Analysis of aerobic ability for taekwondo athletes through the application of heart rate and blood pressure monitoring system

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Taekwondo is a combat sport characterized by high-intensity intermittent actions that place substantial demands on the cardiovascular and metabolic systems of athletes. Competitive performance in taekwondo depends on the ability to sustain repeated high-intensity efforts while maintaining effective recovery between rounds, which highlights the importance of aerobic capacity alongside anaerobic performance. Despite the application of various monitoring approaches in training practice, the relative effectiveness of combining heart rate and blood pressure monitoring for evaluating aerobic adaptations in taekwondo athletes remains a matter of practical interest. This study aims to analyze the physiological responses and cardiovascular adaptations of Taekwondo athletes during an aerobic training program through the application of a wearable sensor monitoring system. Materials and Methods. A quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design was applied to 20 senior taekwondo athletes (age 20.35 ± 1.09 years) at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. The intervention consisted of a 4-week taekwondo technique-based aerobic training program. The training frequency was three sessions per week, with a duration of 45–60 minutes per session. HR was continuously monitored using a Polar H10 chest strap sensor, while BP was measured using the Omicron BW-3205 digital monitor. Data were recorded at rest, at peak load, and at the 1st and 2nd minutes post-exercise to measure heart rate recovery (HRR). Data analysis used the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, the paired samples t-test for normally distributed data, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test as a non-parametric alternative for systolic blood pressure (SBP) data that were not normally distributed. Statistical significance was set at p < .05, and effect sizes were calculated using Cohen’s d. Results. The study showed that during aerobic training sessions, athletes experienced an increase in recovery ability of 24.3% in the first minute (37.00 ± 6.63 bpm to 46.00 ± 6.95 bpm, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 2.46) and 13% in the second minute (47.00 ± 7.16 bpm to 53.00 ± 5.44 bpm, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 2.50). Furthermore, significant improvements in cardiovascular efficiency were observed. Resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased by 5.6% (126.00 ± 9.17 to 119.00 ± 5.05 mmHg; p = .000, Cohen’s d = 0.78), while post-exercise SBP showed a more pronounced decrease of 10.8% (148.00 ± 14.46 to 132.00 ± 13.32 mmHg; p = .002, Cohen’s d = 1.18). Significant improvements in HRR and hemodynamic efficiency (SBP) demonstrate positive cardiovascular adaptation to the 4-week training program. Conclusions. This study concludes that the integration of real-time HR and BP monitoring systems is effective for evaluating and optimizing the endurance of taekwondo athletes. The findings support the use of wearable technology as an evaluation tool for coaches to design more measurable, personalized, and data-driven training programs. Such programs may help mitigate the risk of overtraining while achieving peak performance.