Revista Actividad Física y Ciencias Año 2025, vol. 17, Nº1. Primer semestre /enero - julio
Revista Actividad Física y Ciencias
Vol. 17 Nº1 (127) año 2025, pp.9-26
ISSN (digital) 2244-7318
Primer semestre enero / julio
PROGRAMA DE ENFOQUE EN ATENCIÓN Y CONCENTRACIÓN PARA EL
FORTALECIMIENTO DEL RENDIMIENTO DEPORTIVO EN ATLETAS DE CROSSFIT
FOCUS PROGRAM IN ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION FOR STREHGTHENING
SPORTS PERFORMANCE IN CROSSFIT ATHLETES
Lic. Katherin Naily, Betancourt Buroz
https://orcid.org/ 0009-0008-7779-6269
kthe.1510.n.b@gmail.com
Lic. Guillermo Enrique, Andrade Guerrero
https://orcid.org/ 0009-0005-7763-310X
guillermoandra2@hotmail.com
Lic. Msc. Asdrúbal Antonio, Castillo Monteverde
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-1010-4490
falkor_ms@hotmail.com
Lic. Dr. Alessandro, DAmico López
macauformula1@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6948-8038
Recibido: 20-02-2024
Aceptado: 19-05-2024
Resumen
Las variables psicológicas de la atención y concentración son de vital importancia a la hora
de la práctica y el desempeño deportivo. Por ende al momento de realizar la preparación mental
con atletas no puede faltar su presencia. Sin embargo, existen entrenadores que aún desconocen la
teoría relacionada a los procesos de atención. Por eso el objetivo de este artículo científico es
presentar una perspectiva general de los constructos atención y concentración en el deporte de
CrossFit del Centro de Entrenamiento Integral de Rendimiento (IPT) Box, en Maracay, estado
Aragua, Venezuela. El artículo se presenta bajo el paradigma sociocrítico, como método fue la
Investigación Acción, Los actores participantes estuvo constituida por 12 atletas, en edades
comprendidas entre los 16 y los 30 años del contexto antes señalado. Como instrumento de
recolección de la información fue la observación natural en el lugar de entrenamiento. El análisis
de la información consistió en registrar la observación en un cuaderno de bitácora y analizar los
contenidos emergentes de las palabras, a través del análisis de contenido. Como conclusión más
resaltante del estudio fue el hecho de que la mayoría de estos deportistas consideran beneficiosa
la preparación psicológica en su práctica deportiva, los atletas del IPT Box confirmaron la eficacia
en función a la extensión de todos los componentes del equipo.
Betancourt, K., Andrade, G., Castillo, A. y D’Amico, A.
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Palabras Claves: Atención, Concentración, Rendimiento Deportivo, CrossFit.
Abstract
The psychological variables of attention and concentration are of vital importance when it
comes to sports practice and performance. Therefore, when performing mental preparation with
athletes, their presence cannot be missing. However, there are coaches who are still unaware of
the theory related to attention processes. That is why the objective of this scientific article is to
present an overview of the constructs attention and concentration in the sport of CrossFit at the
Box Integral Performance Training Center (IPT), in Maracay, Aragua state, Venezuela. The article
is presented under the socio-critical paradigm, as a method was Action Research, The participating
actors was constituted by 12 athletes, aged between 16 and 30 years of age in the aforementioned
context. The instrument for collecting information was natural observation at the training site. The
analysis of the information consisted of recording the observation in a logbook and analyzing the
emergent contents of the words, through content analysis. The most outstanding conclusion of the
study was the fact that most of these athletes consider psychological preparation beneficial in their
sports practice, the athletes of the IPT Box confirmed the effectiveness based on the extension of
all the components of the team.
Keywords: Attention, Concentration, Athletic Performance, CrossFit.
Introduction
The important psychological abilities in high performance sports, the process of attention
and focus invades notoriously preeminence as a variable object study, influential in sport
performance (Ferrel-Chapus & Tahej, 2010; Lohse, 2012; Wulf, 2007, 2013; Del Monte, 2017).
Today it is known that attention and concentration are abilities that can be learned and trained, in
expert athletes and those in process of formation (Hansen, 2023). This justifiable because when all
the sport actors are not focused, their results in their performance can lead to failure.
In this research emphasis will be put in the psychological approach of the variables
attention and concentration in CrossFit specifically. Nevertheless, even though the notion of
attention and concentration frequently appears in the sports ambit- and most people have an
approximate idea of what these processes are and how they work- it is not easy to determine which
defined aspects of our performance must be taken in account, at the moment of valuing and training
the attentional qualities. This difficulty is more evident if we have taken into account that relevant
stimuli of the game that athletes must pay attention cannot be stablished in a general way. Each
sport has a particular and specific commitment that each athlete has will the ones that stablish what
attentional requirements must be satisfied in each case. These attentional requirements are focus,
concentration of attention, distribution of attention and being at present time. That is why the
purpose of this scientific article is to present an overview of the constructs attention and
concentration in the sport of CrossFit at the IPT Box Training Centre.
Concentration is one of the fundamental aspects to reach the maximum level, so that each
athlete is suitable. The principal element of concentration is the capacity to focus attention on the
task that is being carried out and not be distracted by external or internal irrelevant stimuli
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(Fernández & del Monte; 2022). External stimuli can include spectators booing, memories of
recent mistakes, anti-sports fair play, among others. Most of the external events will display a
cognitive and emotional change in the athlete. Given that this interaction is being showed all the
time, coaches and sport psychologists must train athletes to face these events under situations of
pressure, just as sports competitions are.
During the last decade, multiple professionals of sport psychology have shown their
interest in the importance of concentration (Buceta, 1998; Del Monte, 2017; Del Monte &
Fernández, 2022). Thus, several authors point out making reference to this significant variable in
sport performance, concentration is one of the most important key points that can be put to service
for the athlete in order to improve the performance, in training and in competition (De la Vega,
2003; Del Monte, 2017; del Monte & Fernández, 2022).
According to Mack (2009), unfortunately the coach doesn’t possess enough tools about
teaching and how to empower adequately the athletes in such ability, or failing that, applies
attentional focuses poorly effective (Porter et al., 2010; Ríos-Garit et al., 2024).
Nevertheless, when an athlete gets bigger experience with a certain ability, minor attention
will be required before the technique, and the attentional progress will be focused in more relevant
stimuli (Besi & Robazza, 2004; Mack, 2009; Garit et al., 2024).
This idea leads to sport discipline of the present research, where attention is required in every
aspect of the training session and the competition.
The evolution of CrossFit through the years has given opportunity to its participants to
integrate to the world of competitive sport. The birth of this sport is thanks to Greg Glassman, who
in 2001 gave it name and its own form, allowing the whole world to get to know it. This North
American that dedicated to train police officers with this method in sunny California, made
possible that in 1995 appeared the first gym affiliated to CrossFit, in the city of Santa Cruz. Such
was its success that it became popular worldwide, making people with ages from 12 to 50 years
old practice it (Glassman, 2007; Vargas-Sierra, 2024).
The worldwide boom was such that in some point a great variety of competitions began to
appear in this discipline. The most known one and at the moment is considered the main one, is
the CrossFit Games. During these games, athletes compete in exercise routines that they learn just
a few hours before performing them. Many of these include standard weightlifting and gymnastics
movements, but sometimes include surprise movements that are not part of the typical CrossFit
regime. Examples of these surprise elements could be swimming in agitated waters and throwing
a ball. The competition afore mentioned is made to determine “the most apt on Earth”, and the
competitors must be prepared for all.
Theoretical References
Theoretical perspectives provide a solid foundation for study by situating the work within
a well-established conceptual framework, which helps to contextualize the research and
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understand its relevance within the field. Theoretical perspectives guide the formulation of
research questions, the selection of methods, and the interpretation of results.
In this sense, they provide a framework for the understanding of the phenomena studied
and allow the generation of specific hypotheses. Hence, the use of an appropriate theoretical
perspective can help maintain coherence and consistency throughout the article, implying that the
arguments presented, the data collected, and the conclusions reached are aligned with the chosen
theoretical framework.
By employing established theoretical perspectives, researchers contribute to the
development of knowledge in their field by demonstrating how their work relates to existing ideas
and theories, helping to strengthen and validate research. By using the theories, other researchers
can easily understand the context and underlying assumptions of the study, making it easier to
compare with other work and replicate the results. By being based on sound theoretical
perspectives, the results of the study may have a greater potential for generalization beyond the
specific context of the study, increasing their relevance and applicability. Below are the theories
that support the article.
Development of CrossFit in Venezuela
In Venezuela, CrossFit begins to be known in 2010, through the athlete named German
Foucault. But the ones who created the first box affiliated to the network of CrossFitNC were
Antonio Carrera, Ricardo Vidal and José Alberto Carrera. This box is called CrossFit58, where
every WOD (Work of the Day) is experimented in a frequency that goes from lowest to biggest,
with escalations or progressions adapted to the strength and level of a person. One of the most
recognized events nationally where a great quantity of athletes from different states gather to
demonstrate their physical abilities are the Fit Games or the Workout Challenge. Such events are
celebrated once a year and have an exhaustive process of selection in order to qualify.
In Maracay, Aragua State, there are approximately 9 CrossFit boxes functioning, and the
amount of groups practicing this discipline is bigger. For this, there is an endless number of
education programs that prepare CrossFit coaches so that they learn to train the athletes that wish
to compete in these events, like the case of the working group that is found in the box called
Integral Performance Training (IPT).
The purpose of the present study is to offer a general approach referred to the process of
attention and concentration in the sports ambit, as well as its influence in the same. Besides, it is
required to provide the coach an approximation that supplies and facilitates the approach of
attention and concentration in the daily practice of the sport discipline of CrossFit.
According to bibliographic antecedents, researches did not find specific information from
the psychological point of view referent to concentration and attention and its influence in sport
performance in CrossFit Athletes in Venezuela. Therefore, the need for innovation stands out for
experts in this unexplored area in our country. Thus, the development of future investigations will
be incentivized in this sport discipline that has so much popularity at the present time in Venezu
Programa de enfoque en atención y concentración para el fortalecimiento del rendimiento
deportivo en atletas de Crossfit
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The process of attention in sport has been carefully studied ever since peak performance
athletes started to achieve relevant results (De La Vega, 2003; Del Monte, 2017; Rojas Estapé,
2024). And one of the keys to understand this process is to dominate the basic terminology, as it
shows:
Attention:
It’s defined as the psychological process that allows an individual to stablish contact with the most
relevant stimuli of the present moment situation, omitting or elimination those other stimuli that
are not important (Dosil, 2006; Fernández & Del Monte, 2022).
Concentration:
It’s the capacity to keep focus in the relevant signals of the environment, and as this
environment chances, the focus must change as well (Weinberg & Gould, 2011; Ríos-Garit et al.,
2024). It is very important to considerate the distractors of concentrations, because during sport
performance they can be very disrupting. The following factors described below are considered
distractors of concentration (Weinberg & Gould, 2011; Ríos-Garit et al., 2024):
-External: They refer to each thing that happens around the athlete and can distract and make the
concentration be lost.
Internal: They refer to thoughts and feelings of the athletes that in certain moments can distract
them from what they are doing
Difficulty to change the way of attending: Incapacity to change an attentional style. Once these
concepts are understood, it is necessary to describe the attentional styles, which are responsible
for a proper performance in sport (Fernandez & Del Monte, 2022).
Attentional styles:
The two basic dimensions of attentions are: amplitude (wide-reduced) and direction
(external-internal). Concretely, amplitude refers to the extension of the attentional field, this is, to
the major or minor amount of information that the athlete must process in a certain moment. If the
attentional field is wide, the athlete will be attending a great variety of stimuli at the same time.
On the opposite, if the attentional field is reduced, this same athlete will be focusing his attention
in a few, but crucial, stimuli. This information can be seen in Table 1.
On the other hand, the direction stablishes and determines the place where the attention
focus is oriented. If the attention focus is directed to the exterior, this is, toward environmental
stimuli –the crowd, the weather, mass media, etc. - it is referred to external attentional focus.
Opposite to this, if attention is focused in one’s self, in one’s own sensations, feelings and/or
emotions, it is referred to internal attentional focus. This means that in both cases –internal and
external- are complemented and their use concerns both individual characteristics and the
requirements of the situation.
But there is more. The combination of these two dimensions gives place to four different
attentional styles. They represent the exact form in which the athletes attend the principal stimuli
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of the environment: the “wide-external” style, used for evaluating quickly the situation from the
processing of great amount of information; the “wide-internal” style, used for analyzing and
planning the situation from the selective analysis of the received information and the interiorized
game schemes; the “reduced-external” style, used for preparing the performance through focusing
the attention in a concrete object or in an determined external situation; and the “reduced-internal”
style, used for preparing the sport performance through mental rehearsal of the performance.
Speaking with honesty, although the sports modality tends to be the one that –due to its particular
idiosyncrasy- makes athletes develop some styles more than others and, unconsciously, and they
use them in a recurrent and open way (Nideffer, 1991; Del Monte, 2017).
Attention Focus
The wide attentional focus allows a person to perceive different events in a spontaneous
way. This is especially important in sports where the athletes have to be conscious and sensitive
in the face of quick changes in the environment. This means they must respond to multiple signals.
The narrow attentional focus works when a person responds to one or two signals.
The external attentional focus directs the attentions towards an object that is outside, or to
toward movements of the opponent.
The internal attentional focus is directed to the inside, towards the thoughts and the
sensations, like when a coach analyses the plays without having to perform them or a golf player
visualizes what he thinks before hitting the ball.
Table 1
Attentional focuses
Wide-External
Used for evaluating quickly a situation
Wide-Internal
Used for analyzing and planning
Reduced-External
Used for focusing in a non-destructive
way on one or two external signals
Reduced-Internal
Used for reviewing systematically and
mentally a situation of performance and for
directing and [/or controlling the physical
arousal
Source: Taken from Nideffer (1991). Adapted by the authors
All these theoretical aspects have arisen from different researches, which lead to the
conclusion that the more the athletes train their concentration of attention, they are more likely to
improve their performance and achieve their goals (Del Monte, 2017; Fernandez & Del Monte,
2022; Rios-Garit et al., 2024).
It is also important to have the CrossFit terms clear, because it is part of the codes that a
sport psychologist must manage in order to do an optimal work. These terms are:
Sport performance:
It’s the result of a sport activity that, especially in a competitive sport, crystallizes in a
bestowed magnitude to the mentioned motor activity, according to the fully stablished rules
(Martin, Klaus & Lehnertz, 2001; D’Amico, 2018, 2023).
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On the other hand, it is important to mention that CrossFit was born as a training system
designed to improve performance and physical qualities in policeman and firemen. It was created
by an American man named Greg Glassman, who in 1995 would open the firs CrossFit gym. The
good results obtained made CrossFit opened to the population and in the year 2000 a web page
would be created to disseminate it (Vargas-Sierra, 2024). This result in massification of this
system.
CrossFit:
It’s a functional movement of high intensity and constant variation and it consists of three
important variables (Glassman, 2007; Vargas-Sierra, 204).
Functional movement:
It is defined as a set of “universal patterns of motor activation to which our body is
specifically designed to do, like running, jumping, pushing, pulling, sitting, getting up, among
others” (Montalbán, 2013).
Variation
Variation is the key, the specialization of the non-specialization, from this point of view
the answer is obtained for a more possible wider adaptation, climbing, running, jumping, lifting,
swimming (Montalbán, 2013
High intensity:
When intensity is mentioned in CrossFit, this refers to the percentage of our heart rate or
our VO2 max, then it is how we know the percentage of load of our maximum repetition
(Montalbán, 2013).
Method and hierarchy of CrossFit
Nutrition: This aspect is the base of CrossFit. The first thing to be dominated is a correct
nutrition, which sets the molecular bases for health and physical aptitude.
Metabolic conditioning: It develops resistance, which is the base physical capacity in the
rest of the developing capacities.
Gymnastics: CrossFit uses elements of this sport to develop in the individual the capacity
to control the body and grant the adequate movement range to avoid injuries.
Weightlifting: Through derived exercises from this sport, it is pretended to develop the
ability to control external objects outside the individual’s body and provoke potency.
Sports: It’s the peak of the pyramid, it’s all the motor abilities and physical capacities
mentioned before applied with a competitive purpose.
Individual sports:
They are those sports in which the practitioner is found alone in a space, where certain
difficulties must be beaten, overcoming himself/herself with relation to a time, a distance or a
technical execution, that can be compared with others, that are performed in the same conditions
too.
Classification of individual sports
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In the great amount of existing classifications, one of the most approved is the one from
Parlebas (1989), which includes individual sports in two categories or “psychomotor situations”
en function of the presence or not of uncertainty that can influence in their performance:
There is no uncertainty: athletics, swimming.
There is uncertainty due to the space: lone climbing, alpine sky, etc.
In function of the presence of other participants:
Solitaire performance: sky, climbing, weightlifting.
Simultaneous performance with other athletes: swimming, rowing, athletics races.
In function of the presence of an object that needs to be manipulated or not:
Fixed device:
Without an object to manipulate: artistic gymnastics in floor, swimming, athletics races (except
relay races).
With an object to manipulate: throwing, pole vault, rhythmic gymnastics.
Fluctuating or variable device:
Without an object to manipulate: free climbing, open water swimming (sea, river, and ocean).
With an object to manipulate: ski, sailing, cyclo-cross.
CrossFit: from training system to sport
With the first bricks put, the expansion of CrossFit worldwide was tremendously quick, opening
itself space in the so demanding world of sport. The boom of CrossFit occurs between the years
2005-2009, arriving to have 1000 people affiliated in the whole world.
For this tremendous demand, is that the idea of creating games that gathered the best specialists in
this discipline was born, ascending CrossFit to the category of sport. In 2007 the first “CrossFit
Games” would be created, in which participated around 70 people. The games take place each
year, and its participation has been growing so progressively that in 2014, the athletes that
competed were 200.000. And from then on, each years the number of participants keeps growing.
The structuring of a WOD (work of the day):
It has a duration of approximately 60 minutes and it is structured in the following way:
Warm-up: A previous neuromuscular conditioning is carried out in order to avoid possible
injuries. The neuromuscular conditioning exercises tend to be rope jumping, abs, push-
ups, squats, spinals, etc.
Strength workouts (with bar) in CrossFit:
Technique/ Strength “A”: In this part of the training session, different exercise technique
are practiced, in which strength, technique and potency are developed. Besides, one seeks
the bigger amount of weight that one can work with, depending on the exercise and the
amount of given reps. The exercises tend to be Back or Front Squat, Deadlift, Snatch, Hang
clean, Hang clean & jerk, Planks, Bench Press, etc. Sometimes they can be combined.
Part “B”: It’s about the most intense moment of training in which the amount of weight is
lowered, compared with part “A” and here the workout seeks to increase the respiratory
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capacity. The exercises tend to be combinations of the exercises previously described in
part “A” and other ones of resistances or without weight, for example: jumps, pull-ups,
rings, push-ups, abs, maximum speed races, bar swing, pistol squats, pike push-ups, etc.
There are different types of WODs. Among them, the most used are:
Amrap: (As Many Reps as Possible). Consists of doing the biggest number of possible rounds
of the given combination of exercises, in determined time. An example of this is a 20 minutes
AMRAP, where you are provided with 20 minutes to do the biggest number of possible rounds
you can.
Emom: (Every Minute on the Minute). In this type of WOD, the task is to do a certain number
of reps of an exercise (or several exercises) in one minute, during the biggest number of possible
minutes. The time that remains from the end of the exercise till the end of the minute is a time
to rest. The EMOM finishes when the athlete can’t finish in the minute or in te minutes marked
by the coach.
For Time: Another way of training consists of doing a number of determined rounds as a goal,
in a limit time in order to achieve the purpose or do the given exercise combination, as fast as
possible.
Tabata: Consists of 8 rounds in which 20 seconds of an intense exercise is carried out, followed
by 10 seconds of resting time and amount of total reps are counted. It can be a TABATA of two
or three different exercises.
In part “A” and in part “B”, the amount of weight used in each exercise is personalized and it
seeks to do the exercises with the indicated weight for each one. It’s recommendable the use of
a stopwatch or timer in order to keep the precise time, the number of intervals and the intensity
level.
Elongation: The coach conducts an elongation in group, of the muscles used in the training
session with the purpose of preventing injuries.
The exercises are carried out inside a box (this is the name given to the place where CrossFit
is practiced), and depending of its location and the WOD, the exercises can be done outdoors.
CrossFit Games:
This is a world event, where the maximum exponents of this sport compete, seeking who
is crowned as “the most complex human being in the world”.
In order to make it to this event, the athlete must go through two previous stages known as the
“Open” in which the organizers stablish routines. They can be done by different persons that want
to participate and afterwards send their results by video. These must be endorsed by CrossFit filial.
The ones that pass that stage, then arrive to the “Regionals”. This is a competition where de best
of each zone face each other. These zones are divided by geographical phases. There are 17 zones
distributed in the world. 12 of these are in the United States of America. Once both stages are
finishes, the participants of the CrossFit Games are chosen.
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In this type of championship, athletes must carry out CrossFit routines, which are only
known hours before displaying them. The winner of each one of these tests adds points just like
the rests of the participants, in which the one that achieves a better position will receive the biggest
score. Once all the events are finished, it is determined who has the biggest score.
Methodology
Nature of the research
This study is considered a scientific research, because according to Tamayo (2004), because
research is a process that allows application of the scientific method and procures to obtain relevant
and trustworthy information, in order to understand, verify, amend or apply the knowledge.
The present research is based in a qualitative and field model, following the approaches of
Blasco and Pérez (2007) and Campo Arenas (2020), which point out that the qualitative research
studies reality how it happens and in its natural context, extracting and interpreting phenomena
according to the implicit persons. It uses a variety of instruments to gather information, such as
interviews, images, observations, life story, in which routines and problematic situations are
described, as well as the significances in the life of the participants.
In the present study, the researchers need to get close to the reality that the athletes live
particularly in their context where they manifest their behavior, in order to interpret the different
phenomena according to the meaning the athletes give to these phenomena (Guba & Lincoln, 1985;
Campos Arenas, 2020).
Research Paradigm
This research is presented under the socio-critical paradigm, because the researchers bond
with the group of participants and tends to transform the attitude of the group and the context
where all the phenomena occur, empowering the people.
Method
The methodological approach to be used was Action Research, because in this approach, the
participants are usually part of the community or the context in which the study is carried out,
which facilitates the direct application of the findings to improve the practice or situation studied
(Campos Arenas, 2020). This approach tends to be participatory and change-oriented, with the aim
of empowering participants and improving social, educational or organizational conditions.
Action research is distinguished by its emphasis on collaboration, critical reflection and the
practical application of research results to generate significant and positive changes in practice or
in the community.
Research Design
This present study is inside an emergent research design, because little is known about the
phenomena occurring in the different realities (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Wiesenfeld, 2001;
D’Amico 2018, 2023). From here emerges an opening of an initially formulated problem, where
researchers observed the phenomena occurring naturally; meaning that the components of the
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design generate during the research process, which is addressed to a procedure that is less subjected
to predefined categories, because different conceptions and categories emerge (Lincoln & Guba,
1985; Wiesenfeld, 2001; D’Amico 2018, 2023).
Participating Actors
The participating actors were made up of 12 athletes, aged between 16 and 30 years of the
Integral Performance Training Box (IPT), in Maracay, Aragua state, Venezuela. This group of
athletes had a training plan, which was conducted by a specialist CrossFit coach, in the practice
schedule from 11am to 2pm.
Information Collection Instruments
The instrument was the natural observation in the training venue. The qualitative area
consisted of the records in field diaries, obtained from participant observation, the reports of the
sharings and later analyzed, in order to have findings of emerging contents, through content
analysis. The application of psychodrama and the way to collect the findings of each sharing was
submitted to expert review and thus validated. The instrument was the natural observation in the
training venue. The qualitative area consisted of the records in field diaries, obtained from
participant observation, the reports of the sharings and later analyzed, in order to have findings of
emerging contents, through content analysis. The application of psychodrama and the way to
collect the findings of each sharing was submitted to expert review and thus validated.
Data analysis techniques
It consisted of recording the observation in a logbook and analyzing the emergent contents
of the words, through content analysis. The application of group dynamics and the collection of
information from each observation was submitted to an expert review and thus validated.
Results
As it was mentioned in reiterated occasions, previously mental preparation in the discipline
of CrossFit in Venezuela, specifically in Aragua State, hasn’t been included inside the training
plan. Therefore, the receptivity of the athletes and the interest for this sport science –sport
psychology- was perceived in a comprehensive way, thus achieving that these athletes gave the
required importance to accomplish a quality work.
For this it is important to mention that in the process of this work, a series of psychological
tests were applied for the data collection of information for the present research. These tests offer
valuable information to distinguish in a psychometric way the measurement of different
psychological variables that exist inside the world of sport. In this particular case, the researchers
were interested in apply tests to measure the variable attention and concentration, as it was a need
manifested by the coach and the athletes.
Betancourt, K., Andrade, G., Castillo, A. y D’Amico, A.
Revista Actividad Física y Ciencias Año 2025, vol. 17, Nº1. Primer semestre / enero - julio 20
Among the several applied tests, the researchers focused in the psychological tests that
evaluate the variable of attention and concentration in sport that were used, like the Test of
Toulouse-Pieron and the Grill Test. Hereunder, through a series of tables, the quantitative and the
qualitative level of the applied tests results are explained.
Table 2
Results of the Test of Toulouse-Pieron per Sex.
Sex
Quantitative Result
Qualitative Result
Feminine
65
Deficient
Masculine
57
Hypoprosexia
Source: Elaborated by the authors
It can be observed through table 1 corresponding the results of the Test of Toulouse-Pieron
per sex, which the evaluated athletes, from both sexes, obtained negative results, for which it can
be deduced that the CrossFit athletes don’t possess the necessary abilities to concentrate during a
specific performance for determined period of time.
Table 3
Results of the Grill Test per Sex.
Sex
Quantitative Result
Qualitative Result
Feminine
170
Regular
Masculine
190
Bad
Source: Elaborated by the authors
It can be observed through table 2 corresponding the results of the Grill per sex, which the
evaluated athletes, from both sexes, don’t possess the competences to dominate their mind and
attend adequately to a situation for a determined period of time. For which it can be inferred that
their sport performances, at training or competition time is not optimal. Therefore, they are unable
to achieve their maximum sport potential.
Discussion
After seeing the achieved results, they coincide with the findings of Rios-Garit et al. (2024),
Wulf (2007, 2013), De La Vega (2003) y Fernandez y Del Monte (2022), because it was observed
that the training of the concentration of attention made the athletes perform better in their abilities,
enhancing their performance and generating in them great satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
It was also seen that even though CrossFit is a different discipline from the traditional
sports, it has all the elements to work concentration of attention proposed by Rios-Garit et al.
(2024), Wulf (2007, 2013), De La Vega (2003) y Fernandez y Del Monte (2022). These elements
include the attentional focuses of Niedefer
Programa de enfoque en atención y concentración para el fortalecimiento del rendimiento
deportivo en atletas de Crossfit
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Proposal: A Psychological Training in Attention Process in Crossfit Athletes
Based on all the obtained results, the proposal consists in a psychological training where
the attention process is worked in order to have a better performace a CrossFit athlete. Not only
will this help the athlete with his performance, but also it will help in his/ her daily life, as it is
shown in table 4.
Table 4
Psychological Training in Attention in CrossFit Athletes
Phase
Activity
Materials
Phase #1
Application of
psychological tests
Pencils, paper sheets,
erasers, anamnesis
format and Toulouse-
Pieron format.
Phase #2
Group Workshop
Video beam, laptop,
White sheets, colors,
pencils, notebooks.
Phase #3
Follow-up sessions
Video beam, laptop,
White sheets, colors,
pencils, notebooks.
Source: Elaborated by the authors
Systematization of the Proposal
The first encounter consisted of the group of researchers assisting to the IPT Box, finding at
the moment a great amount of athletes available to collaborate and work in the present research.
They were presented the whole work method, the possibility of being evaluated through
psychological tests and observation. This was presented to their sports manager too. All of the
work was approved at that very moment.
In the elapse of time of the visits to the box and getting to know the athletes, many were
the factors that came out. One of them was the authoritarian leadership style with which they
managed the training day. The athletes were found hostile and many times reluctant to the
instructions of their coach, due to differences of opinions. Thanks to these inconveniences the
communication process with the whole group of athletes disabled a whole day’s work with them.
Due to this, the first working exercise on behalf of the researchers was called “assertive
communication”, where only four athletes and the coach assisted.
Betancourt, K., Andrade, G., Castillo, A. y D’Amico, A.
Revista Actividad Física y Ciencias Año 2025, vol. 17, Nº1. Primer semestre / enero - julio 22
This was based on allowing athletes to communicate to their coach in a direct and assertive
way all kind of nuisance or thoughts that harmed the team work.
Inside the process for the obtaining of information, several techniques were used. These
must be possessed by each professional dedicated to sport psychology. These techniques include
the process of observation in all its phases. Likewise, psychological tests like the Toulouse Pieron
and the psychological anamnesis were applied for the data collection; both contributed to the
development of this research.
At this point, it can be said that the observation was the activity that was carried out
recurrently by the researchers, because during the training sessions was difficult to intervene in an
active way, and this would have interrupted the correct performance of a movement in an athlete
or the implementation of a technique, dispersing the attention or the concentration during the
display of some technique that demands high consumption of psychic energy.
Emphasis was made in the use of this technique in order to detect body language, emotional
state, attitude, matureness, attention, concentration, motivation, empathy, group cohesion,
frustration, self-esteem, aggressiveness, communication, stress, and decision-making, among other
variables, in all members of IPT Box.
On the other hand, in the work carried out with the group, it was more frequently used the
group dynamics. This was one of the technique also employed in the available times with the
athletes, to boost and make noticeable the work of the researches in the box. As a way to facilitate
the understanding of the reader, it can be said that group dynamics are used to train the athletes in
the team functioning, in order to facilitate interpersonal communication and the performance of
different leaderships. The dynamics are used to display themes, discuss them and deepening them
in their contents. They are also employed for analyzing and planning.
This is why the group dynamics are the way with which the coach, coordinator or team
manager counts, in order to restructure, enhancing, motivating or inducing the group in the project
or work that gathers them.
In this research, group dynamics of cognitive training were carried out, specifically directed
to work the attentional processes of the athletes, during the performance of sports clinic that was
carried out with the aim of evaluating the attention and concentration variable and its relationship
with sports performance. Furthermore, these dynamics worked as psychoeducation for the athletes
of IPT Box.
Likewise, as mentioned before, the functions of psychoeducation for the CrossFit athletes
of IPT Box and the application of these techniques and techniques is something new inside a
CrossFit box, because there haven’t been found previous serious and formal researches that reflect
some kind of intervention in this particular population.
Conclusions
In general terms, just how it was laid out, the purpose of the present study is to offer a wide
perspective about the process of attention and concentration in CrossFit, highlighting its
Programa de enfoque en atención y concentración para el fortalecimiento del rendimiento
deportivo en atletas de Crossfit
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importance, as well as to provide tools for the coach that allow to implement some practical
exercises adjusted to the specific characteristics of a particular sport, understanding that variables
like academic formation of the coach, the models, the criteria and duration of the training plans
must be suitable for each sport discipline.
This research on behalf of the CrossFit athletes has resulted quite positive, for their personal
benefit, highlighting in a special way, on one hand, the fact that most of these athletes consider
beneficial the psychological preparation in their sport practice, and on the other hand, their great
usefulness with views to their professional world. The athletes of the IPT Box accepted a program
of these characteristics, considered it interesting and even necessary, confirming its efficacy in
function to the extension of all the components of the team.
Furthermore, it can be said that results of researches show that centering in the result of the
movement can be more beneficial, that is, an external focus, than centering in comparisons of the
movements of the ability, or internal focus.
Finally, in this order of ideas, the researchers encourage the strengthening of research
related with the process of attention and concentration, with the purpose of consolidating the
theoretical body of the applied sport psychology, especially in the Venezuelan context.
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The authors
Lic. Katherin Naily, Betancourt Buroz
Graduate in Psychology, mention in Clinical Psychology at Universidad Bicentenaria de Aragua
(UBA). Diploma in Sports Psychology from the Insight C. A. Psychological Care Center.
He currently works at the UBA. Maracay Aragua state. Venezuela.
Lic. Guillermo Enrique, Andrade Guerrero
Bachellor in Psicology- major in Clinical Psychology. Universidad Bicentenaria de Aragua.
Diploma in Sport Psychology Course. He works at the Academy for the Improvement of
Individual Soccer Player Technique (AMTIF)
Lic. Msc. Asdrúbal Antonio, Castillo Monteverde.
Bachellor in Psicology- major in Clinical Psychology. Universidad Bicentenaria de Aragua.
Diploma in Sport Psychology Course. MsC. In Sport Psychology. President of Centro de
Atención Psicológica Insight C.A. Gestalt Therapist. University Professor.
Speaker in different international and national academic events.
Lic. Dr. Alessandro, DAmico López
Bachellor in Psicology- major in Social Psychology. Universidad Central de Venezuela. MsC. in
Sport Psychology. Doctor in Sport and Physical Activity Sciences. Diploma in Sport
Betancourt, K., Andrade, G., Castillo, A. y D’Amico, A.
Revista Actividad Física y Ciencias Año 2025, vol. 17, Nº1. Primer semestre / enero - julio 26
Psychology Course. MsC. In Sport Psychology. Libertador Experimental Pedagogical
University “Alberto Escobar Lara” Institute Maracay, Aragua
State, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. University Professor. Speaker in different international
and national academic events. Tutor of postgraduate studies dissertations. Active member
of the
Research Center Research Center in Physical Education Studies, Health. Sports, Recreation and
Dance (EDUFISADRED). Active Member in the International Council of Sport Science and
Physical Education (ICSSPE).