2013, Volume 9, Issue 1

Biological and behavioural factors conditioning muscular power in men aged 30 to 60 years

Jerzy Rottermund¹, Andrzej Knapik², Michał Kuszewski³, Edward Saulicz³, Mirosław Kokosz<sup>3

1</sup>Department of Physiotherapy, High Administration School, Bielsko-Biała, Poland
²Department of Health Care, Silesian Medical University, Katowice, Poland
³Department of Physiotherapy, The University of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland

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Abstract

Background and Study Aim: The increasing life span and sedentary lifestyle of the general population impose higher demands on functional fitness, including muscular power. The aim is determine biological and behavioural factors conditioning muscular power in adult males.
Material and Methods: A total of 175 healthy male subjects (aged 30-60 years; divided into three groups on the basis of age) were recruited, presenting different levels of past and present physical activity. In order to determine the level of maximal muscular power, two tests, which are considered appropriate for the population research, i.e. medical ball throw for upper limbs and long jump for lower limbs, were used as research method. Descriptive statistics, calculation of correlation between morphological variables and power, as well as measurement of the level of differences between the three age groups were made.
Results: Age, past and present level of physical activity are the factors significantly differentiating the level of muscular power. Among the morphological variables researched, only body mass, in particular lean body mass (LBM) is positively correlated with the results of the long jump test.
Conclusions: As the age increases, the influence of morphological variables on the level of muscular power becomes stronger. Muscular power is also conditioned by the past and present level of physical activity.

Key words: motor fitness, muscular power, transposition effect