Proposal of a New Specific Test to Assess the Aerobic Performance in Judo

Purpose: Judo is an intermittent sport, dependent on anaerobic metabolism as well as aerobic metabolism to generate energy during a match; however, there are few reliable tests to measure specific aerobic performance in judo. Thus, the present study aimed to propose a new specific and indirect method to assess the aerobic performance in judo athletes; it determined the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of this new protocol and correlated the new protocol with a valid laboratory test. Method: The participants included 15 men, athletes of judo (age average: 21.59 ± 4.60 years, weight: 80.71 ± 15.93 kg and height: 173.2 ± 6.84 cm). The participants performed three tests: the first test was a graded exercise test (GXT) and the second and third tests were the Judo Aerobic Test (JAT). Results: The test presented high test-retest and inter-rater reliability, the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) ranking of 0.68-0.96, the correlation values ranging from .77 to .96, and no statistical differences between means in test and retest (p > .05). The standard error of measurement and the coefficient of variation between raters presented lower than 10%, indicating reproducibility. Moderate and strong correlations were found between JAT and GXT variables. Conclusion: We concluded that the test presents excellent inter-rater and test-retest reliability and a moderate correlation with GXT.