THE EFFECTS OF PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXATION ON NOVICE ARCHERS’ STATE ANXIETY, HEART RATE AND PERFORMANCE SCORES

Background: Studies have indicated that relaxation techniques are beneficial for athletes by enhancing their concentration, self-confidence, and reducing the levels of anxiety, stress, blood pressure and muscles stiffness. Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR) focuses on tightening and relaxing specific muscle groups of the body to achieve a state of relaxation which is a useful tool for competitive sport. Materials and Methods: PMR was applied to novice archers to examine its effect on state anxiety, heart rate and shooting performance. A total of 11 male and 17 female participants were recruited for this study. They were randomly assigned using gender matched into two research conditions, PMR ( n = 14) and control ( n = 14) groups. A pre- and post-tests archery shooting performance was conducted before and after the three weeks of intervention period, which consisted of nine sessions of PMR. Participant’s psychological aspects were measured using the Revised competitive state anxiety inventory-2 (CSAI-2R) questionnaires, while the physiological aspect was measured using a digital pulse oximeter to monitor heart rate. Archery shooting score were measured using ten metre distance. Repeated measure of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the results. Result: There were significant changes in time effect for cognitive anxiety ( p = 0.037) and archery performance ( p = 0.019) but no significant difference between group ( p = 0.458) and interaction effects ( p = 0.110). There were also no significant results for time, group and interaction effects for somatic anxiety, self-confidence and arousal state Conclusion: PMR training showed no significant effect on anxiety, heart rate and archery performance on novice archers. Future studies may compare the effects of PMR on trained athletes. Keywords: Progressive muscle relaxation, novice, archers, shooting, performance