Physiological Responses to Simulated Boxing: The Effect of Sitting Versus Standing Body Position During Breaks – A Pilot Study

Abstract

: Previous research has well described the acute responses of the human body to boxing; nevertheless, less data exist about the effect of recovery modes differing for body position during breaks on these responses. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the impact of two modes of break (sitting versus standing) on heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), countermovement jump (CMJ) and handgrip muscle strength (HGS) in a simulated boxing combat of three 3-min rounds with 1-min breaks. Participants were male boxers (n = 15) with age, body mass, body height, body mass index and training experience of 21.4 (6.3) yrs, 67.7 (10.0) kg, 172 (6) cm, 22.9 (4.2) kg.m-2 and 2.9 (1.9) yrs, respectively. Mean HR was recorded through all rounds and breaks. Immediately after each round, participants were questioned for RPE (6 - 20 Borg scale). CMJ and HGS were measured before and after combat. A mixed analysis of variance found no time × body position interaction on variables (P > 0.05). However, the p value almost reached statistical significance (P = 0.062, η2 = 0.426) in the case of RPE, that was, compared to the sitting position, a trend of increased RPE for the standing position across time was observed. A main effect of time on HR, RPE and CMJ was shown (P < 0.05), in which (a) HR was higher in the third round than the second and the first one (187, 184 and177 bpm, respectively, P < 0.001, η2 = 0.609), (b) RPE was higher in the third round than in the first one (14.7 vs. 12.6, respectively, P = 0.047, η2 = 0.457) and (c) CMJ after combat was higher than before (34.1 vs. 32.1 cm, respectively, P = 0.007, η2 = 0.443). Even though this study did not provide evidence for different physiological impacts of body position during break in simulated boxing combat, it was indicated that manipulating the body position might affect the perception of effort.