BackgroundBrazilian jiu-jitsu is a grappling combat sport that has intermittency as its core element; in other words, actions of high, moderate and low intensity are interspersed during matches, requiring a high level of conditioning to support optimal levels of performance for the total match time. The athletes perform from four to six matches during a day of competition, and this number may increase if the open-class competition, which is held parallel to the competition by weight class, is considered. This systematic review examined the physical and physiological profiles of Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes.MethodsOnly scientific researches dealing with the major fitness components of Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes (i.e. body composition and somatotype, aerobic and anaerobic profiles, muscular strength and power) and using accepted methods that provided relevant practical applications for a Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete’s fitness training and/or performance were included in the current review. A computer literature search was carried out of the PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, SportDiscus and Scopus databases (up to January 2016).ResultsThe database research generated 205 articles. After the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 58 studies were included for the present systematic review. A total of 1496 subjects were involved in all the selected investigations.ConclusionsBody fat is generally low for these athletes and the mesomorphic component is predominant. The different studies showed VO2max values between 42 and 52 mL/kg/min, and it seems that aerobic fitness does not discriminate among Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes of different competitive levels. There is a lack of scientific studies that have investigated anaerobic responses both in lower and upper limbs. Maximal dynamic, isometric and endurance strength can be associated with sporting success in Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes. Although decisive actions during Brazilian jiu-jitsu matches are mainly dependent on muscular power, more specific studies are necessary to describe it. Studies involving the female sex should be conducted. In addition, further research is needed to analyse whether there are differences between sex, belt ranks and competitive level, and among the different weight categories for different variables.

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is one of the most common substances used by athletes to enhance their performance during competition. Evidence suggests that the performance-enhancing properties of caffeine can be obtained by employing several forms of administration, namely, capsules/tablets, caffeinated drinks (energy drinks and sports drinks), beverages (coffee), and chewing gum. However, caffeinated drinks have become the main form of caffeine administration in sport due to the wide presence of these products in the market. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the different effects of caffeinated drinks on physical performance in various sports categories such as endurance, power-based sports, team sports, and skill-based sports. A systematic review of published studies was performed on scientific databases for studies published from 2000 to 2020. All studies included had blinded and cross-over experimental designs, in which the ingestion of a caffeinated drink was compared to a placebo/control trial. The total number of studies included in this review was 37. The analysis of the included studies revealed that both sports drinks with caffeine and energy drinks were effective in increasing several aspects of sports performance when the amount of drink provides at least 3 mg of caffeine per kg of body mass. Due to their composition, caffeinated sports drinks seem to be more beneficial to consume during long-duration exercise, when the drinks are used for both rehydration and caffeine supplementation. Energy drinks may be more appropriate for providing caffeine before exercise. Lastly, the magnitude of the ergogenic benefits obtained with caffeinated drinks seems similar in women and men athletes. Overall, the current systematic review provides evidence of the efficacy of caffeinated drinks as a valid form for caffeine supplementation in sport.

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The purpose of this paper was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the differences in the mean propulsive velocities between men and women in the different exercises studied (squat, bench press, inclined bench press and military press). Quality Assessment and Validity Tool for Correlational Studies was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Six studies of good and excellent methodological quality were included. Our meta-analysis compared men and women at the three most significant loads of the force–velocity profile (30, 70 and 90% of 1RM). A total of six studies were included in the systematic review, with a total sample of 249 participants (136 men and 113 women). The results of the main meta-analysis indicated that the mean propulsive velocity is lower in women than men in 30% of 1RM (ES = 1.30 ± 0.30; CI: 0.99–1.60; p < 0.001) and 70% of 1RM (ES = 0.92 ± 0.29; CI: 0.63, 1.21; p < 0.001). In contrast, for the 90% of the 1RM (ES = 0.27 ± 0.27; CI: 0.00, 0.55), we did not find significant differences (p = 0.05). Our results support the notion that prescription of the training load through the same velocity could cause women to receive different stimuli than men.