and male
- •Age between 15 to 20 years
- •Young athletes (game sports)
- •Healthy (self-reported)
- •Able to provide written informed consent and understand instructions
Exclusion Criteria
- •History of cardiovascular issue that would prevent training participation
- •Asthma (not controllable)
- •Musculosceletal injuries that would prevent training participation
- •Pain that would be reinforced by sportive activities
- •Pregnancy
Arms & Interventions
Control group
The control group does not have any additional ExerCube training.
ExerCube group
The ExerCube is an immersive fitness game setting that combines innovative soft- and hardware designs with state of-the-art training concepts. The ExerCube has three walls which serve as virtual reality projection screens and haptic interfaces. The ExerCube is a playful physical-cognitive exergame training. The user navigates a virtual environment/reality via whole body exercise. The video game navigates the user and triggers various cognitive functions. The used physical exercises are functionally and elicit the improvement of endurance and strength components. Via different monitoring systems (points and heart rate), the game adapts to the individual abilities and training level to tailor workout intensity. The ExerCube training consists of two sessions a week each session will last about 30 minutes of which 25 minutes will be pure playtime
Intervention: Exergame Training (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
FitLight
Time Frame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
FitLight Trainer™ (Sports Corp. Ontario, Canada) is a commercially available product and consists of eight LED powered lights controlled by a wireless connection via a tablet. The tablet is running on android version 4.2.2 and has in advance a FitLight Trainer™ software to interact with the lights. With this software, it is possible to generate new specific light sequences.The FitLight allow the testing of executive functions depending on the programmed sequences. The participants use whole-body movements of arms and legs to solve the programmes sequences. Before the participants execute the main test, they perform a pre-test to minimize the learning effect and to get familiar with the test environment
Test for Attentional Performance
Time Frame: Before and after the intervention, within two weeks
Initially the TAP (D-TAP 2.3 VL, PSYTEST, Psychologische Testsysteme, Herzogenrath, Germany) was developed to assess attentional deficits in a cerebral impaired population. The participants perform a simple reaction task.The stimuli are presented on a screen of a personal computer. Before the participants execute the main test, they perform a pre-test to minimize the learning effect and to get familiar with the test environment.
Secondary Outcomes
- Flow Short Scale(Before and after the intervention, within two weeks)
- Situation Motivation Scale(Before and after the intervention, within two weeks)
- Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale(Before and after the intervention, within two weeks)
- Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale(Before and after the intervention, within two weeks)