Physiological Performance Predictions Based on Simple Assessments

Document Type

Conference Presentation

Department

Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences Department

Conference Title

American College of Sports Medicine - Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise conference

Organization

American College of Sports Medicine

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Date of Presentation

6-2-2018

Journal Publication

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

ISSN

0195-9131

DOI

10.1249/01.mss.0000538611.17356.2a

Volume

50

Issue

5S

First Page

793

Abstract

Muscular strength and cardiovascular capacity are important determinants of athletic performance. Fundamental assessments include lower body strength (e.g., squat max), upper body strength (e.g., bench press max), and aerobic capacity (VO2 max). For coaches who lack equipment to measure these parameters, it is important to know if there are feasible alternatives to accurately evaluate their athletes. PURPOSE: To determine if simple strength and aerobic assessments can be used in the place of equipment- intensive testing to evaluate college athletes. METHODS: Fourteen collegiate male rugby players were recruited and tested. Independent variables were age, height, weight, vertical jump, and 10-yard dash. Dependent variables were body fat percent (BF%) via hydrostatic weighing, bench press max, squat max, and VO2 max. Data were collected twice during the competitive season, one month apart. Multiple linear regression tested how well the simple assessments predicted the traditional performance measurements. RESULTS: On average, athletes were 19.6 years of age with a BMI of 25.2 kg/m2, 13.4% body fat, VO max of 45.5 ml/kg/min, bench press of 186.7lb, squat max of 269.5lb, 10-yard dash of 1.7 seconds, and vertical jump of 22.2 inches. At baseline, BMI (p<0.001) and 10-yard dash (p=0.023) predicted BF% (R2=0.881; p<0.001). Significance was preserved at follow-up (R2=0.751; p<0.001). At baseline, holding age constant, 10-yard dash predicted VO max (β=-31.4; p=0.002); the model was significant (R2=0.714; p=0.004) and was strengthened at follow-up (R2=0.780; p<0.001). Holding age and BMI constant, 10-yard dash predicted bench press (β=-222.7; p=0.023); the model was significant (R2=0.732; p=0.011) and retained at follow-up (R2=0.750; p=0.009). At baseline, holding BMI constant, squat max was predicted by vertical jump (β=8.9; p=0.005) and 10-yard dash (β=-263.5; p=0.013). The model was significant (R2=0.923; p<0.001) and retained at follow-up (R2=0.913; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of college rugby athletes, age, height/weight, vertical jump, and 10-yard dash were sufficient predictors of BF%, bench press, squat, and VO2 max. Our results indicate that it may be reasonable for comprehensive athletic evaluation to be simplified to accommodate a lack of equipment.

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