Abstract
The effect of asymmetry on flexibility and jump in taekwondo athletes and the influence of vibration foam rolling on asymmetry and frequency speed of kick test has not been examined. This study examined the effects of three warm-up protocols on subsequent sports performance in elite male taekwondo athletes. Fifteen elite male taekwondo athletes (20.63 ± 1.18 years) completed three warm-up protocols in a randomized order: general warm-up [GW], GW with vibration foam rolling [GW + VR], and GW with double VR for the weaker leg [GW + double VR]), was delivered before the subsequent tests: flexibility, single-leg countermovement jump (CMJ), 505 agility, hexagon test, and multiple frequency speed of kick tests (FSKTs). Relative to GW, the GW + VR significantly improved the hexagon test (GW + VR = 11.60 ± 1.01 s; GW = 12.80 ± 1.58 s). In addition, the GW + VR and GW + double VR yielded greater kick numbers in FSKT 5 (GW + VR = 21.13 ± 1.96 reps; GW + double VR = 20.93 ± 1.67 reps; GW = 19.27 ± 1.62 reps) and a higher kick decrement index (GW + VR = 5.45 ± 2.57%; GW + double VR = 5.88 ± 3.22%; GW = 9.54 ± 5.00%). However, the GW + VR and GW + double VR did not significantly improve the flexibility and CMJ asymmetry performance. The GW + VR is more beneficial for warming up than the GW is among male collegiate taekwondo athletes.
Highlights
The current study evaluated the acute effects of dynamic stretching (DS) + Vibration foam rolling (VR) warm-up protocols and double VR for the weaker leg on jump height, change of direction speed, flexibility, and outcomes in the hexagon test and frequency speed of kick test performance of taekwondo athletes
No significant differences were observed among the three warm-up protocols in terms of quadriceps flexibility in the stronger leg (F = 0.13, p = 0.88), quadriceps flexibility in the weaker leg (F = 0.35, p = 0.71), and quadriceps flexibility asymmetry (F = 0.46, p = 0.64), hamstring flexibility in the stronger leg (F = 0.08, p = 0.93), hamstring flexibility in the weaker leg (F = 0.60, p = 0.56), and hamstring flexibility asymmetry (F = 0.46, p = 0.64), 505 agility test outcome (F = 1.00, p = 0.37), CMJ outcomes in both legs (F = 0.50, p = 0.61), CMJ outcomes in the stronger leg (F = 0.70, p = 0.93), CMJ
Our results revealed that the general running warm-up (GW) + VR and GW + double VR protocols did not improve the CMJ asymmetry performance, which is consistent with a study that reported no significant effects of a loaded warm-up protocol on a single leg CMJ asymmetry performance [47]
Summary
Taekwondo athletes often perform kick training by alternating between dominant and non-dominant legs. The foot-tapping ability of the dominant leg often tends to be better than that of the non-dominant leg in child taekwondo athletes [4]. Guan et al showed that in elite male child taekwondo athletes, the dominant and nondominant leg asymmetry was 8.20% during a unilateral countermovement jump height, 6.64% during a horizontal hop distance, 5.78% during a triple hop distance, and 9.97% during a posterolateral dynamic balance reach distance [5]. After sessions 5–7 of the training, the athletes had between-limb asymmetry in power, e.g., the single-leg jump for the right leg being 0.05 m higher than that of the left leg. The difference in the allometric scaling of peak power output between the right and left legs was 14% (e.g., in session 8, the value for the left leg was higher than that for the right leg) [6]
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