Baseline Neuromuscular Performance and Responses to a Simulated Match in Young Athletes (SIMMATCH-NM)

Judo is a high-intensity intermittent combat sport. Matches produce marked blood lactate accumulation, loss of handgrip strength, and reduced lower-body power. Baseline physical profiling is widely used to monitor athletic development, but its ability to predict individual physiological and perceptual responses to a judo match in young athletes is not well understood.

This is a single-group, pre-post study. Fifteen male judo athletes aged 10-13 years will be recruited in Malatya, Turkey. Written informed consent will be obtained from parents or legal guardians, and assent from participants. About one week before testing, participants are familiarized with the procedures and the Borg 6-20 rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Participants avoid high-intensity training, caffeine and ergogenic supplements for 48 hours before testing. Testing takes place in a climate-controlled hall (20-22 °C).

Test day: After anthropometric measurements, baseline profiling is performed: McGill core endurance tests (trunk flexion, trunk extension, right and left lateral bridge), a 2-kg backward overhead medicine ball throw, a 20-m sprint, the pro-agility test, and a force-velocity profile using Samozino's field method (MyJump2 app, 240 fps video). After a standardized 10-minute warm-up (low-intensity jogging, dynamic stretching, breakfalls), pre-match measures are taken: blood lactate (finger-prick capillary sample, single-use lancet), countermovement jump height (contact mat) and handgrip strength (hand dynamometer).

Athletes then complete one 3-minute simulated judo match (randori) under International Judo Federation rules with a training partner of similar body mass (±5 kg), supervised by a coach. Immediately afterwards, blood lactate, jump height, grip strength and RPE are measured in this order within about 3 minutes.

Pre- and post-match values are compared with paired-samples t-tests (Cohen's d). Change scores (post minus pre) for lactate, jump height and grip strength, and RPE, are related to baseline variables using Pearson correlation and simple linear regression. The sample size (minimum 15) was calculated with G*Power for a paired t-test (d = 0.80, alpha = 0.05, power = 0.80).