Knowing the personality and autonomy factors of bodybuilders is a necessity in order to improve sports training, which would lead to the development of mental skills specific to competitive bodybuilding. The purpose of the study was to identify perception differences in personality and autonomy factors for three age categories of competitive bodybuilders in order to optimize the sports training process. The secondary purpose of the study was to identify perception differences in the characteristics of personality and autonomy in relation to the increase in the sporting age category of the competitive bodybuilders. The research sample included 30 competitive bodybuilders aged between 18 and 53 years, of which 21 were male and 9 were female, who were divided into three groups according to the sporting age category: G1—junior (18–23 years old), 10 athletes (33.3%); G2—senior (24–35 years old for female and 24–40 years old for male), 12 athletes (40%); G3—masters (over 35 years old for female and 40 years old for male), 8 athletes (26.7%). In the precompetitive stage, three standardized questionnaires were applied to the study participants, namely, two personality questionnaires (CP5F and ZKPQ) and a personal autonomy questionnaire (PAQ), which provided us with useful information for understanding the psychological profile of bodybuilding athletes. The results of the study were statistically significant, with Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient indicating high internal consistency of the three questionnaires for all three sporting age groups, with higher values than the selected reference threshold of 0.700. According to the results of our study, the following personality and autonomy factors recorded higher and higher scores in direct relation with the increase in sporting age: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, autonomy, impulsive sensation seeking, value autonomy, behavioral autonomy, and cognitive autonomy. The personality and autonomy factors of which the scores did not increase directly proportionally to the sporting age category were sociability, activity, aggression–hostility, neuroticism–anxiety, and emotional autonomy. Competitive bodybuilders perceive the factors of personality and autonomy differently in relation to particularities of age and sports experience, and knowledge of these changes can contribute to the improvement of the sports training process

Knowing the psychological traits and clinically relevant symptoms for the development and maintenance of Eating Behavior Disorders (EDD) in bodybuilding and fitness athletes is a necessity for early intervention and the elimination of stressors that contribute to improving sports performance and quality of life. The aim of the study: To know the dynamics of EDD and the level of general psychological adaptation in athletes who practice bodybuilding and fitness according to sports gender and age. By applying the Inventory of Eating Disorders, EDI-III on 30 participants, bodybuilding and fitness practitioners, aged between 19 and 53, of which 21 are male and 9 are female, psychological traits were investigated relevant (low self-esteem, perfectionism, asceticism, fear of maturity, interpersonal, emotional problems, exaggerated control, and others) in order to know the level of distress and the presence of clinically relevant symptoms for the development and maintenance of EDD (the desire to being thin, bulimia, body dissatisfaction) We concluded that most of the athletes fall within the limits of the threshold values ​​established for the evaluated scales, 30% of the athletes (3 female athletes and 6 male athletes), obtained scores rated above the threshold on at least one of the clinical scales, which means that the risk of EDD is present in some athletes. The average of the investigated psychological scales calculated for the rated scores to establish the level of general psychological adaptation does not exceed the specified threshold for each investigated dimension separately, except for the asceticism, interpersonal problems, and exaggerated control scales. Female athletes have greater psychological balance than male athletes and lower risk of ED than male athletes, important aspects of personality and mental health in psychological training as a screening tool in the process of optimizing the effectiveness of bodybuilding and fitness training.

Aim. Through different training methods specific to bodybuilding and fitness, the values of the cardio-respiratory indicators change depending on the training variables and the adaptation to the athlete's specific effort. In this sense, we initiated a case study in order to know the variation of pulse and oxygen saturation during bodybuilding and fitness training specific to the period of muscle definition in a bodybuilding and fitness athlete with 25 years of experience, with periods of interruption of cumulative sports activity of approximately 5 years. Methods. The 46-year-old athlete performs at least three workouts per week, 3 muscle groups per workout, analytically working the whole body through basic or isolation exercises, through the bodybuilding and fitness-specific method of repetitions to failure combined with other period-specific methods of muscle definition. For two weeks, in the time interval between 01.07.2023-31.07.2023, pulse and oxygen saturation values were monitored after each set during training. Results. The lowest pulse values were measured during exercises for the trigeminal muscles, and the highest at the level of the quadriceps muscles, the lowest average at the level of the abdominal muscles, the highest at the level of the biceps muscles, respectively the lowest level of saturation of oxygen was measured during exercise for the trigeminal muscles, the highest in the biceps muscles. Conclusions. In conclusion, oxygen saturation increases in direct proportion to the respiratory rate. Keywords: Effort, heart rate, oxygen saturation, bodybuilding and fitness.