Short intermittent taekwondo test to assess athlete's physiological and metabolic profile.
Marco Panascì, Vittoria Ferrando, Alessandro Pileri, Emanuela Pierantozzi, Antonio LA Torre, Emerson Franchini, Piero Ruggeri, Matteo Bonato, Emanuela Faelli
Author Information
Marco Panascì: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Vittoria Ferrando: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Alessandro Pileri: Institute of Bioimaging and Molecular Physiology, National Research Council (IBFM-CNR), Lecco, Italy.
Emanuela Pierantozzi: Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Antonio LA Torre: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Emerson Franchini: School of Physical Education and Sport, Martial Arts and Combat Sports Research Group, Sport Department, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Piero Ruggeri: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Matteo Bonato: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy - matteo.bonato@unimi.it.
Emanuela Faelli: Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a new Short Intermittent Taekwondo Test (SITT) in 17 black belt athletes. METHODS: Maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max), carbon dioxide production (V̇CO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate (HR), and blood lactate concentration [La] during treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and SITT were compared. SITT started with 10 sec of all-out kicks, alternating legs, and progressively increasing 5 s on each stage until the 4 stage. After the 4 stage the participants performed 25 s of turning kicks (Dolleo chagi), on each stage until the last (10 stage). The passive recovery phase after the 4 and the 7 stage lasted 30 s. RESULTS: V̇O2max and maximal HRmax were not significantly different (P=0.85 vs. P=0.76) between tests, while RER and [La] were significantly higher in SITT than in CPET (P=0.002 vs. P=0.001). No difference in RPE (P=0.84) was found. A significant positive correlation between two tests for V̇O2max and HRmax was found. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that SITT induces physiological responses like CPET suggesting that it can be used to assess aerobic power in national taekwondo athletes, thus helping coaches to select correctly training intensities and monitor athletes' aerobic performance along the training phases.
