The Effects Of Rapid Weight Loss Upon High-Intensity Performance In Judo Competitors

Abstract

Most of judo athletes reduce significant amount of weight a few days before competitions. There is a 4- to 5-h period between official weigh-in and the beginning of the combats. Although anaerobic performance is impaired after rapid weight loss, the effects of rapid weight loss followed by a recovery period on high-intensity performance is unknown. PURPOSE: to investigate whether rapid weight loss followed by a 4-h recovery time affects judo-related performance. METHODS: 14 male judo competitors were divided into weight loss (WL) or control (CON) groupd. Experienced weight-cyclers were allocated to WL (n=7) whereas non-weight cyclers were allocated to CON (n=7). Both groups were assessed for PRE and POST, 5 to 7 days apart. After PRE evaluation, WL athletes reduced 5% of the body weight in 5 days using their own methods but CON athletes kept their body weight stable. After weigh-in, athletes had 4 h to refeed and rehydrate ad libitum and then POST evaluation was performed. Performance assessment comprised a judo-specific exercise followed by a 5-min passive rest and by a 5-min judo combat. After combat, athletes rested for 15 min and then performed 3 bouts of the 30-s upper body Wingate Test. RESULTS: Mixed models ANOVA showed a significant main time effect for mean and peak power (p<0.001). However, neither main group nor interaction effects were observed (Table 1).Table 1: Mean Power (MP) and Peak Power (PW) obtained in the Wingate Test (main time effect was observed: bouts 2 and 3 significantly lower than bout 1; power at POST significantly lower than PRE).CONCLUSIONS: Rapid weight loss of up to 5%, when followed by a 4-h recovery time, does not impair subsequent anaerobic performance in experienced weight-cyclers. Supported by FAPESP.