BackgroundThe present article briefly reviews the weight loss processes in combat sports. We aimed to discuss the most relevant aspects of rapid weight loss (RWL) in combat sports.MethodsThis review was performed in the databases MedLine, Lilacs, PubMed and SciELO, and organized into sub-topics: (1) prevalence, magnitude and procedures, (2) psychological, physiological and performance effects, (3) possible strategies to avoid decreased performance (4) organizational strategies to avoid such practices.ResultsThere was a high prevalence (50%) of RWL, regardless the specific combat discipline. Methods used are harmful to performance and health, such as laxatives, diuretics, use of plastic or rubber suits, and sauna. RWL affects physical and cognitive capacities, and may increase the risk of death.ConclusionRecommendations during different training phases, educational and organizational approaches are presented to deal with or to avoid RWL.

The importance of using infrared thermography (IRT) to assess skin temperature (t) is increasing in clinical settings. Recently, its use has been increasing in sports and exercise medicine; however, no consensus guideline exists to address the methods for collecting data in such situations. The aim of this study was to develop a checklist for the collection of t using IRT in sports and exercise medicine. We carried out a Delphi study to set a checklist based on consensus agreement from leading experts in the field. Panelists (n = 24) representing the areas of sport science (n = 8; 33%), physiology (n = 7; 29%), physiotherapy (n = 3; 13%) and medicine (n = 6; 25%), from 13 different countries completed the Delphi process. An initial list of 16 points was proposed which was rated and commented on by panelists in three rounds of anonymous surveys following a standard Delphi procedure. The panel reached consensus on 15 items which encompassed the participants' demographic information, camera/room or environment setup and recording/analysis of t using IRT. The results of the Delphi produced the checklist entitled "Thermographic Imaging in Sports and Exercise Medicine (TISEM)" which is a proposal to standardize the collection and analysis of t data using IRT. It is intended that the TISEM can also be applied to evaluate bias in thermographic studies and to guide practitioners in the use of this technique.

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Understanding the physiological response to the most common judo training modalities may help to improve the prescription and monitoring of training programs. This review is based on search results using the following terms: "judo," "judo and training," "judo and physiology," "judo and specific exercises," and "judo and combat practice." Uchi-komi (repetitive technical training) is a specific judo exercise that can be used to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness. Effort to pause ratio, total session duration, number and duration of individual sets, and the type of technique can be manipulated to emphasize specific components of metabolism. "Nage-komi" (repetitive throwing training) can also be used to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness, depending on the format of the training session. "Randori" (combat or fight practice; sparring) is the training modality most closely related to actual judo matches. Despite the similarities, the physiological demands of randori practice are not as high as observed during real competitive matches. Heart rate has not shown to be an accurate measure of training intensity during any of the previously mentioned judo training modalities. High-volume, high-intensity training programs often lead judo athletes to experience overtraining-related symptoms, with immunosuppression being one of the most common. In conclusion, judo training and judo-specific exercise should be manipulated to maximize training response and competitive performance.

Measuring skin temperature (T SK ) provides important information about the complex thermal control system and could be interesting when carrying out studies about thermoregulation. The most common method to record T SK involves thermocouples at specific locations; however, the use of infrared thermal imaging (IRT) has increased. The two methods use different physical processes to measure T SK , and each has advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the mean skin temperature (MT SK ) measurements using thermocouples and IRT in three different situations: pre-exercise, exercise and post-exercise. Analysis of the residual scores in Bland-Altman plots showed poor agreement between the MT SK obtained using thermocouples and those using IRT. The averaged error was −0.75• C during pre-exercise, 1.22• C during exercise and −1. correlation between the values of MT SK measured by thermocouples and IRT pre-exercise, exercise and post-exercise, and low reliability between the two forms of measurement.

Context: Cold-water immersion (CWI) has been applied widely as a recovery method, but little evidence is available to support its effectiveness.Objective: To investigate the effects of CWI on muscle damage, perceived muscle soreness, and muscle power recovery of the upper and lower limbs after jiu-jitsu training.Design: Crossover study. Setting: Laboratory and field. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 8 highly trained male athletes (age ¼ 24.0 6 3.6 years, mass ¼ 78.4 6 2.4 kg, percentage of body fat ¼ 13.1% 6 3.6%) completed all study phases.Intervention(s): We randomly selected half of the sample for recovery using CWI (6.08C 6 0.58C) for 19 minutes; the other participants were allocated to the control condition (passive recovery). Treatments were reversed in the second session (after 1 week).Main Outcome Measure(s): We measured serum levels of creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase enzymes; perceived muscle soreness; and recovery through visual analogue scales and muscle power of the upper and lower limbs at pretraining, postrecovery, 24 hours, and 48 hours.Results: Athletes who underwent CWI showed better posttraining recovery measures because circulating LDH levels were lower at 24 hours postrecovery in the CWI condition (441.9 6 81.4 IU/L) than in the control condition (493.6 6 97.4 IU/L; P ¼ .03). Estimated muscle power was higher in the CWI than in the control condition for both upper limbs (757.9 6 125.1 W versus 695.9 6 56.1 W) and lower limbs (53.7 6 3.7 cm versus 35.5 6 8.2 cm; both P values ¼ .001). In addition, we observed less perceived muscle soreness (1.5 6 1.1 arbitrary units [au] versus 3.1 6 1.0 au; P ¼ .004) and higher perceived recovery (8.8 6 1.9 au versus 6.9 6 1.7 au; P ¼ .005) in the CWI than in the control condition at 24 hours postrecovery.Conclusions: Use of CWI can be beneficial to jiu-jitsu athletes because it reduces circulating LDH levels, results in less perceived muscle soreness, and helps muscle power recovery at 24 hours postrecovery.Key Words: creatine kinase, cryotherapy, L-lactate dehydrogenase, martial arts, muscle power Key PointsCold-water immersion may be beneficial to jiu-jitsu athletes because it decreased markers of muscle damage. Cold-water immersion reduced the perception of muscle pain. Cold-water immersion assisted in the recovery of the upper and lower limbs. Jiu-jitsu athletes could use cold-water immersion to improve performance and physiologic status, especially during training phases in which more intensive sessions are conducted and at the beginning of the season.

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