Monitoring the subjective internal load in elite level kumite-karate athletes: Role of the rest periods duration, breathing techniques, and training volume

Objectives: Study aimed to investigate interdependent effects of rest periods duration, breathing techniques, and training volume, on the set Rating of Perceived Exertion in elite-level karate athletes. Equipment and methods: Nine elite-level athletes (males = 6) participated in this study. We organized six training sessions, each consisting of 200 gyaku-zuki strikes divided into five sets with 40 repetitions per set, with varying rest and breathing techniques (kime, kiai, and without exhalation). The sessions included both short (30 seconds) and long (90 seconds) rest periods, and the training volume was analyzed separately for each of the five sets. Internal load measures were collected from participants during the between-set pauses. Results: The three-way within subject ANOVA have showed the that shorter rest (p = 0.013, η2 = 0.561) and a higher number of sets (p = 0.000, η2 = 0.861) lead to higher subjective responses compared to longer rest and fewer sets. Contrary, the subfactors of breathing techniques did not show significant effects (p > 0.05). Conclusion: This study provides insights into the advantages of rest period duration and training volume on subjective load during kumite-karate training sessions for elite-level karate athletes, suggesting that incorporating these factors could be a beneficial approach in designing kumite-karate training.