AEROBIC CAPACITY IS CORRELATED WITH THE RANKING OF BOXERS 1,2

ISSN 0031-5125DOI 10.2466/30.29.PMS.119c12z9

© Perceptual & Motor Skills 2014Perceptual & Motor Skills: Exercise & Sport

AEROBIC CAPACITY IS CORRELATED WITH THE RANKING OF BOXERS 1 , 2

VIDAS BRUZAS , ARVYDAS STASIULIS , ALGIRDAS CEPULENAS , PRANAS MOCKUS , BIRUTE STATKEVICIENE, AND VITALIJUS SUBACIUS

Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania

Summary .— The goal was to assess the aerobic capacity of boxers and its relation with sport mastery. Participants were 12 boxers from the Lithuanian national team (VO 2 max − 58.03 ± 3.00 ml/kg/min) of diff erent weight classes. Their sport mastery ranking was established according to their achieved results during the last years of participation in amateur boxing contests. In a graduated treadmill running test, the boxers' aerobic capacity indices were established. Running speed at fi rst and second ventilatory thresholds, VO 2 max, and maximal oxygen pulse had moderate to strong correlations with the boxers' sport mastery ranking. Aerobic capacity is an impor-tant fi tness component of boxers in all weight categories. Special attention should be paid to development of cardiac capacity in the boxers' training processes, as with aerobic power and anaerobic threshold training.

Contest boxing matches are characterized by dynamic movement, changing situations, a variety of blows and defensive actions, and great mental stress ( Smith, Dyson, Hale, & Janawy, 2000 ; Cynarski & Litwiniuk, 2002 ; Guidetti, Musulin, & Baldari, 2002 ; Hatmaker & Werner, 2004 ; Schin-ke, 2007 ). During a match, boxers have to maintain the intensity of the fi ght, force of blows, and speed and accuracy of movements even when fatigue increases ( Weltman & Regan, 1983 ; Ghosh, Goswani, & Ahuja, 1995 ; Chat-terjee, Banerjee, Majumdar, & Chatterjee, 2005 ). The energy supply to the boxer's body during the competition depends on the development of aer-obic and anaerobic energy production and interaction ( Ghosh, et al ., 1995 ; Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ; Crisfulli, Vitelli, Cappai, Milia, Tocco, Melis, et al ., 2009 ).

Aerobic capacity aff ects endurance, i.e., the ability to resist fatigue and maintain the high intensity of a match ( Ghosh, et al ., 1995 ; Chatterjee, et al ., 2005 ; Khanna & Manna, 2006 ; Smith, et al ., 2006 ). During an intensive boxing match, boxers' oxygen pulse can amount to 85–100% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max; Ghosh, 2010 ). The higher (closer to VO 2 max lim-it) the anaerobic threshold of boxers, the better is their ability to maintain higher intensity and resist fatigue ( Karlson, Bonde-Petersen, Henriksson, & Knuthen, 1975 ; Weltman & Regan, 1983 ; Hogan & Smith, 1994 ; Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ). A high anaerobic threshold in boxers can help them avoid the

2014, 119, 1, 50-58.

1 Address correspondence to Pranas Mockus, Department of Training Science, Lithuanian Sports University, Sporto 6, Kaunas, Lithuania or e-mail ([email protected]). 2 The authors of the article are grateful to the Lithuanian Boxing Federation for the permission to conduct research with boxers of the Lithuanian National Team.

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BOXERS’ SPORT MASTERY 51

increase in lactate concentration and ensure faster recovery during the rest intervals between each round ( Hogan & Smith, 1994 ; Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ; Chatterjee, Banerjee, Majumdar, & Chatterjee, 2006 ). Lactate concentra-tion in the blood of elite boxers during the match may reach 14.5 mmol/l ( SD = 0.6; Ghosh, 2010 ). If lactate concentration is high before a subsequent round, the intensity of the fi ght decreases and the accuracy of blows de-clines ( Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ; Ghosh, 2010 ). Current research indicates that maximal oxygen uptake indices (VO 2 max) of elite boxers on the Greek na-tional team was 55.8 ml·kg −1 ·min −1 ( Sevas, Alexander, Eleftherious, & Vas-silis, 1986 ); for Hungarian boxers 61.0 ml·kg −1 ·min −1 ( SD = 4.9; Friedmann, Jost, Rating, Weller, Werle, Eckardt, et al ., 1999 ); for Indian national team boxers 61.7 ml·kg −1 ·min −1 ( SD = 9.0; Khanna & Manna, 2006 ); and for box-ers on the British national team 63.8 ml·kg −1 ·min −1 ( SD = 4.8; Smith, 2006 ). Guidetti, et al . (2002 ) reported a signifi cant correlation between VO 2 max of medium weight category boxers and their athletic fi tness. However, there is not much research about the interaction of separate components of aero-bic fi tness and boxers' performance rankings or sport mastery.

Research goal . Elite boxers of diff erent weight classes were recruited for a treadmill test, to establish aerobic capacity indices and their interac-tion with the sport mastery indices (points in qualifi cation rankings).

METHOD

Participants The research participants were 12 boxers from the Lithuanian national

team ( M age = 21.8 yr., SD = 3.4; M height = 1.82 m, SD = 0.97; M weight = 79.2 kg, SD = 13.8 kg; M body fat = 10.5%, SD = 3.5). Among them fi ve boxers were medal winners at the European Boxing Championships, and another sev-en were medal holders at the Lithuanian Boxing Championships. The box-ers were ranked according to their sports achievements during the last year cycle: in the Lithuanian Boxing Championship, the International EABA, the AIBA Boxing Tournaments, the European Boxing Championship, the European Youth Boxing Championship, the World Boxing Championship, the World Stu-dents' Boxing Championship, and the World Armed Forces Championship. The ranking points were calculated according to the Sport Mastery Ranking Scale approved by the Lithuanian Boxing Federation ( Table 1 ). Points for the achieve-ments in the championships mentioned above were summed.

The research was approved by the Kaunas University of Medicine Ethics Committee. All boxers gave informed consent to participate in the research. The study was carried out at the laboratory in the Centre for Fundamental and Clinical Movement Research at the Lithuanian Sport University. The boxers' ranking points, age, and body composition indi-ces are provided in Table 2 . Body composition was evaluated using a body


V. BRUZAS, ET AL.52

TABLE 1 BOXERS' SPORT MASTERY RANKING SCALE

Contest PlacePoints for:

Place Participation Match Won

World Boxing Championship

1 20 5 3

2 15 5

3–4 10 5

5–8 5 5

9–16 3 5

17–32 2 5

European Boxing Championship

1 15 2 2

2 10 2

3–4 8 2

5–8 4 2

9–16 3 2

17–32 2 2

World Students' Boxing Championship

1 10 1.5 2

2 8 1.5

3–4 5 1.5

5–8 3 1.5

9–16 2 1.5

17–32 1 1.5

World Armed Forces Championship

1 10 1.5 2

2 8 1.5

3–4 5 1.5

5–8 3 1.5

9–16 2 1.5

17–32 1 1.5

European Youth Boxing Championship

1 7.5 1 1

2 5 1

3–4 4 1

5–8 2 1

9–16 1.5 1

17–32 1 1

International EABA, AIBA Boxing Tournaments

1 5 1 1

2 3 1

3–4 2 1

Lithuanian Boxing Championship

1 3 0.5 0.5

2 2 0.5

3–4 1 0.5



composition analyzer (TBE-3000, Tanita Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). The following indices were established: height (cm), body mass (kg), body area (m 2 ), body mass index (kg·m 2 ), and body fat mass (kg and %).

The boxers' aerobic capacity was established while they performed a continuously increasing physical load test on the treadmill belt raised at the angle of 1 degree. After warming up, the participant ran for 3 min. at the speed of 7 km/hr, then after 3 min. of running the speed of the tread-mill belt was increased every 6 sec. by 0.1 km/hr, so participants ran at a continuously increasing speed. The test was discontinued when the par-ticipant could not run any longer due to fatigue or could not maintain the established speed of running. During this graded treadmill test, a gas analyzer (Oxycon Mobile, Jaeger Inc., Hoechberg, Germany) was used to continuously register the cardiorespiratory and metabolic variables: pul-monary ventilation (VE), tidal volume (TV), breathing frequency (BF), re-spiratory exchange ratio (RER), oxygen pulse (VO 2 ), and carbon dioxide output (VCO 2) . The heart rate (HR) was recorded by a heart rate monitor (Polar S-810, Polar Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland).

Before testing, the gas analyzer was calibrated according to the stan-dard procedures recommended by manufacturers using a gas mixture of known concentration. Ventilatory thresholds were determined according to the dependence of ventilatory equivalents for oxygen (VE/VO 2 ) and carbon dioxide (VE/VCO 2 ) and partial pressures of O 2 (PETO 2 ) and CO 2 (PETCO 2 ) at the end of expiration on the intensity of physical load (run-ning; Beaver, Wasserman, & Whipp, 1986 ; Whipp & Ward, 1991 ). VO 2 max was identifi ed at the occurrence of a plateau of VO 2 despite any further increase in running speed. Secondary criteria were also applied to verify the maximal eff ort such as attainment of age-predicted maximal HR and RER > 1.15. The peak value of VO 2 during 30 sec. at the plateau phase was considered as VO 2 max.

Statistical Analysis Statistical analysis of research fi ndings was performed using SPSS for

Windows programme package, release 17.0. Descriptive statistics of the tested indices were calculated. Retests were not performed because the re-liability of VO 2 max testing is well established and there are studies where similar comparisons were made without replicated increasing exercise tests (e.g. Guidetti, et al ., 2002). The relations between aerobic fi tness indices and sport mastery ranking were calculated using Spearman's ρ correlation co-effi cient. Statistical signifi cance for correlation coeffi cient was assumed at p < .05, when ρ exceeded .60.

RESULTS Descriptive characteristics of aerobic capacity parameters and their

correlation with sport mastery ranking are presented in Table 2 . Most pa-


V. BRUZAS, ET AL.54

TABLE 2 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF AEROBIC CAPACITY

PARAMETERS AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH BOXERS' SPORT MASTERY RANKING

Measure M SD ρVT1, km·hr −1 10.57 1.58 .66 *

VT2, km·hr −1 15.14 2.99 .82 †

VO 2 max, l·min −1 4.46 0.78 .78 †

VO 2 max, ml·kg −1 ·min −1 58.03 3.00 .63 *

VO 2 max, ml·kg −1 ·min −1 (0.75) 171.38 13.01 .79 †

VO 2 max, ml·kg −1 ·min −1 (0.944) 73.92 4.13 .70 †

VEmax, l·min −1 167.15 25.93 .87 †

TVmax, l 2.77 0.56 .79 †

BFmax, l·min −1 67.94 6.17 −.25

Oxygen pulse max, ml·beat −1 23.73 4.40 .88 †

Oxygen pulse max, ml·(beat·m 2 ) −1 12.06 1.31 .95 †

HRmax, beats·min −1 192.3 7.8 −.29

Note .—ρ = Spearman rank order correlation with boxing rank-ing. * p < .05. † p < .01. 0.75 = mass exponent traditionally used for allometric scaling of aerobic power; 0.944 = mass exponent calculated in this study for allometric scaling of aerobic power.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Points

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Oxy

gen

Puls

e M

ax, m

l · b

eat ·

m2-

1

FIG. 1. Correlation between boxers' maximal oxygen pulse and their sport mastery rank-ing points.



rameters of aerobic capacity were signifi cantly related to boxers' sport mastery ranking, and the highest correlation was observed with oxygen pulse expressed relative to body surface area (Fig. 1).

DISCUSSION The results suggest that aerobic capacity indices, such as VO 2 max, run-

ning speed at the ventilatory thresholds, absolute and relative maximal ox-ygen pulse, and maximal tidal volume are of great importance to boxers with high sport mastery. The very strong correlation with relative oxygen pulse emphasizes the importance of cardiac function in boxers' sport mas-tery irrespective of weight class. These results complement the fi ndings of other authors ( Ghosh, et al ., 1995 ; Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ; Chatterjee, et al ., 2005 ; Khanna & Manna, 2006 ; Smith, 2006 ; Ghosh, 2010 ); indices of Lith-uanian national team boxers' VO 2 max (ml/kg/min) were slightly higher than those of boxers on the Greek national team ( Sevas, et al ., 1986 ) and Hungarian nation team ( Joko, 1983 ), but lower than those of boxers on the Indian senior national team ( Khanna & Manna, 2006 ) and British national team ( Smith, 2006 ).

Boxers' achievements in sport depend on many factors: age, sports experience, body composition, physical fi tness, tactics, technique, func-tional capacity, and other factors ( Valentino, Esposito, & Fabozzi, 1990 ; Cynarski & Litwiniuk, 2002 ; Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ; Hatmaker & Werner, 2004 ; Schinke, 2007 ; Crisfulli, et al ., 2009 ; Ghosh, 2010 ). Research literature ( Warnick & Warnick, 2007 ; Schinke & Ramsay, 2009 ) indicates that box-ers' age, the number of won and lost matches, and the achieved results in previous competitions have a signifi cant eff ect on performance. The effi -ciency of boxers' contest fi ght, power, and accuracy of blows greatly de-pend on biomechanical parameters of boxing technique ( Whiting, Gregor, & Finerman, 1988 , Walilko, Viano, & Bir, 2005 , Hristovski, Davids, Araú-jo, & Button, 2006 ). Boxers' striking effi ciency during a match depends on their physical condition, physical fi tness, and the distance from which the blows are performed ( Hristovski, et al ., 2006 ). Cepulenas, Bruzas, Mockus, and Subacius (2011 ) have found that by hitting the punching bag 3 × 3 min.,with a 1 min interval, boxers develop the greatest force of blows during the fi rst round, but in the following rounds the force decreases. Energy consumption in the second and the third rounds also decreases compared to the fi rst round ( Cepulenas, et al ., 2011 ). When the energy consumption decreases, the intensity of the fi ght decreases as well.

Some authors ( Bruzas, Mockus, Cepulenas, & Maciulis, 2008 ) have found that the indices of boxers' height and weight correlate ( r = .64 and r = .61, respectively) with the force of blows hitting the punching bag in four rounds (4 × 2 min.). During the physical load fatigue depends on the


V. BRUZAS, ET AL.56

coherence of diff erent physiological factors at the central and peripheral levels ( Schinke, 2007 ), and due to the changes in this coherence the power of working muscles and the physical working capacity decrease ( Gribble & Hertel, 2004 ; Bove, Faelli, Tacchino, Lofrano, Cago, & Ruggeri, 2007 ). Maximal aerobic capacity of boxers and high anaerobic threshold can help avoid exhaustion ( Ghosh, et al ., 1995 ; Guidetti, et al ., 2002 ; Chatterjee, et al ., 2006 ; Ghosh, 2010 ). The indices of maximal aerobic capacity of the current sample of boxers ( Table 2 ) correlated with the ranking points of sport mas-tery. According to Guidetti, et al . ( 2002 ), the correlation between high mas-tery boxers' VO 2 max and the rankings of their sports achievements was r = .81, and their VO 2 max ( M = 46.0 ml·kg −1 ·min −1 , SD = 4.2) was correlated ( r = .91) with their contest ranking. Boxers' VO 2 max and anaerobic (venti-latory) thresholds are closely related to their sport mastery.

It is important to note that maximal oxygen pulse (both absolute and relative) demonstrated the strongest correlation with boxers' sport mas-tery ranking. The higher the oxygen pulse the greater the oxygen deliv-ered by the heart with every beat, the better muscles are supplied with ox-ygen and greater the physical work capacity. Oxygen pulse is signifi cantly related to stroke volume but not to the arteriovenous O 2 diff erence in men and women ( Bhambhani, Norris, & Bell, 1994 ). Special attention should be paid to development of cardiac capacity in boxers' training.

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Accepted May 22 , 2014 .


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AEROBIC CAPACITY IS CORRELATED WITH THE RANKING OF BOXERS 1,2