High intensity interval training method potentially increases muscle strength in karate athletes

Background & Objective This study aims to analyze the potential of HIIT training methods to increase the muscle strength and explosive power of karate athletes. Method This experimental research used a pre and post-control group design. The research subjects were selected using a purposive sampling technique and then the subjects were divided into 2 groups, namely the control group (K1) with aerobic exercises such as jogging and the treatment group (K2) with the HIIT method. A total of 24 healthy men aged 20-25 years participated in this study. The treatment was given in 17 meetings which were held 3 times in 1 week. Before being given treatment, pre-test data were collected for muscle strength, after being given treatment for 17 meetings, data were collected for post-test muscle strength. Muscle strength was measured using a leg dynamometer. Statistical analysis in this study used the IBM SPSS version 26 application, descriptive tests were carried out to obtain the mean, standard deviation, and standard error. Furthermore, the normality test was carried out using the Shapiro-Wilk method, if the data were normally distributed, the difference test was performed using a paired t-test, but if the data were not normally distributed, the difference was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results The results of this study reported that the group that was given the HIIT method was able to increase muscle strength significantly (·p