The aims of this study were to evaluate the reliability of a modified agility T-test (MAT) and to examine its relationship to the free countermovement jump (FCMJ) and the 10-m straight sprint (10mSS). In this new version, we preserved the same nature of displacement of the T-test but we reduced the total distance to cover. A total of 86 subjects (34 women: age = 22.6 +/- 1.4 years; weight = 63.7 +/- 10.2 kg; height = 1.65 +/- 0.05 m; body mass index = 23.3 +/- 3.3 kg x m(-2) and 52 men: age = 22.4 +/- 1.5 years; weight = 68.7 +/- 8.0 kg; height = 1.77 +/- 0.06 m; body mass index = 22.0 +/- 2.0 kg x m(-2)) performed MAT, T-test, FCMJ, and 10mSS. Our results showed no difference between test-retest MAT scores. Intraclass reliability of the MAT was greater than 0.90 across the trials (0.92 and 0.95 for women and men, respectively). The mean difference (bias) +/- the 95% limits of agreement was 0.03 +/- 0.37 seconds for women and 0.03 +/- 0.33 seconds for men. MAT was correlated to the T-test (r = 0.79, p < 0.001 and r = 0.75, p < 0.001 for women and men, respectively). Significant correlations were found between both MAT and FCMJ, and MAT and 10mSS for women (r = -0.47, p < 0.01 and r = 0.34, p < 0.05, respectively). No significant correlations were found between MAT and all other tests for men. These results indicate that MAT is a reliable test to assess agility. The weak relationship between MAT and strength and straight speed suggests that agility requires other determinants of performance as coordination. Considering that field sports generally include sprints with change direction over short distance, MAT seems to be more specific than the T-test when assessing agility.

No abstract

Ouergui, I, Houcine, N, Marzouki, H, Davis, P, Franchini, E, Gmada, N, and Bouhlel, E. Physiological responses and time-motion analysis of small combat games in kickboxing: impact of ring size and number of within-round sparring partners. J Strength Cond Res 31(7): 1840-1846, 2017-The study aimed to investigate the physiological responses and time-structure of small combat games (SCGs) in kickboxing according to ring sizes and number of sparring partners. Twenty athletes from regional (n = 13) and national levels (n = 7) participated in the study (mean ± SD, age: 20.3 ± 0.9 years; height: 177 ± 4.8 cm; body mass: 71.8 ± 10.5 kg). Blood lactate concentration [La] was measured before and after bouts, and the delta (Δ) was determined. Heart rate (HR) was measured throughout and HR and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were also measured postbout. The HRpre, HRmean, and percentage of peak HR (%HRpeak) were used for analysis. The HRpeak was determined during a cycle ergometer graded exercise test. Each athlete was confronted by 1 (1 vs. 1; no sparring partner change), 2 (1 vs. 2) and 4 opponents (1 vs. 4) within-round (sparring partner change every 1 minute or 30 seconds, respectively) in different ring sizes (i.e., 2×2 m, 4×4 m, and 6×6 m). All combats were recorded and analyzed to determine the duration of different activity phases (high-intensity activities [HIA], low-intensity actions [LIA], and referee pause [P]). Results showed that values for HRpre and HRmean when opposed by a single individual (1 vs. 1) were lower than other conditions (all p< 0.001). Moreover, %HRpeak values in 1 vs. 1 were lower than in other conditions and higher in 4 × 4 m compared with other sizes. [La]pre, post, and the Δ did not differ among all conditions (p > 0.05). The RPE scores were lower in 1 vs. 1 compared with other conditions (p < 0.001), with no ring sizes effect (p > 0.05). For time-motion variables, HIA values were lower in 1 vs. 1 than in the 2 other conditions and was longer in 2 × 2 m compared with 4 × 4 m and 6 × 6 m, whereas LIA values were higher in 1 vs. 1 and lower in the 2 × 2 m. In conclusion, SCGs seem to be a good form of exercise for sufficient cardiovascular conditioning specific to kickboxing activity in comparison with data from previous studies.

No abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate the hormonal, physiological, and physical responses of simulated kickboxing competition and evaluate if there was a difference between winners and losers. Twenty athletes of regional and national level participated in the study (mean ± SD age 21.3 ± 2.7 y, height 170.0 ± 5.0 cm). Hormone (cortisol, testosterone, growth hormone), blood lactate [La], and glucose concentrations, as well as upper-body Wingate test and countermovement-jump (CMJ) performances, were measured before and after combats. Heart rate (HR) was measured throughout rounds 1, 2, and 3 and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was taken after each round. All combats were recorded and analyzed to determine the length of different activity phases (high-intensity, low-intensity, and referee pause) and the frequency of techniques. Hormones, glucose, [La], HR, and RPE increased (all P < .001) precombat to postcombat, while a decrease was observed for CMJ, Wingate test performance, body mass (all P < .001), and time of high-intensity activities (P = .005). There was no difference between winners and losers for hormonal, physiological, and physical variables (P > .05). However, winners executed more jab cross, total punches, roundhouse kicks, total kicks, and total attacking techniques (all P < .042) than losers. Kickboxing is an intermittent physically demanding sport that induces changes in the stress-related hormones soliciting the anaerobic lactic system. Training should be oriented to enhance kickboxers' anaerobic lactic fitness and their ability to strike at a sufficient rate. Further investigation is needed to identify possible differences in tactical and mental abilities that offer some insight into what makes winners winners.