Cardiopulmonary Loading and COVID-19: Training Impact during Lockdown among Athletes of Tertiary Learning Institutions in Masvingo, Zimbabwe

Physiological, psycho-social and emotional parameters are critical skill and technical performance motifs in sports endeavors. Despite their noteworthy basis for high-quality athletic efficiencies, training and psycho-social deficiencies are inevitable challenges for athletes in competitive locales. This prospective cohort study adopted the quantitative approach. Its population was 200 participants with a sample of 25 coaches and 50 players drawn from selected tertiary institution teams in Masvingo Province. Study participants were drawn using stratified random sampling. Its thrust was to establish the impact of COVID-19 for return-to-sport athletes during lockdown restrictions. Further, it explored cardiological implications of cardiopulmonary loading parameters among athletes with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-oriented pulmonary ailments and non-diseased group. An adapted updated version of the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre questionnaire was used for data collection. Emerging findings revealed substantial disruption of training normalcy from lockdown restrictions. Players risked injury sustenance from solitude unsupervised workouts. Further, high cardiopulmonary loading intensities compromised health conditions of athletes with COPD-related ailments than the non-diseased group. Moreover, athletes reported major physiological and psycho-social retardation trends upon return-to-sport fora from COVID-19 lay-off restrictions. Creating online digital coaching bionetwork websites could substantially enhance ‘Work from Home’ training environments. Digital health support synergies through virtual tele-health conferences and video/zoom forums could further provide practical resolutions for athletes’ physiological and psycho-social parameters. Moderate to high intensity aerobic indoor training regimes could serve to attenuate retardation of quality skeletal tenacity and capacitate cardio-pulmonary activities from the effects of COVID-19 restrictions. SARS-oriented athletes require appropriately designed training regimes that are within their motoric aptitudes to avoid compromising their cardiopulmonary-related ailments. This allows for gradual alterations of physiological body processes from the onset of training workouts.