STRENGTH PROFILES AND PERFORMANCE IN MASTERS LEVEL SWIMMERS

The purpose of this study was to profile shoulder, trunk, and thigh st rength and shoulder range of motion in competitive Masters' level swim mers and to see if these variables were related to swimming performanc e. Twenty-four Masters' level swimmers (13 men and 11 women) were test ed for isometric trunk flexion and extension, isokinetic knee extensio n and flexion, shoulder abduction, internal rotation, external rotatio n, and supraspinatus muscle strength; shoulder internal and external r otation range of motion; and 50-yard swimming time. Strength scores we re adjusted for weight. The men were significantly stronger than the w omen in trunk extension and flexion. Shoulder range of motion, shoulde r abduction strength, and thigh strength were equal for both the men a nd the women. The men were stronger than the women in internal and ext ernal shoulder rotation. Conversely, the women tested were significant ly stronger than the men in the supraspinatus muscle test. The men wer e significantly faster than the women in the 50-yard swim. Inverse rel ationships existed between swimming time and trunk flexion, trunk exte nsion, and shoulder internal rotation strength. Trunk flexion strength remained the only significant predictive variable of swimming time in a multiple regression analysis.