The purpose of this study was to characterize the adaptations imposed by 4 weeks of precompetition judo training in youth athletes. It was hypothesized that anthropometric and sport-specific performance would improve during the preparation for a junior national championship event. Twenty youth athletes (mean ± SD; chronological age: 13.1 ± 3.2 years; training age: 5.3 ± 3.5 years; judo experience: 7.8 ± 2.5 hours per week) completed pretesting and posttesting procedures. Child (12 years old; n = 8) and adolescent (13 years old; n = 12) groups were evaluated to determine the anthropometric and sport-specific performance changes caused by 4 weeks of judo training conducted in preparation for the junior national championships. The child group showed an increase in flexibility (11.5%), and the adolescent group showed a decrease in skinfold thickness (-12.2%); increased jumping power (26.7%), force (7.7%), and velocity (19.0%); and improved judo-specific ability (-5.9%), as measured by the Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) index. Additionally, the SJFT index for all the study participants was shown to be inversely correlated to handgrip strength (r = -0.681), rope pull performance (r = -0.545), and jump height (r = -0.503). These results support the use of preparatory judo training in the improvement of anthropometric and sport-specific measures in adolescent athletes. Furthermore, the outcomes from this study provide direction for coaches and trainers in their efforts to impact physical performance and judo skills in children and adolescents through precompetition training.
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