Estimated Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Multi-Discipline Martial Arts Athletes at the Beginning of Centralized Training: A Cross-Sectional Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53905/inspiree.v7i03.183Keywords:
cardiorespiratory fitness, oxygen consumption, martial arts, athletes, multistage fitness testAbstract
Background & objective: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important component of combat-sport physiology because repeated high-intensity actions require adequate aerobic support and recovery between efforts. However, evidence describing CRF across multiple martial arts disciplines within a single high-performance training cohort remains limited. This study characterized estimated CRF among West Kalimantan PELATDA martial arts athletes at the beginning of centralized training and examined sex-related differences and performance relative to an external historical comparator.
Materials & Methods: A cross-sectional observational study included 41 athletes (26 males and 15 females) representing 11 martial arts disciplines. CRF was assessed using the 20-m Multistage Fitness Test (MFT), and estimated VO₂max was calculated using the Léger regression equation. Age- and sex-specific normative reference values were used to classify CRF into Very Poor, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, and Superior categories. Between-sex differences in estimated VO₂max were examined using Welch’s independent-samples t-test. Fisher’s exact test assessed the association between sex and dichotomized CRF status. Exploratory one-sample t-tests compared observed mean estimated VO₂max with an external historical comparator of 44.0 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹.
Results: Mean estimated VO₂max was 36.72 ± 5.87 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ (range, 28.40–56.00; 95% CI, 34.87–38.58). Based on age- and sex-specific norms, 4 athletes (9.76%) were classified as Very Poor, 9 (21.95%) Poor, 14 (34.15%) Fair, 7 (17.07%) Good, 4 (9.76%) Excellent, and 3 (7.32%) Superior. Overall, 13 athletes (31.71%) were classified as Low CRF. Males had higher estimated VO₂max than females (38.00 ± 5.85 vs. 34.50 ± 5.40 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹), but the difference was not statistically significant, t(31.33) = 1.94, p = .062, Cohen’s d = 0.61. The sex-by-CRF association was also not statistically significant (Fisher’s exact p = .084; odds ratio = 4.77, 95% CI 0.89–25.57; Cramér’s V = 0.30). Compared with the 44.0 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ historical comparator, estimated VO₂max was lower in the total cohort, t(40) = −7.93, p < .001, d = −1.24.
Conclusions: The study provides a multi-discipline baseline profile of estimated CRF in a real-world provincial high-performance cohort. The findings demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in aerobic-fitness status and provide a practical reference for longitudinal athlete monitoring. Because the external comparator was derived from a small historical male Tae Kwon Do sample, it should be interpreted contextually rather than as a universal competitive standard.
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