Association between antioxidant status and special strength performance in combat athletes: a cross-sectional study

Combat sports involve repeated high-intensity, intermittent actions under direct competition. During competition, athletes must produce high power output repeatedly, with rapid energy-system transitions and substantial oxidative stress responses.

This cross-sectional study examined associations between antioxidant-related indicators and special strength performance in combat athletes.

A cross-sectional study design was used, recruiting 25 high-level combat athletes in training. We measured one energy-related marker [plasma adenosine triphosphate (ATP)], three antioxidant defense markers [total antioxidant capacity [T-AOC], superoxide dismutase [SOD], glutathione peroxidase [GPX]], and one oxidative damage marker [malondialdehyde (MDA)] and six special strength indicators [standing long jump, vertical jump, medicine ball throw, one-repetition maximum (1-RM) bench press, one-repetition maximum (1-RM) squat, 30 m sprint] were measured. Gender, height, weight, body fat percentage, and resting heart rate were included as covariates. Shapiro Wilk tests, Kruskal Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests, Spearman correlations, multiple linear regression, and Bayesian regression were applied.

Body fat percentage and SOD activity differed across sports (p < 0.05), with higher body fat percentage in taekwondo and higher SOD activity in boxing. In gender comparisons, females had lower T-AOC than males (p = 0.011), with no significant differences for the other indicators. ATP was positively correlated with standing long jump (r = 0.449) and vertical jump (r = 0.502), while body fat percentage showed a negative correlation with vertical jump (r = -0.529, p < 0.05). None of the multiple linear regression models reached statistical significance. Bayesian regression yielded similar patterns, with positive posterior means for ATP in explosive and strength outcomes and negative estimates for MDA in some models.

Special strength outcomes were associated with markers related to energy availability and oxidative status. ATP and body fat percentage were the variables most consistently associated with explosive performance in this sample: ATP was positively associated with standing long jump and vertical jump, whereas body fat percentage was negatively associated with vertical jump performance. Differences in antioxidant indicators across sports and between sexes suggest that antioxidant status may vary with individual characteristics and sport-specific demands. These findings are hypothesis-generating and may inform future work on training, nutritional strategies, and pre-competition preparation, which should be tested in longitudinal or randomized controlled studies.