ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2022 March;181(3):139-45

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.20.04425-3

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Concurrent validity and reliability of an accelerometer to assess punching velocity in boxers

Isaac LÓPEZ-LAVAL ¹ ✉, Rafel CIRER-SASTRE ², Javier LOS ARCOS-LÓPEZ DE PARIZA ¹, Francisco CORBI ², Julio CALLEJA-GONZÁLEZ ³, Sebastian SITKO ¹

¹ Health and Sport Science Faculty, Physiatry and Nursing Department, University of Zaragoza, Huesca, Spain; ² Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya (INEFC), University of Lleida, Lleida Spain; ³ Faculty of Education and Sport Science UPV/EHU, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, instruments that measure velocity variations during training have become indispensable. The aim of this study was to measure the concurrent validity and reliability of an accelerometer for controlling real time maximal velocity (Vmax) in straight punches.
METHODS: Forty boxers were recruited for the study. Starting from their natural attacking position, all performed twelve Vmax straight punches; lead arm (LA) and rear arm (RA). The Hykso Punch Tracker^® accelerometer (Hykso Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada) and the biomechanical software Kinovea^® (San Francisco, CA, USA) were used to evaluate Vmax of each punch.
RESULTS: The correlation was large, positive, and significant for LA (r=0.92, [0.9, 0.94] and RA (r=0.9, [0.88, 0.92]). Mean bias was negative for both arms (LA=-0.24 m·s^-1; RA=-0.17 m·s^-1). Intradevice measurement reliability was good for LA (0.778-0.796) and moderate for RA (0.629 - 0.553).
CONCLUSIONS: Hykso Punch Tracker^® can be used for the assessment of the Vmax of straight punches in boxers.

KEY WORDS: Boxing; Exercise; Athletes