Anthropometric profile, Wingate performance and Special Judo Fitness Levels of Turkish Olympic Judo Athletes

Abstract

Background. Judo is an Olympic sport where physical fitness is of great importance as well as technique and tactics. Physical and physiological conditions of the athletes are very important for a better judo performance and there is still a need for more data related to these determinants. Problem and aim. There is a need for more data concerning anthropological determinants of judo athletes. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate anthropometric profile, Wingate and Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) performance. Methods. The following tests and measurements were conducted in order to investigate anthropometric profile, Wingate and Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) performance of male (n=7) and female (n=10) judo athletes from Turkish Olympic judo team: anthropometric measurements, Wingate anaerobic test (WanT) and SJFT. An independent Student t test was used to compare male and female athletes. Pearson product correlation was used to verify the relationship between variables. Effect sizes were calculated following the recommendations by Rhea (2004). Results. There were differences between male and female athletes in the following variables; fat-free mass, body fat percentage, peak and mean power, HR after the set A and in the SJFT index (p < 0.05).Large and very large correlations were found between anthropometric measurements, SJFT parameters and WanT performance results (p < 0.01). Large correlation was found between fat-free mass and HR values during SJFT sets (p < 0.05). Conclusions. It can be concluded that the higher the fat percentage, the lower is the performance in activities involving body displacement. In conclusion, sex and weight differences should be taken into consideration while evaluating judo athletes and because higher fat-free mass means better SJFT performance, the training program should be organized to decrease or maintain body fat and increase muscle mass.