The pacing of mixed martial arts sparring bouts : a secondary investigation with new analyses of previous data to support accelerometry as a potential method of monitoring pacing

Kirk, C; Atkins, SJ; Hurst, HT

Abstract

Purpose. Body-worn accelerometry has been shown to be reliable and used to measure the external load of mixed martial
arts (MMA) via the Playerload metric. These measurements were only reported on a round-by-round basis, offering little
indication of minute-by-minute load changes. Understanding these changes may provide a proxy measure of fatigue, readiness, and the onset of non-functional overreaching. It is also unclear as to what Playerload is measuring in MMA. This study
was a secondary investigation of previously reported data to describe minute-by-minute changes in external load in MMA.
Methods. Six male MMA competitors participated in a 3 × 5 minute sparring bout wearing a Catapult Minimax × 3,
which recorded accumulated Playerload. The bouts were video-recorded. Time-motion analysis was used to determine:
total active time; total inactive time; high-intensity time; low-intensity time; standing time; grounded time; striking time;
non-striking time.
Results. Bayesian repeated measures ANOVA found statistically relevant differences in accumulated Playerload for each
minute of sparring (BF10 = 410) with no statistically relevant differences between winners and losers. Bayesian correlations
revealed a direct, nearly perfect relationship between accumulated Playerload and total active time (r = 0.992, BF10 = 9,666).
No other relationships between Playerload and time-motion analysis results were observed, despite Bayesian t-tests finding
differences between standing time and grounded time (BF10 = 83.7), striking time and non-striking time (BF10 = 1,419).
Conclusions. Playerload reflects overall active movement in MMA and measures active movement minute-by-minute
changes but cannot distinguish between different modes or intensities of movement. This should be investigated further
as a potential measure of fatigue and non-functional overreaching during MMA training.

Citation

Kirk, C., Atkins, S., & Hurst, H. (2020). The pacing of mixed martial arts sparring bouts : a secondary investigation with new analyses of previous data to support accelerometry as a potential method of monitoring pacing. Human Movement, 21(4), https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2020.94194

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 29, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jun 18, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 18, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jun 16, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 1, 2020
• Journal: Human Movement
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 4
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2020.94194
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.5114/hm.2020.94194
• Related Public URLs: https://www.termedia.pl/Journal/Human_Movement-129