Abstract

This exploratory study aimed to monitor long-term seasonal developments in measures of anthropometry, body composition, and physical fitness in young judo athletes, and to compute associations between these measures and sporting success. Forty-four young judoka (20 females, 24 males) volunteered to participate. Tests for the assessment of anthropometry (e.g., body height/mass), body-composition (e.g., lean body mass), muscle strength (isometric handgrip strength), vertical jumping (e.g., countermovement-jump (CMJ) height), and dynamic balance (Y-balance test) were conducted at the beginning and end of a 10-month training season. Additionally, sporting success at the end of the season was recorded for each athlete. Analyses revealed significant time × sex interaction effects for lean-body-mass, isometric handgrip strength, and CMJ height (0.7 ≤ d ≤ 1.6). Post-hoc analyses showed larger gains for all measures in young males (1.9 ≤ d ≤6.0) compared with females (d = 2.4) across the season. Additionally, significant increases in body height and mass as well as Y-balance test scores were found from pre-to-post-test (1.2 ≤ d ≤4.3), irrespective of sex. Further, non-significant small-to-moderate-sized correlations were identified between changes in anthropometry/body composition/physical fitness and sporting success (p > 0.05; −0.34 ≤ ρ ≤ 0.32). Regression analysis confirmed that no model significantly predicted sporting success. Ten months of judo training and/or growth/maturation contributed to significant changes in anthropometry, body composition, and physical fitness, particularly in young male judo athletes.

Highlights

  • Judo is one of the most popular grappling combat sports worldwide [1]

  • The main findings can be summarized as followed: (i) young male judoka displayed larger gains in lean body mass, handgrip strength, and countermovement jump (CMJ) performance over the training period compared with female athletes; (ii) large-sized increases in body height and mass, as well as dynamic balance (Y-balance test), were shown from pre-to-post-test, irrespective of sex; (iii) body height/mass and DJ performance were higher while body fat mass was lower in young male compared with female judoka, irrespective of time; and (iv) seasonal changes in anthropometry, body composition, and physical fitness were not related to/did not predict sporting success in the main competition at the end of the season

  • The present exploratory study revealed that young male judoka displayed larger gains in lean body mass, handgrip strength, and CMJ performance over a 10-month training period compared with female athletes

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Summary

Introduction

Judo is one of the most popular grappling combat sports worldwide [1]. It was officially included as part of the summer Olympic Games in 1964 (Tokyo) for males and in 1992 (Barcelona) for females [2].Judo’s activity profile requires the athlete to perform repetitive high-intensity efforts in standingInt. Public Health 2020, 17, 7169; doi:10.3390/ijerph17197169 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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