The Assessment of Isometric, Dynamic, and Sports-Specific Upper-Body Strength in Male and Female Competitive Surfers

Parsonage, Joanna; Secomb, Josh; Dowse, Rebecca; Ferrier, Brendon; Sheppard, Jeremy; Nimphius, Sophia

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate gender differences in the dynamic strength index (DSI): an assessment of upper-body dynamic strength relative to maximal isometric strength. The secondary purpose was to investigate gender differences in the dynamic skill deficit (DSD): an assessment of sports-specific dynamic strength relative to maximal isometric strength, and its association with a sports-specific performance measure in surfers. Nine male (age = 30.3 ± 7.3 yrs) and eight female (age = 25.5 ± 5.2 yrs) surfers undertook three upper-body assessments: isometric push-up, dynamic push-up, and a force plate pop-up to determine the DSI and DSD. The performance measure of time taken to pop-up (TTP) was recorded. No gender differences for the DSI (d = 0.48, p = 0.33) or DSD (d = 0.69, p = 0.32) were observed. Normalized peak force (PF) of the isometric push-up, dynamic push-up, and force plate pop-up were significantly greater in males (p ≤ 0.05), with males recording significantly quicker TTP (d = 1.35, p < 0.05). The results suggest that male and female surfers apply a similar proportion of their maximal strength in sports-specific movements. However, greater normalized isometric and dynamic strength in males resulted in greater sports-specific PF application and a faster TTP. It would appear favorable that female surfers improve their maximal strength to facilitate sports-specific pop-up performance

Citation

Parsonage, J., Secomb, J., Dowse, R., Ferrier, B., Sheppard, J., & Nimphius, S. (2018). The Assessment of Isometric, Dynamic, and Sports-Specific Upper-Body Strength in Male and Female Competitive Surfers. Sports, 6(2), 53. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6020053

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 24, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jun 5, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 5, 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 15, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 23, 2018
• Journal: Sports
• Print ISSN: 2075-4663
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 53
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6020053
• Keywords: assessment; gender; performance; pop-up; skill
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/1206580
• Contract Date: Aug 23, 2018