The objective of this study is to propose and validate an interval taekwondo-specific cardiopulmonary exercise test (ITKDtest) and compare it with running cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and a continuous taekwondo-specific cardiopulmonary exercise test (CTKDtest). Fifteen athletes (age 22 ± 4 years; body mass 71.1 ± 10.2 kg; height 178.14 ± 8.3 cm; and body mass index 22.4 ± 2.4 kg/m²) performed CPET, CTKDtest, and ITKDtest on a counterbalanced order. Oxygen uptake (Vo2), heart rate (HR), and ventilatory thresholds (VTs 1 and 2) were measured during the 3 tests. ITKDtest started at 30 kicks per minute and increased 10 kicks each 2 minutes, with a period of passive recovery, lasting 1 minute. Interval protocol design simulated the temporal structure of an official taekwondo fight. Significant difference between specific tests was found for Vo2 VT1 (p = 0.03), Vo2 VT1 (%Vo2peak) (p = 0.009), Vo2 VT2 (p = 0.005), and Vo2 VT2 (%Vo2peak) (p = 0.013). Reliability was considered "excellent" for Vo2peak (a = 0.902; SEM = 0.179), "good" for Vo2 VT1 (a = 0.708; SEM = 3.823) and HRpeak (a = 0.803; SEM = 2.987), and "fair" for Vo2 VT2 (a = 0.659; SEM = 4.498) and HR VT2 (a = 0.580; SEM = 8.868). Bland-Altman analyses reported a mean difference of 2.9 ± 6.6 ml/kg/min (CPET-ITKDtest) and 1.4 ± 6.1 ml/kg/min (CTKDtest-ITKDtest). ITKDtest may be used for measurement of cardiorespiratory variables commonly used in exercise prescription, whereas CTKDtest seems to be a more appropriate method to assess Vo2 and HR at VTs.
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