Physiological Profiles of Elite Judo Athletes
A model of combat sports and conditioning
Key Findings (abstract)
Body fat is generally low in elite judo athletes, except for heavyweight competitors
Elite judo athletes show higher UPPER-BODY anaerobic power and capacity than non-elite athletes
Lower-body dynamic strength distinguishes elite from recreational players, but not from high-level players competing for national-team spots; maximal isometric strength is NOT a discriminating variable; more studies on isometric strength ENDURANCE are warranted
Aerobic power and capacity are thought to matter for judo, yet the available data show NO differences across competitive levels; VO2max typically sits around 50-55 mL/kg/min in men and 40-45 mL/kg/min in women judo athletes; heavyweights have lower aerobic power
The usual male-female differences in anaerobic power/capacity, aerobic power, and maximal strength and power are seen in judo athletes too; differences among the seven weight categories need further research
Practical Application
Review of elite judo profiles: low body fat (except heavyweights), VO2max around 50-55 (men) / 40-45 (women) mL/kg/min, and the variables that separate elite from non-elite are upper-body anaerobic power and capacity — not aerobic power (no difference between levels) and not maximal isometric strength. Conditioning for judo should be built around specific upper-body anaerobic work and lower-body dynamic strength
The aerobic base still matters for training tolerance and between-bout recovery. Inference, not shown in this abstract; the base's general repeated-effort logic is in REF-551
Weight-cutting by acute dehydration is a known risk in weight-class sports; it is not addressed in this abstract. Not from this paper; see REF-341-345 for energy availability
Conditioning = specific anaerobic power + dynamic strength + an aerobic floor. Not from this paper; the base's own practice (HIIT §49, strength §4)
Limitations
Narrative review; profiles vary by weight category, sex, age and level, and the authors call for more research on isometric strength endurance and weight-category differences
Specific to judo; other combat sports (boxing, MMA, wrestling) have a different aerobic-anaerobic balance
The technical-tactical component of combat sports is beyond physiology
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from A: narrative review without systematic method (leading judo-science group)
Content correction 2026-09-27
"VO2max ~55-60 mL/kg/min" -> abstract: 50-55 (men), 40-45 (women)
"The aerobic base is critical for recovery between throws" and "specific grip strength is a determinant" -> abstract: aerobic power does not differ between competitive levels; maximal isometric strength is not a discriminator; the discriminator is upper-body anaerobic power/capacity (and lower-body dynamic strength vs recreational players)
Weight-cutting claim labelled as not from this paper
Level A -> B+ (narrative review); Sport line "running, combat, strength" -> "judo, combat"