Effects of mental training on mental toughness and sports anxiety level of arm wrestlers

The purpose of this research is to measure the effect of mental training on arm wrestlers mental toughness and sports anxiety levels. This research is quantitative research. "Sports Mental Toughness Inventory" and Sports Anxiety Scale" were used as data collection tools in the study. In this research, the analysis of the data was carried out in the form of pre-test and post-test, before and after mental training. The data obtained from the research were analyzed using the SPSS (statistical program for social sciences) program. For the analysis of pretest-posttest values of arm wrestlers' mental endurance and sports anxiety levels of mental training, Paired Samples T Test was applied to compare two dependent groups in normally distributed data. In the study, positive developments were observed according to the pre-test and post-test results of the athletes' mental toughness, mental toughness sub-dimensions, stress and anxiety states, but no significant differences were detected. It is observed that there is a general improvement in mental endurance, mental endurance sub-dimensions, stress and anxiety situations of athletes who continue both their physical training and apply the mental training protocol. According to these results, it can be said that arm wrestlers' mental training in addition to physical training improves these skills.