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Page 1 of 2  Sumo wrestling is unique in combat sport, and in all of sport. We examined the maximum aerobic capacity and body composition of sumo wrestlers and compared them to untrained controls. ABSTRACT
Sumo wrestling is unique in combat sport, and in all of sport. We examined the maximum aerobic capacity and body composition of sumo wrestlers and compared them to untrained controls. We also compared "aerobic muscle quality", meaning VO2max normalized to predicted skeletal muscle mass (SMM) (VO2max /SMM), between sumo wrestlers and controls and among previously published data for male athletes from combat, aerobic, and power sports. Sumo wrestlers, compared to untrained controls, had greater (p < 0.05) body mass (mean ± SD; 117.0 ± 4.9 vs. 56.1 ± 9.8 kg), percent fat (24.0 ± 1.4 vs. 13.3 ± 4.5), fat-free mass (88.9 ± 4.2 vs. 48.4 ± 6.8 kg), predicted SMM (48.2 ± 2.9 vs. 20.6 ± 4.7 kg) and absolute VO2max (3.6 ± 1.3 vs. 2.5 ± 0.7 L·min-1). Mean VO2max /SMM (ml·kg SMM-1·min-1) was significantly different (p < 0.05) among aerobic athletes (164.8 ± 18.3), combat athletes (which was not different from untrained controls; 131.4 ± 9.3 and 128.6 ± 13.6, respectively), power athletes (96.5 ± 5.3), and sumo wrestlers (71.4 ± 5.3). There was a strong negative correlation (r = - 0.75) between percent body fat and VO2max /SMM (p < 0.05). We conclude that sumo wrestlers have some of the largest percent body fat and fat-free mass and the lowest "aerobic muscle quality" (VO2max /SMM), both in combat sport and compared to aerobic and power sport athletes. Additionally, it appears from analysis of the relationship between SMM and absolute VO2max for all sports that there is a "ceiling" at which increases in SMM do not result in additional increases in absolute VO2ma
INTRODUCTION
Combat sports arguably contain unique characteristics in comparison to other sports: one must directly attack and conquer an opponent. Most combat sports require (in the physical realm) a mix of technique, strength, aerobic fitness, power, and speed. Thus, usually no one performance characteristic dominates in combat sports, like in (for instance) the shot put, where size, strength and power dominate, or marathon running, where ability to maintain continuous aerobic output dominates (Bassett and Howley, 2000).
One of the most unique combat sports is that of Sumo wrestling. To win in sumo, one must push one's opponent out of the ring, or cause the opponent to touch the ground with any part of the body except the soles of the feet. Although this sounds deceptively simple, sumo is an extremely complex sport requiring a combination of strength (Kanehisa, et al., 1997; 1998), massive size (very large fat free and fat mass; Hattori, et al., 1999; Kondo, et al., 1994), and probably some combination of anaerobic and aerobic capacity. The characteristics needed to participate at an elite level in this sport are held only by a select group of athletes. Interestingly, we could find no published study on the anaerobic or aerobic characteristics of sumo wrestlers.
The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the maximum aerobic capacity and body composition of sumo wrestlers with untrained controls, and to previously published data from participants in other combative, aerobic, and power sports. Untrained controls were used to indicate where on the aerobic capacity continuum that sumo wrestlers fall.
METHODS
Participants
Eight untrained college undergraduates (22.2 ± 1.0 yrs; all data presented as mean ± SD) and eight highly trained, championship-level college sumo wrestlers (21.1 ± 1.0 yrs) volunteered to participate in this study. The sumo wrestlers were members of Japan's number one collegiate team, and included a champion of the Japan Amateur Championship. Sumo wrestlers had been competitively training for a minimum of four years (5.5 ± 2.6 years). Controls had not participated in recreational sports for at least two years prior to testing. The department's ethical commission approved the study. All participants received a verbal and written description of the study and gave informed consent prior to testing. We also compared the results from the sumo wrestlers and untrained controls with previously published data from combative (including Judo, karate, boxing, wrestling, and Kendo), aerobic (including marathon, long and middle distance running, rowers, and cross country skiing), and power sports (including U.S. football, discus throw, shot put, and basketball; see Table 1). Weighted means of these groups from previously published results were calculated for comparison purposes.
Measurement of VO2 max
Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was assessed by graded work on a cycle ergometer (Aerobike 400, COMBI Co., Ltd.). The participants started to exercise at 30 W for 2 min, and the load was increased by 15 W every minute until exhaustion. The exercise was terminated when the participants failed to maintain the prescribed pedaling frequency of 60 rpm. Respiratory gas was collected with an automated breath-by-breath mass spectrometry system (Aeromonitor AE-280S, Minato Medical Science Co., Ltd.) and gas exchange was computed every 60 s. Heart rate was monitored by a Polar Heart Rate Monitor (Vantage XL, Polar, USA). The following criteria were used to establish maximum effort: oxygen consumption appearing to plateau with increasing workload (< 150 ml·min-1), maximum heart rate within ± 11 bpm of the age-predicted maximum (220-age), and a maximum respiratory exchange ratio above 1.15.
Measurement of body composition
Fat-free mass (FFM) was estimated from body density using the subcutaneous fat measurements from ultrasound (Body density = 1.090 - 0.00050 [sum 9 sites of AT thickness]; Abe, et al., 1994). We have previously reported that the standard error of the estimate (SEE) of body density using ultrasound equations is approximately 0.006 g·ml-1 (~ 2.5% body fat) in the normal Japanese population (Abe, et al., 1994). However, extracellular fluid content tends to increase in obese participants (Waki, et al., 1991) and may be higher in sumo wrestlers. If so, this could affect the estimation of body composition in sumo, but to what extent is unclear. Our unpublished observations show a significant strong correlation between under water weighing-measured body density and ultrasound estimated body density for sumo wrestlers (n = 45, r = 0.919, p < 0.001). However, after calculation of body fat percentage, these unpublished results suggested an overestimation of body fat by ~ 4%. Thus, our present results may overestimate body fat percentage in sumo wrestlers by ~ 4%. Body fat percentage was calculated from body density using the equation of Brozek, et al. (1963). FFM was derived by subtracting fat mass from total body mass.
Prediction of skeletal muscle mass
For all Participants and previously collected data, skeletal muscle mass (SMM) was predicted from FFM using the equation SMM = 1.47 x FFM + 18.1 (Abe et al., 2003).
Statistical analysis
Comparisons of body mass, FFM, percent body fat, and VO2max were made between sumo and controls using a t-test. Comparisons of the means of VO2max /SMM were made between sumo wrestlers, untrained controls, combat athletes, aerobic athletes, and power athletes via an ANOVA with Tukey's post-hoc test. Linear regression was used to assess relationships between FFM and VO2max, and percent body fat and VO2max /SMM. Statistical significance was set at p< 0.05.
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