Comparison of The Effect of Eight Weeks of Combined Exercises and Caffeine Supplementation on Anaerobic Capacity, Fatigue index, Aerobic Endurance and Skill Test in Elite Female Taekwondo Athletes

One of the concerns of professional athletes is to increase their performance. In intense activities, the rapid exhaustion of energy and the increase of lactic acid accumulation are among the factors of performance reduction during a period of competition. The purpose of this study was comparing the effect of eight weeks of combined training and caffeine supplementation on anaerobic capacity, fatigue index, aerobic capacity and foot strike speed of elite female taekwondo athletes.

The present study was a semi-experimental and applied study with a pre-test and post-test research design. The statistical population of the research consisted of elite female taekwondo athletes of Karaj city, 28 subjects were selected as samples and divided into two groups: 1) combined exercise and 2) caffeine supplement + combined exercise in groups of 14 people. T-correlated statistical and ANOVA tests were used to investigate the differences within groups and between groups.

The results of the correlated t-test showed that the mean of the pre-test and post-test of the subjects were significantly different in all indicators [(Aerobic endurance in the combined exercise group with caffeine consumption, P=0.003), (Aerobic endurance in the combined exercise group without caffeine consumption, P=0.005) and (indicators of foot strike speed, anaerobic power and fatigue in both group, P=0.000)] and the athletes' performance was better in the post-test. The results of the ANOVA test showed that only the average of foot strike speed was significantly different between the two groups, and taekwondo athletes in the combined training + caffeine performed better than combined training alone group.

Since improving even a small amount of physical and functional variables is important for elite athletes, it is recommended to use caffeine supplements along with sports training.