Effects of Warm-Ups with Weighted Vests and Resistance Bands on Physical Fitness and Combat Ability of Kumite Karate Athletes

Christos Ioannides, Chrysanthi Despotopoulou, Marios Hadjicharalambous, Nikolaos Zaras

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a dynamic warm-up either with weighted vests (WVs) or with resistance bands (RBs) may enhance the physical fitness and combat ability of kumite karate athletes. Nine male athletes (age range from 16 to 30 years), participated in this study. Athletes followed three different warm-up programs in a randomized order: (a) with their body mass only (C), (b) with a WV of 10% load of their body mass and (c) with a wearable RB of 10% tension of their body mass. Following the warm-up, athletes performed the following tests: countermovement jump (CMJ), standing long jump (LJ), punch and kick reaction time, bench press throws, T-Half test and the kick frequency test. CMJ remained unaltered following the WV and RB warm-up compared to the C. Standing long jump increased significantly following the RB warm-up compared to the C (2.2 ± 1.7%, p = 0.011). Punch reaction time was significantly shortened following the RB warm-up compared to C (−7.3 ± 5.9%, p = 0.019). No changes were observed for kick reaction time, bench press throws or the T-Half test. The kick decrement index, measured from the kick frequency test, was significantly decreased following the RB warm-up compared to the C (33.1 ± 20.2%, p = 0.011). These results suggest that an RB warm-up may significantly enhance the physical fitness and combat ability in kumite karate athletes.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number79
    JournalSports
    Volume12
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

    Keywords

    • combat ability
    • kumite
    • post-activation performance enhancement
    • reaction time

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of Warm-Ups with Weighted Vests and Resistance Bands on Physical Fitness and Combat Ability of Kumite Karate Athletes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this