Purpose: To investigate the physiological responses and perceived exertion during international Taekwondo competition.Methods: Eight male Taekwondo black belts (mean ± SD, age 22 ± 4 y, body mass 69.4 ± 13.4 kg, height 1.82 ± 0.10 m, competition experience 9 ± 5 y) took part in an international-level Taekwondo competition. Each combat included three 2-min rounds with 30 s of recovery between each round. Heart rate (HR) was recorded at 5-s intervals during each combat. Capillary blood lactate samples were taken from the fingertip 1 min before competition, directly after each round and 1 min after competition. Competitors’ rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded for each round using Borg’s 6-to-20 scale.Results: HR (round 1: 175 ± 15 to round 3: 187 ± 8 beats·min⁻¹; P < .05), percentage of HR maximum (round 1: 89 ± 8 to round 3: 96 ± 5% HR_max; P < .05), blood lactate (round 1: 7.5 ± 1.6 to round 3: 11.9 ± 2.1 mmol·L-1; P < .05) and RPE (round 1: 11 ± 2 to round 3: 14 ± 2; P < .05; mean ± SD) increased significantly across rounds.Conclusions: International-level Taekwondo competition elicited near-maximal cardiovascular responses, high blood lactate concentrations, and increases in competitors' RPE across combat. Training should therefore include exercise bouts that sufficiently stimulate both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of caffeine ingestion on 8 km run performance using an ecologically valid test protocol. A randomized double-blind crossover study was conducted involving eight male distance runners. The participants ran an 8 km race 1 h after ingesting a placebo capsule, a caffeine capsule (3 mg · kg⁻¹ body mass) or no supplement. Heart rate was recorded at 5 s intervals throughout the race. Blood lactate concentration and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded after exercise. A repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) identified a significant treatment effect for 8 km performance time (P < 0.05); caffeine resulted in a mean improvement of 23.8 s (95% confidence interval [CI] = 13.1 to 34.5 s) in 8 km performance time (1.2% improvement, 95% CI = 0.7 to 1.8%). In addition, a two-way (time × condition) repeated-measures ANOVA identified a significantly higher blood lactate concentration 3 min after exercise during the caffeine trial (P < 0.05). We conclude that ingestion of 3 mg · kg⁻¹ body mass of caffeine can improve absolute 8 km run performance in an ecologically valid race setting.

Purpose: To examine the activity profiles of elite male competitors during international Taekwondo competition in relation to fn, feather, and heavy weight categories.Methods: Twelve male Taekwondo competitors equally representing fn, feather, and heavy weight divisions were studied during the 2005 World Taekwondo Championships using a time-motion system developed to analyze the activities and activity phases. The frequency and duration of activities were recorded and assimilated into four independent activity phases: fighting activity, preparatory activity, nonpreparatory activity and stoppage activity. The total number of exchanges and kicks were also calculated for each combat.Results: For all weight groupings the mean ± SD fighting time was 1.7 ± 0.3 s, preparatory time 6.4 ± 2.1 s, nonpreparatory time 3.0 ± 0.6 s, referee stoppage time 2.8 ± 0.9 s and 28 ± 6 exchanges and 31 ± 7 kicks were performed. Differences in the mean fighting time (fn: 1.4 ± 0.2 s vs heavy: 1.8 ± 0.3 s; P = .03; effect size [ES] = 1.57), preparatory time (fn: 5.3 ± 1.0 s vs feather: 8.2 ± 2.6 s; P = .03; ES = 1.47) and the total number of exchanges (feather: 24 ± 6 vs heavy: 32 ± 5; P = .03; ES = 1.44) were identified between the weight categories.Conclusion: The activity profile in international Taekwondo competition was modulated by competitors’ weight category. These findings suggest that conditioning sessions may need to be specialized to the requirements of specific weight categories.

Background: Research on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is dominated by lower-body conditioning activities/performance test complexes. Despite the contribution of the upper body to many sporting actions, no review on upper-body PAPE currently exists. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review with meta-analysis was to provide a synthesis of the available research on the inclusion of upper-body PAPE conditioning activities to improve athletic performance. Methods: A review of the literature was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses guidelines, including a literature search of EBSCOhost, SPORTDiscus, PubMed and Google Scholar databases. A total of 127 studies were identified through database searches, and were assessed against the following criteria: (1) randomised controlled trial or pre-and-post study design; (2) studies explored the effects of prior voluntary muscle activity, and not electrically induced contractions, (3) evidence, or lack thereof, of PAPE was quantified by the monitoring of individual performance to commonly applied physical tests or sport-specific tasks; (4) conditioning activities and performance tests were primarily upper-body; (5) detailed description of a standardised warm-up; and (6) full-text versions of studies could be accessed in English language peer-reviewed journals. Studies were quality assessed for methodological quality via the PEDro scale and ranked accordingly. Results: Thirty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were classified into different conditioning activity modes: bench press variations, sport-specific (modified implement throws, swing-specific, cable pulley, elastic resistance, combination) and bodyweight activity. Acute performance enhancement in several movement-specific combinations was found. A meta-analysis revealed that bench press at ≥ 80% one repetition maximum significantly (p = 0.03; ES = 0.31) improves subsequent power output in the ballistic bench throw at 30–40% one repetition maximum, following 8–12 min recovery. Additionally, sport-specific overweight implement throws improved subsequent throwing distance at competition weight by ~ 1.7–8.5%; ES = 0.14–0.33, following 3 min recovery. Sport-specific lighter weighted bat swings and swing-specific isometrics resulted in improved subsequent competition weight bat swing velocities, ranging from ~ 1.3–4.9%; ES = 0.16–0.57. Conclusions: This review presents several upper-body movement-specific conditioning activities that could be considered by coaches and practitioners as part of complex or contrast training, or used in pre-competition warm-ups to acutely enhance performance.

The aim of this study was to determine the external validity of Taekwondo-specific exercise protocols. 10 male international Taekwondo competitors (age 18±2 years) took part in a championship combat and an exercise protocol that simulated the activity pattern of Taekwondo combat. Heart rate and venous blood samples were obtained in both settings. Despite similarity in the activity profiles, the championship Taekwondo combats elicited higher (p<0.05) heart rate (188±8 beats.min^− 1), plasma lactate (12.2±4.6 mmol.L^− 1), glucose (10.3±1.1 mmol.L^− 1), ­glycerol (143.4±49.4 µmol.L^− 1), ­adrena­line (2.7±1.7 nmol.L^− 1) and noradrenaline (14.3±9.4 nmol.L^− 1) responses than the ­Taekwondo exercise protocol (heart rate: 172±4 beats.min^− 1; plasma lactate: 3.6±2.7 mmol.L^− 1; glucose: 5.9±0.8 mmol.L^− 1; glycerol: 77.7±21.3 µmol.L^− 1; adrenaline: 0.6±0.2 nmol.L^− 1 and noradrenaline: 3.0±1.1 nmol.L^− 1). This discrepancy in the physiological responses appeared to be mediated by a reduced stress response in the Taekwondo exercise protocol. These findings suggest that Taekwondo-specific exercise protocols are not appropriate to study the physiological demands of Taekwondo. ­Strategies designed to increase the stress response in this setting may be necessary to improve the external validity of this experimental framework.