Sports Physical Therapy
Conditions
Keywords
Core Muscle, Endurance, Punch speed, Boxer, Performance
Brief summary
This cross-sectional within-subject design study aimed to investigate the contribution of core muscles to punch speed and power among highly trained licensed boxers from a national team in North Cyprus.
Detailed description
From a biomechanical point of view, the high-impact force generated by the lower limbs in boxers is transferred through the stiff kinetic chain, which is stabilised by the core muscles to transform into a powerful punch in the upper extremity. Despite these essential functions, there is a lack of research on the effect of core muscles in boxing. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the contribution of core muscles in punching, and it was hypothesised that the endurance of trunk flexors, extensors, and lateral muscles on the dominant and non-dominant sides has a substantial contribution to punch speed and power in boxers.
Interventions
OTHERNo intervention
No intervention will be performed in this study.
Sponsors
Cyprus International University
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
MALE
Age
18 Years to 35 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Licensed boxers aged 18-35 years * Free of injuries * No history of surgery, visual, or vestibular disorders
Exclusion criteria
* Presence of any injury * History of surgery, visual, or vestibular disorders * Outside the age range of 18-35 years * Not holding a valid boxing license
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Endurance of trunk flexor muscles | 1 hour | The athlete will be positioned on a flat surface. The tester will stabilise the feet while the hip and knee joints are placed at 90 degrees of flexion. The upper extremities will be crossed over the shoulders, bringing the trunk into approximately 60-degree flexion. |
| Endurance of trunk extensor muscles | 1 hour | Subjects will lie prone with the lower body fixed to the test bed at the ankles, knees, and hips, and the upper body extended in a cantilevered fashion over the edge of the test bed. At the beginning of the exertion, the upper limbs will be held across the chest with the hands resting on the opposite shoulders, and the upper body will be lifted until the thoracic region is horizontal to the floor. |
| Endurance of Lateral Trunk (Oblique) Muscles | 1 hour | Subjects will lie on an exercise mat on their sides with legs extended. The top foot will be placed in front of the lower foot on the mat for support. Subjects will be instructed to support themselves by lifting their hips off the mat to maintain a straight line over their whole body length, and support themselves on one elbow and their feet. The uninvolved arm will be held across the chest with the hand placed on the opposite shoulder. |
| Evaluation of Punch Speed and Power | 1 hour | The rear direct punch type will be selected for the test. Punch speed and power will be tested using the Corner Accelerometer (Corner Wearables Ltd / UK), which has been found suitable for tracking punches. The devices will be fixed to both wrists of the boxers with Velcro and paired with the Corner mobile app via Bluetooth. Subjects will perform three rounds of shadow boxing using standard boxing gloves, with five minutes of rest between rounds for warm-up and device checking. Finally, the athletes will be asked to throw a total of five rear direct punches to the boxing bag using their dominant side, and the device will record the parameters of each punch separately and simultaneously, including speed in meters per second (m/sec) and power in gravitational force units (G-force). Of the five punches thrown, the fastest and most powerful will be selected for analysis. |
Countries
Turkey (Türkiye)
Outcome results
None listed