Evaluation of the usefulness of objective and subjective measures of training load in circus artists

Managing the physical and mental health of circus artists is complex for both artists and coaches. Physical and mental demands vary considerably across circus disciplines. Workload monitoring, which involves tracking individuals' condition during an activity to optimize training or development and reduce injuries, has not yet been used in circus.

The main objective of this project is to develop workload metrics adapted to circus performance, while evaluating their usefulness and relevance for managing circus artist training. The specific objectives are:

• SO1: Acquire objective and subjective data related to the physical and mental workload of circus artists during training.
• SO2: Calculate and implement new discipline-specific workload metrics using IMU sensor data.
• SO3: Determine the usefulness of workload information for artists and coaches.

HUPR (Human Potential Research Center) received a grant from the Quebec Ministry of Education, the Research and Transfer Assistance Program (PART). The project began in August 2024, and an initial data collection was conducted with the National Circus School (ÉNC) students between February and March 2025. Given that the project has already been initiated by HUPR, the internship will primarily focus on specific objective SO2, which is the calculation of metrics. It is also possible for the internship to include some of specific objective SO1 with new data collections if the data collected is insufficient or of good quality. It is also possible to initiate specific objective SO3 with discussions with teachers from ÉNC if the metrics are calculated quickly during the internship and require an exchange with professionals.

This project will provide significant value by developing new workload metrics suitable for circus performance, exploring objective and subjective metrics, and evaluating the usefulness of workload information. The knowledge gained will be valuable for improving workload measurement and monitoring in circus training and performance settings.