Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026
10:08
Effects of a Novel Neuromuscular Training Intervention on Jump, Sprint, and Change of Direction in Adult Female Soccer Players
Published on: June 10, 2025
Running Speed and Mental Toughness: Effects on Change-of-Direction Speed in Police Students
Ranko Rajović1, Nenad Koropanovski2, Filip Kukić3
1Department of Neuroscience in Education, Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, 6000 Koper, Slovenia.
Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
|July 24, 2026
Summary
Physical exertion significantly impairs change-of-direction speed (CODS) in police students, regardless of mental toughness or sex. Training should integrate both physical and psychological conditioning for optimal tactical performance.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science and Kinesiology
- Tactical Performance Research
- Psychophysiology
Background:
- Effective tactical operations demand integrated physical and psychological resilience under stress.
- Understanding the impact of physical exertion on agility is crucial for law enforcement training.
- The interplay between fatigue, mental toughness, and performance in police recruits requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how anaerobic and aerobic running intensities affect police students' change-of-direction speed (CODS).
- To evaluate the moderating roles of mental toughness (MT) and biological sex on CODS performance post-exertion.
- To inform training protocols for optimizing tactical operational readiness.
Main Methods:
- Thirty police students (36.7% female) underwent high-intensity anaerobic (300-yard shuttle run) and aerobic (2.4 km Cooper test) protocols.
- Change-of-direction speed was assessed using the Illinois Agility Test (IAT) immediately after each running protocol.
- Mental toughness was measured using the Mental Toughness Index (MTI); data analyzed via repeated-measures ANOVA and ANCOVA.
Main Results:
- Increased running intensity significantly degraded CODS performance in both anaerobic and aerobic conditions (large main effects).
- Mental toughness and biological sex did not significantly alter the rate of CODS decline due to fatigue.
- Males demonstrated superior absolute CODS performance compared to females, despite similar baseline mental toughness levels.
Conclusions:
- Physical fatigue significantly and similarly impairs CODS performance in male and female police students.
- Mental toughness does not mitigate the acute physiological decline in CODS under fatigue.
- Training programs should combine physical and psychological conditioning, with workload management applicable across sexes.
Related Concept Videos
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
01:17Force and Momentum
Force and momentum are intimately related. Force acting over time can change momentum, and Newton's second law of motion can be stated in its most broadly applicable form in terms of momentum. Momentum can be applied to systems where the mass is changing, such as rockets, as well as to systems of constant mass. Also, momentum continues to be a key concept in the study of atomic and subatomic particles in quantum mechanics. One can consider systems with varying mass in some detail; however, the...