To be successful in international competitions, judo athletes must achieve an excellent level of physical fitness and physical condition during training. This article reviews the physiological profiles of elite judo athletes from different sex, age and weight categories. Body fat is generally low for these athletes, except for the heavyweight competitors. In general, elite judo athletes presented higher upper body anaerobic power and capacity than non-elite athletes. Lower body dynamic strength seems to provide a distinction between elite and recreational judo players, but not high-level judo players competing for a spot on national teams. Even maximal isometric strength is not a discriminant variable among judo players. However, more studies focusing on isometric strength endurance are warranted. Although aerobic power and capacity are considered relevant to judo performance, the available data do not present differences among judo athletes from different competitive levels. Typical maximal oxygen uptake values are around 50-55 mL/kg/min for male and 40-45 mL/kg/min for female judo athletes. As for other variables, heavyweight competitors presented lower aerobic power values. The typical differences commonly observed between males and females in the general population are also seen in judo athletes when analysing anaerobic power and capacity, aerobic power, and maximal strength and power. However, further research is needed concerning the differences among the seven weight categories in which judo athletes compete.

BackgroundThe present article briefly reviews the weight loss processes in combat sports. We aimed to discuss the most relevant aspects of rapid weight loss (RWL) in combat sports.MethodsThis review was performed in the databases MedLine, Lilacs, PubMed and SciELO, and organized into sub-topics: (1) prevalence, magnitude and procedures, (2) psychological, physiological and performance effects, (3) possible strategies to avoid decreased performance (4) organizational strategies to avoid such practices.ResultsThere was a high prevalence (50%) of RWL, regardless the specific combat discipline. Methods used are harmful to performance and health, such as laxatives, diuretics, use of plastic or rubber suits, and sauna. RWL affects physical and cognitive capacities, and may increase the risk of death.ConclusionRecommendations during different training phases, educational and organizational approaches are presented to deal with or to avoid RWL.

Objective To conduct a systematic review and metaanalysis of the evidence on the effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise capacity and performance. Design This study was designed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A 3-level mixed effects model was employed to model effect sizes and account for dependencies within data. Data sources 3 databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science) were searched using a number of terms ('β-alanine' and 'Beta-alanine' combined with 'supplementation', 'exercise', 'training', 'athlete', 'performance' and 'carnosine'). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Inclusion/ exclusion criteria limited articles to double-blinded, placebo-controlled studies investigating the effects of β-alanine supplementation on an exercise measure. All healthy participant populations were considered, while supplementation protocols were restricted to chronic ingestion. Cross-over designs were excluded due to the long washout period for skeletal muscle carnosine following supplementation. A single outcome measure was extracted for each exercise protocol and converted to effect sizes for meta-analyses. Results 40 individual studies employing 65 different exercise protocols and totalling 70 exercise measures in 1461 participants were included in the analyses. A significant overall effect size of 0.18 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.28) was shown. Meta-regression demonstrated that exercise duration significantly ( p=0.004) moderated effect sizes. Subgroup analyses also identified the type of exercise as a significant ( p=0.013) moderator of effect sizes within an exercise time frame of 0.5-10 min with greater effect sizes for exercise capacity (0.4998 (95% CI 0.246 to 0.753)) versus performance (0.1078 (95% CI −0.201 to 0.416)). There was no moderating effect of training status ( p=0.559), intermittent or continuous exercise ( p=0.436) or total amount of β-alanine ingested ( p=0.438). Co-supplementation with sodium bicarbonate resulted in the largest effect size when compared with placebo (0.43 (95% CI 0.22 to 0.64)). Summary/conclusions β-alanine had a significant overall effect while subgroup analyses revealed a number of modifying factors. These data allow individuals to make informed decisions as to the likelihood of an ergogenic effect with β-alanine supplementation based on their chosen exercise modality.

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Rapid weight loss is highly prevalent in judo competitors. The level of aggressiveness in weight management behaviors seems to not be influenced by the gender or by the weight class, but it seems to be influenced by competitive level and by the age at which athletes began cutting weight.