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BackgroundInnovative and engaging exercise interventions are needed to improve cardiometabolic health and exercise adherence in young adults with obesity. Sanda, a Chinese combat sport characterized by footwork, striking combinations, defensive movements, and attack–recovery transitions, may provide a practical intermittent exercise modality when delivered in a structured and low-contact format. However, its metabolic-load characteristics and adaptive effects in individuals with obesity remain insufficiently understood.ObjectiveThis study compared the effects of 12 weeks of structured low-contact Sanda training and moderate-intensity continuous cycling training on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness, ventilatory thresholds, and substrate oxidation profiles in young men with obesity, while describing the real-time metabolic-load distribution of both exercise modalities.MethodsThirty young men with obesity were randomly assigned to a structured Sanda training group or a moderate-intensity continuous cycling group. Both groups completed a 12-week intervention consisting of three 60-min sessions per week. Body composition was assessed before and after the intervention. A graded incremental cycling test was used to determine peak oxygen uptake, first and second ventilatory thresholds, maximal fat oxidation, and FATmax. During training sessions, oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, and energy expenditure were continuously monitored using a portable metabolic system.ResultsBoth interventions significantly improved body mass, body mass index, body fat percentage, cardiorespiratory fitness, and substrate oxidation indicators. Compared with moderate-intensity continuous cycling, structured Sanda training produced greater improvements in peak oxygen uptake and second ventilatory threshold power, whereas cycling training produced larger improvements in body fat percentage, maximal fat oxidation, and FATmax. Although total session energy expenditure was broadly comparable between groups, Sanda training showed a more intermittent metabolic-load pattern, with higher peak oxygen uptake, higher peak heart rate, and a greater proportion of time with respiratory exchange ratio above 0.95. In contrast, cycling training showed a more stable moderate-intensity load distribution.ConclusionUnder equal-duration intervention conditions, structured Sanda training and moderate-intensity continuous cycling both improved cardiometabolic and fitness-related outcomes in young men with obesity, but their adaptive profiles differed. Structured low-contact Sanda training may serve as an engaging combat-sport-based exercise option for improving cardiorespiratory fitness and high-intensity exercise tolerance, whereas moderate-intensity continuous cycling may be more favorable for improving fat oxidation profiles and reducing body fat. These findings support the potential value of structured Sanda training as an innovative exercise intervention for obesity-related health promotion, while highlighting the need to interpret the results as a comparison between two practical exercise modalities rather than as a fully load-matched comparison between standardized HIIT and MICT protocols.