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
Summary
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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