Judo is a sport requiring strength, explosive power, endurance, and flexibility just to name a few. Paired with the demands of having the entire competition run on one day, it is necessary to individually assess each of these components to ensure that every member of the Team GB Judo squad are in peak condition for the Athens Olympic Games.

In order to assess each individual, the squad take part in periodical testing days in conjunction with the English Institute of Sport. As well as continually monitoring the athletes, the test results allow individuals to fine tune their training methods and work on any weaknesses.

Here we explain some of the tests the athletes undertook at a recent testing event at Bisham Abbey.

Aerobic Fitness

This measure identifies the amount of oxygen that each kg of bodyweight can take in and use effectively. The importance of this measure cannot be underestimated!

It can help in recovering from bouts of maximal or near maximal efforts, which is common in judo. Also over the course of a day where a player has several bouts, a well-developed and efficient aerobic system will certainly be of benefit. The blood being taken from the ear (as shown here) measures blood lactate concentrations at various intensities of activity.

Anaerobic Capacity (8 x 40m)

This measures a players ability to perform repeated maximal or near maximal efforts. The Fatigue Index (FI) indicates how well they maintained their speed over the 8 efforts.

Judo requires a player to be able to perform many maximal and near maximal efforts in matches, and so the score here is a useful measure of this ability. The lower the FI the better.

Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT)

This test attempts to identify judo specific fitness. It has a high requirement for anaerobic pathways and requires technical ability to maximise efficiency during performance.

Essentially the best measure of performance is to do the activity itself and this to date is the best test we have available. The index provided is a feature of a player’s heart rate response and the number of throws performed. The lower the index the better.  

Maximum Strength Tests

These tests dynamically measure the resistance a player can overcome in a set number of repetitions of a particular exercise. The exercises were chosen for their use of multiple joints and their recruitment of major muscle groups.

Strength in judo is important since throwing, pinning, lifting, pushing etc requires a player to overcome their opponent’s resistance.

The Bodyweight correction factor allows them to identify how much weight per kg of their own weight they can overcome in each exercise. Ideally these values should be a minimum of 1.00.

Total Body Power

Power is a product of both strength and speed. This test uses an exercise, which requires speed and strength and co-ordination. Similarly, judo requires these components.

The speed of execution of a technique in competition is vital in taking advantage of openings, opponent’s loss of balance etc.

The results from this test show how many watts (a measure of power) per kg of bodyweight a player can exert.