Strength Profiles and Performance in Masters' Level Swimmers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to profile shoulder, trunk, and thigh strength and shoulder range of motion in com petitive Masters' level swimmers and to see if these variables were related to swimming performance. Twenty-four Masters' level swimmers (13 men and 11 women) were tested for isometric trunk flexion and ex tension, isokinetic knee extension and flexion, shoulder abduction, internal rotation, external rotation, and su praspinatus muscle strength; shoulder internal and ex ternal rotation range of motion; and 50-yard swimming time. Strength scores were adjusted for weight. The men were significantly stronger than the women in trunk extension and flexion. Shoulder range of motion, shoul der abduction strength, and thigh strength were equal for both the men and the women. The men were stron ger than the women in internal and external shoulder rotation. Conversely, the women tested were signifi cantly stronger than the men in the supraspinatus muscle test. The men were significantly faster than the women in the 50-yard swim. Inverse relationships ex isted between swimming time and trunk flexion, trunk extension, and shoulder internal rotation strength. Trunk flexion strength remained the only significant pre dictive variable of swimming time in a multiple regres sion analysis.