1 Department of Exercise Physiology, Faculty of P.E and sport sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

The initial testing session can give the athletes an idea of where their fitness levels are at the start of a program, so that future testing can be compared to this and any changes can be noted. A baseline is especially important if coaches are about to embark on a new training phase. Subsequent tests should be planned for the end and start of each new phase. By repeating tests at regular intervals, coaches can get an idea of the effectiveness of the training program. The time-frame between tests can depend on the availability of time, the phase of training the athlete is in, the effort required of the test, and the parameter being tested. Depending of these factors, the period between tests may range from two weeks to six months [10].

Arabaci and Çankaya (2008) investigated the effect of a seasonal training program on some physiological parameters among cadet and junior wrestlers. They reported significant increases in the strength, aerobic capacity, flexibility, anaerobic power of wrestlers during the general preparation, special preparation and competition periods (p<0.05) [2]. Ziagil et al. (1996) reported that the flexibility of wrestlers before the season and at the end of the season were 29.08 and 35.30 cm, respectively, as measured on a sit and reach test. They also indicated that the VO₂max of cadet wrestlers is 48.84 ml·kg^-1·min^-1 and their aerobic capacity increased 1.49% in a year [22]. Baer et al. (1983) reported that BF% of wrestlers decreased by 12% from the beginning to the end of the season [3]. Schmidt et al. (2005) investigated the effects of a competitive wrestling season on body composition, muscular strength, and muscular power in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III college wrestlers, and reported a significant decline in back squat and bench press strength from preseason to midseason [16]. Utter et al. (2002) studied the physiological changes of a nationally ranked, senior elite freestyle wrestler, during a 7-month observation period as he prepared for the 2000 Olympic freestyle wrestling trials. The results showed that in the 7 months before a major event, the subject developed a high level of wrestling-specific fitness for muscular strength, anaerobic power and capacity, and aerobic conditioning despite a small decrement (1 kg) in fat free mass [21]. Buford et al. (2006) investigated the effects of a competitive wrestling season on body weight, hydration, and muscular performance in collegiate wrestlers. They reported a significant increase in weight and muscular performance (p < 0.05) following the completion of the competitive season [5]. Buford et al. (2008) in another study examined the physiological response of collegiate wrestlers to their competitive season. They reported an increase in BF% (3.6%) between pre and post season. The post season testing was done 2 weeks after the season was completed. There was a much smaller increase between preseason and prenationals of 0.7%. The majority of the increase occurred in the 2 weeks between the national championships and the post season testing [6].

The information regarding cadet wrestlers and periodization of training in wrestling is limited. Furthermore, the major use of testing is to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the athlete, and this is done by comparing test results to other athletes in the same training group, the same sport or a similar population group. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate changes in physiological parameters in cadet wrestlers following a 4-week general preparation phase of training.

Subjects

Fifteen cadet wrestlers were recruited from wrestling clubs in the Iranian province of Kurdistan and served as subjects in this study. They all had at least 3 years training experience and were representative of the top wrestlers of Kurdistan competing in national competitions. Before participating, the subjects’ parents were informed of the potential risks and gave their written informed consent for their children to participate in this study, which was consistent with the human subject policy of the Guilan research center. Subject characteristics were as follows (mean ± SE): age (15.20±0.94 yr); height (169.07±8.38 cm); and weight (47.69±13.86 kg).

Training program

The exercise program consisted of 28 sessions (2 sessions of combat (live) wrestling, 1 session reviewing and practicing techniques, 2 sessions of interval running, 1 session of endurance training and 1 session of strength training each week). Due to the possible risk of weight training for adolescent athletes, wrestling specific exercises using body weight was employed in the strength training. Between any two exercise sessions enough time was given for adequate recovery. In general, the training emphasized cardiovascular endurance and muscular strength factors.

Testing procedures

The testing was conducted twice, before and after the 4-week training period. The physiological parameters included cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, speed, agility, flexibility, anaerobic power and body composition. Subcutaneous body fat was measured at 3 sites (chest, abdominal and thigh) with a Lafayette caliper. Body fat percent was computed through the formula developed by Jackson & Pollock (1978) [11]. Height and weight were also recorded.

Flexibility testing consisted of the sit-and-reach test. The subject sits in front of a sit-and-reach testing box and was instructed to reach forward, with palms down and one hand on top of the other along the measuring scale of the testing box. The reach was repeated three times with a maximum reach on the third repetition and held for 1 second. The distance of the fourth reach was used as the absolute measure for the sit-and-reach test [8].

A 40-yd sprint test was used to assess speed. A pull-up test (with palms facing the subject) was used to assess muscular endurance and a 1-minute bent-knee sit-up test was used to assess abdominal muscular endurance. The bent-knee sit-up test required the subject to lock his hands behind his head and touch his elbows to the thigh with a partner holding his ankles [14].

A 4 × 9-m shuttle run test was used to assess agility. The subject touched a sensor with his hand at each 9-m line. 12 minute run test was used to estimate VO₂max. After a warm up, the subject runs as far as possible in 12 minutes. Tester records distance covered (kilometers, and meters). VO₂max was assessed by following formula: VO_2max = (22.351 × kilometers) - 11.288 [7]. In the standing long jump test, all subjects were instructed to perform a maximal horizontal jump from a standing position. Standardized instructions were given to the subjects that emphasized the need to dip their body by bending the knees and to swing their arms to assist in the jump. A line drawn on a hard surface served as the starting line. The length of the jump was determined using a tape measure, which was affixed to the floor and measured from the tip of the toes to where the heels landed on the floor. Each subject was given 3 trials, and the longest jump was used as the test score [1].

The testing was completed in three days in a standardized order to allow for adequate recovery. Coaches and teammates provided verbal encouragement throughout each test.

Statistical methods

All descriptive data are expressed as means ± SD. The obtained results were analyzed using paired-samples t test, to compare the two stages of preparation (P ≤ 0.05). Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 16.0 for Windows.

Body composition, aerobic power, agility and speed measures of subjects are presented in Table 2. The BF% of the subjects significantly decreased (P ≤ 0.05) and at the same time a tendency was observed towards an increase in body weight (statistically insignificant differences). Speed, agility and aerobic factors all improved (statistically insignificant differences).

Table 2

* Differences are significant at the 0.05 level.

Table 3 shows the values of anaerobic, muscular endurance and flexibility. The results of pull-up and sit-up tests were slightly higher in after training but due to a high variance of results, the differences were statistically insignificant. The results of anaerobic and flexibility tests significantly increased.

Table 3

* Differences are significant at the 0.05 level.

The significant reduction in BF was most likely by the large volume of endurance training [12 sessions]. The reduction in body fat percentage after the endurance training is in agreement with the studies of Fathi et al. (2009) who concluded that the physical activity can influence body composition [9]. This result is also supported by Baer et al (1983) [3]. A slight increase in body weight may have been caused by low strength training. In contrast, Shriver et al. (2009) reported that wrestlers did not experience significant decrease in their body fat from preseason to in-season [18].

In the present study, anaerobic power was increased significantly. This result is in agreement with the studies of Matos and Winsley (2007) who reported that adolescents are able to improve their anaerobic power when following a dedicated anaerobic training program [13]. Thorstensson and Karlsson (1976) showed that strength training with submaximal loads increased anaerobic power significantly. No significant improvement in the speed test was achieved [20]. The small magnitude of gains may be attributable to the short duration of the training. When assessing speed trainability and other short-term activities like a long jump or countermovement jump, the plasticity of neuromuscular coordination and motor skills must also be considered [4, 13, 17].

In the sit-and-reach test, significant improvement was achieved. Studies indicate that adequate flexibility is necessary for many offensive and defensive movements [8]. Flexibility in the hips and legs permits a wrestler to lower the center of gravity in the defensive position [17]. Also flexibility enables the wrestler to deform enough to avoid tissue tearing as well as to slip out of positions that would otherwise be disabling [15]. The improvement of flexibility may have been the result of flexibility exercises at the beginning of all session. These results are in agreement with the study of Arabaci and Çankaya (2008) [2].

In the aerobic test, a slightly increase was found in VO₂max (statistically insignificant differences). The small magnitude of gains may be attributable to the low duration of the training and applied training protocol. According to the literature, it is believed that children show a reduced magnitude of improvements in aerobic fitness after endurance training than that seen in adults [15]. However this result was lower than value reported by Ziagil et al. (1996) who reported that VO₂max of cadet wrestlers is 48.84 ml kg^-1 min^-1 [22].

No significant increases in the muscular endurance tests were observed. But in contrast, Arabaci and Çankaya (2008) reported a significant increase in result of push-up test [2]. This may be due to the training level of the subjects and their training phase.

Our results indicate that the wrestlers experienced significant changes in BF%, anaerobic power and flexibility during 4 week training. Cadet wrestlers’ flexibility, anaerobic and aerobic power, speed, agility is trainable, although the improvements may be smaller than seen in junior and senior wrestlers.

We thank Mr. Amir Meyhami and Mr. Mehdi Erfani (coaches) of the wrestling Takhti club and Mr. Taher Afshar-Nejad (statistical adviser) for their cooperation in this study.

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Came to edition 08.02.2011.

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