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. 2021 Mar 15;20(2):310-316.
doi: 10.52082/jssm.2021.310. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Maximal and Submaximal Cardiorespiratory Responses to a Novel Graded Karate Test

Matheus Hausen  1 , Raul Freire  1 , Andréa B Machado  1 , Glauber R Pereira  1 , Grégoire P Millet  2 , Alex Itaborahy  1
Affiliations

Maximal and Submaximal Cardiorespiratory Responses to a Novel Graded Karate Test

Matheus Hausen et al. J Sports Sci Med. .

Abstract

The present study aimed to propose and assess the physiological responses of a novel graded karate test. Ten male national-level karate athletes (age 26 ± 5 yrs; body mass 69.5 ± 11.6 kg; height 1.70 ± 0.09 m) performed two exercise tests (separated by 2-7 days): 1) a running-based cardiopulmonary exercise test; 2) a graded karate test. The cardiopulmonary exercise test was comprised of an individualized ramp protocol for treadmill running, and the graded karate test was comprised of a sequence of 'kisami-gyaku-zuki" punching at a fixed frequency of a stationary target that becomes progressively distant. Cardiorespiratory responses, blood lactate concentration, and perceived exertion were measured. A verification phase was also performed in both tests to confirm the maximal physiological outcomes. The graded karate test evoked similar maximal responses to the running protocol: V̇O2 (57.4 ± 5.1 vs 58.3 ± 3.5 mL·kg-1·min-1; p = 0.53), heart rate (192 ± 6 vs 193 ± 10]beats.min-1; p = 0.62) and blood lactate (14.6 ± 3.4 vs 13.1 ± 3.0 mmol·L-1; p = 0.14) with a shorter duration (351 ± 71 vs 640 ± 9 s; p < 0.001). Additionally, the graded karate test evoked higher V̇O2 (72.6 ± 6.5 vs 64.4 ± 4.3 %V̇O2MAX; p = 0.005) and heart rate (89.4 ± 4.6 vs 77.3 ± 7.2 %HRMAX p < 0.001) at the ventilatory threshold and a higher heart rate (97.0 ± 2.4 vs 92.9 ± 2.2 %HRMAX; p = 0.02) at the respiratory compensation point. Incremental and verification phases evoked similar responses in V̇O2 and minute-ventilation during both tests. This novel displacement-based sport-specific test evoked similar maximal and higher submaximal responses, indicating a superior pathway to assess karate athletes.

Keywords: Oxygen uptake; blood lactate; heart rate; martial arts; ventilatory thresholds.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Schematic diagram of the Graded Karate Test.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Participant performing the Graded Karate Test with the portable gas analyzer.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
The cardiorespiratory responses during the treadmill cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and the graded karate test (GKT). Data presented as mean and standard deviation. (*) Denotes significant difference between tests at the time point. Ventilatory threshold (VT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP) occurrences are indicated as mean and standard deviation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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