Validity of a novel specific wrestling fitness test

Abstract

The specific wrestling fitness test (SWFT) is a novel test aiming to estimate the level of physical preparedness of wrestlers; therefore, it should posses an acceptable level of validity. The aim of this study was to investigate an internal, external, and construct validity of SWFT. The sample consisted of 15 national level male wrestlers (age522.662.3 years, body mass [BM]583.366.5 kg, and BM index [BMI]525.3661.2 kg·m22). They performed the SWFT, specific judo fitness test (SJFT), and specific wrestling performance test (SWPT), each test on a separate day. For each test, performance was evaluated in absolute measure as total number of throws at the end of the test (TnThrows) and relative measure as TnThrows/BM and TnThrows/ BMI. Heart rate at the end of the test (HR0min) and 1 minute into recovery (HR1min) was used as a measure of cardiovascular functionality, whereas specific judo fitness index (SJFIndex) was used as an indicator of cardiovascular functionality relative to given performance. A correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were used to investigate the internal, external, and construct validity of SWFT. The SWFT_TnThrows/BM had the highest internal validity relative to SJFT_TnThrows/BM (R250.722, p,0.001) and the highest external validity relative to SWPT_TnThrows/BM (r 5 0.846, p , 0.001). SWFT_TnThrows/BM predicted SWPT_TnThrows/BM with a large coefficient of determination (R2 5 0.818, p , 0.001). SWFT_TnThrows/BM is valid and easily attainable predictor of wrestlers’ specific physical preparedness and as such is of high practical value.