What are the main findings? a) A single 10-min session of focused attention meditation significantly reduced pre-exercise state anxiety in competitive speed skaters compared with random thinking and controlled breathing. b) Focused attention meditation reduced pre-exercise anxiety, whereas controlled breathing primarily modulated heart rate variability, and neither intervention affected HIIT performance. What are the implications of the main findings? a) Brief focused attention meditation may be considered as a feasible and practical pre-exercise mental strategy for athletes preparing for high-intensity training. b) Incorporating meditation into routine training sessions may support psychological stability and autonomic regulation without compromising physical performance of the athletes. Abstract: Anxiety is a common psychological challenge among athletes, particularly in response to intense training sessions. This randomized crossover study investigated the immediate effects of a single session of focused attention meditation on anxiety, autonomic responses, and performance during high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) in twenty-six university-level speed skaters. Participants completed three pre-exercise interventions (focused attention meditation, controlled breathing, and random thinking) on separate occasions in a randomized order. Following each intervention, participants performed a leg cycling-based HIIT protocol consisting of 20 s of maximal effort work followed by 10 s of passive rest, repeated for 8 sets using a cycling ergometer. State anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and mood disturbance was evaluated using the Profile of Mood States. Autonomic and physiological responses were assessed via heart rate variability (coefficient of variation), oxygen uptake, and power output, measured before and after the intervention and the HIIT bout. Focused attention meditation significantly reduced state anxiety compared with random thinking (?STAI: -5.0 [6.0] vs. -1.0 [4.3]; p < 0.05, effect size = 0.527), whereas controlled breathing primarily influenced heart rate variability (CV: 0.10 [0.11] vs. 0.07 [0.03]; p = 0.041, effect size = 0.736). No significant differences were observed among conditions in mean power output or fatigue index during HIIT. These findings suggest that single-session focused attention meditation may serve as a practical pre-exercise strategy for an immediate reduction in state anxiety, without compromising subsequent high-intensity exercise performance.
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