title: Physiological, performance, and nutritional profile of the Brazilian Olympic Wushu (kung-fu) team.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to determine physiological, nutritional, and performance profiles of elite Olympic Wushu (kung-fu) athletes. Ten men and four women elite athletes took part in the study. They completed the following tests: body composition, nutritional assessment, upper-body Wingate Test, vertical jump, lumbar isometric strength, and flexibility. Blood lactate was determined at rest and after the Wingate Test. Blood lactate was also determined during a training session (combat and Taolu training). We found low body fat (men: 9.5 +/- 6.3%; women: 18.0 +/- 4.8%), high flexibility (sit-and-reach-men: 45.5 +/- 6.1 cm; women: 44.0 +/- 6.3 cm), high leg power (vertical jump-men: 37.7 +/- 8.4 cm; women: 32.3 +/- 1.1 cm), high lumbar isometric strength (men: 159 +/- 13 cm; women: 94 +/- 6 cm), moderate arm mean and peak power (Wingate Test-men: 4.1 +/- 0.4 and 5.8 +/- 0.5 Wxkg, respectively; women: 2.5 +/- 0.3 and 3.4 +/- 0.3 W.kg, respectively), and elevated blood lactate after the Wingate Test (men: 10.8 +/- 2.0 mmolxL; women: 10.2 +/- 2.0 mmolxL) and during training (combat: 12.0 +/- 1.8 mmolxL; Taolu: 7.7 +/- 3.3 mmolxL). Men athletes consume a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, whereas women consume a moderate, high-carbohydrate diet. Energy consumption was markedly variable. In conclusion, Olympic Wushu seems to be a highly anaerobic-dependent combat sport. Low body fat, high flexibility, leg anaerobic power, isometric strength, and moderately high arm anaerobic power seem to be important for successful competitive performance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Applied Nutrition and Metabolism, Combat Sports and Martial Arts Research Group, School of Physical Education and Sport, Sao Paulo University, Sao Paulo, Brazil. artioli@usp.br
authors.forename: Guilherme Giannini
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Artioli
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gualano
authors.forename: Emerson
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Franchini
authors.forename: Rafael Novaes
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Batista
authors.forename: Viviane Ozores
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Polacow
authors.forename: Antonio Herbert
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Lancha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold; D054874:Athletic Performance; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D016139:Martial Arts / Q000502:physiology*; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010806:Physical Education and Training / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology; D011336:Probability; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007773:Lactates