Effect on professional wrestlers’ body composition and force using rapid and medium rapid methods for reducing body mass

Abstract

Wrestlers start reducing body mass before competitions in order to get into appropriate weight category disregarding to techniques of reducing body mass and their influence on health. K. Vadopalas and others (2008) state that the reason why physical efficiency of muscles decreases is loss of liquids – dehydration. Scientists states that choosing the proper diet is more important than reducing body mass rapidly in order to lose less force until competition (Lambert, Jones, 2010). Research aim was to estimate the effect of methods reducing body mass (rapid, averagely rapid) on wrestlers’ changes in body mass components and force. Research methods. Groups of research participants: one – wrestlers who did not reduce body mass (n = 47), two – wrestlers who reduced body mass rapidly (n = 16), three – wrestlers who reduced body mass averagely rapidly (n = 9). Muscle force (dynamometer MMT) and mass components (bio-impedance method Tanita 300) were estimated before and after reducing body mass. Research results. Before reducing body mass (rapidly, averagely rapidly) wrestlers’ body mass was greater (p<0.05) than after reducing it. Wrestlers lost 4.5% of body mass when reducing it rapidly (24–72 hours), when averagely rapidly (72 hours – 2 weeks) – 4.03%. After reducing body mass fat free body mass decreased tendentiously. Using rapid method, wrestlers’ force of both legs diminished (p<0.05), when using averagely rapid method, force of left leg diminished (p<0.05), right leg decreased tendentiously (p>0.05). Force of arms decreased (p<0.05) after reducing body mass by both methods. Discussion and conclusions: Wrestlers, who used rapid and averagely rapid methods for reducing body mass, upper arm abductor muscle force significantly decreased (p<0.05). Wrestlers, who used rapid and averagely rapid methods [...].