Acute Effects of Different Activity Types and Work-To-Rest Ratio on Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Young Male and Female Taekwondo Athletes.

Hamdi Chtourou,Anissa Bouassida,Slaheddine Delleli,Emerson Franchini,Ezdine Bouhlel,Hamdi Messaoudi,Luca Paolo Ardigò,Ibrahim Ouergui

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031764

Abstract

The study assessed conditioning activities’ (CAs’) effects involving different work-to-rest ratios (WRR) on taekwondo athletes’ physical performance. Adolescent taekwondo athletes (age: 16 ± 1 years) randomly participated in the control six experimental conditions. Each condition was composed of standard warm-up and CA composed of plyometrics (P) or repeated high-intensity techniques (RHIT) performed using three different WRR: 1:6, 1:7, self-selected rest time (SSRT). After rest, athletes performed countermovement jump (CMJ), taekwondo specific agility test (TSAT), 10 s frequency speed kick test (FSKT-10s), multiple frequency speed kick test (FSKT-mult). P1:7, SSRT induced techniques higher number in FSKT-10s (p < 0.001 for all comparisons) and lower TSAT time (p < 0.01 for all comparisons) compared with control. Kicks-number recorded during FSKT-mult was lower in the control compared with RHIT1:6 (p = 0.001), RHIT1:7 (p < 0.001), RHITSSRT (p < 0.05), P1:7 (p < 0.001), and SSRT (p < 0.001). Kicking decrement index (DI) during FSKT-mult was lower after RHIT1:6 compared with control (p = 0.008), RHIT1:7 (p = 0.031), P 1:6 (p = 0.014), PSSRT (p = 0.041). (1) P1:7 and PSSRT can be used to improve taekwondo-specific agility and kicks-number, (2) RHIT1:6 is beneficial to maintain low DI, and (3) plyometric and different WRR-repeated-techniques can enhance kicks-number.

Highlights

The present study aims to compare the effects of six different conditioning activities (P vs. repeated high-intensity techniques (RHIT)) using different work-to-rest ratios (1:6, 1:7, and self-selected rest time, SSRT) and a control condition on physical performances in young taekwondo athletes
The main findings of the present study were that conditioning activities did not affect muscle power, but plyometrics using 1:7 work-to-rest ratio resulted in a higher number of kicks executed in the FSKT-10s and increased agility in the taekwondo-specific agility test (TSAT) compared with the control condition
The current study showed that the inclusion of repeated high-intensity techniques and vertical jumps using taekwondo-specific work-to-rest ratios in warm-up sessions were effective to reduce the kick decrement index, improve taekwondo-specific agility, and increase the number of techniques performed by taekwondo athletes in a 10 s specific test

Summary

Introduction

Taekwondo is an intermittent striking combat sport requiring kick techniques performed with high intensity, jumps, and changes of direction to control distance from the opponent during the preparation to deliver subsequent kicks [1] During the match, these high-intensity actions are interspersed by low-intensity actions or pauses [2], resulting in a work-to-rest ratio varying from 1:2 to 1:8 [2,3]. Regarding physical aspects, scoring actions rely mainly on muscle power [1]. Several strategies have been proposed to optimize muscle power; among them, post-activation potentiation (PAP) and post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) have been suggested as two different effective methods to induce performance improvements [4,5].

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Discussion

Conclusion