Body weight is an essential factor in judo, competitors, in addition to age, are classified into body weight categories. This classification is to ensure that the competitors are, at least approximately, equal in power, agility, experience, etc. This is leading some judoists, during the competing season, to periodically loss weight a few days before a competition to perform in the desired weight category, which is usually below that of their usual weight. To achieve this, judoists use a variety of methods to reduce their body weight, such as: reducing the intake of food and drink, exercising in rubber or plastic clothing, using saunas, using diuretics and even vomiting.
The thesis aimed to determine the means of losing body weight used by Slovenian judoists, the frequency of losing body weight, the number of lost kilograms by competitors before competitions and the involvement of coaches in the process of their competitors weight loss. The study included 34 Slovenian judoists with an average age of 19.97 ± 3.02 and who have been training judo, on average, for 12.94 ± 3.94 years. All participants were confirmed as categorized athletes on the Slovenian Olympic Committee’s list as of 01 October 2018.
We found that 59 % of competitors reduced their body weight for competitions. These competitors lose weight in an unplanned and uncontrolled way. We also saw that as many as 55% of competitors are loosing weight, on average, by 4.2 ± 0.99kg only 3-5 days before a competition. Some even lose up to 6kg in body weight before competing. Coaches are only rarely involved in the process of competitors losing body weight. In the majority of cases, the coaches do not have any control over their athletes’ weight loss. This situation among judoists and their coaches concerns us, as these are categorized athletes at the highest level. The data serves as a basis for updating the programme of professional staff training in judo and their licensed seminars with additional content regarding the planned reduction of body weight.
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