Strength Capacity and Body Mass Index Evaluation of Swimmers

Purpose. Muscle strength is an important component of physical ability. Insports such as swimming, this physical capacity has been increasingly evidentin training programs, thus becoming important for the performance of aquaticpractices. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the strengthcapacity and the body mass index (BMI) of swimmers. Methods. For this, 20swimmers of both sexes with a mean age of 38 ± 2 years were evaluated. Thehandgrip strength (HS) was assessed using a dynamometer and weight andheight for calculating BMI. Results. There were no differences in BMI be- tween genders (men (M): 25±1 kg./cm2; women (W): 24±0.9.kg./cm2. Menhad a higher HS (M: 42±2; W: 29 ± 2 kgf.) There was no correlation betweenthe HS and the BMI of the swimmers (M: r: 0.44; p: 0.19; W: r: 0.34, p:0.30). However, the behavior of the relation of the variables differs betweenthe sexes, in men the HS is higher according to a lower BMI, and in women,the HS is higher according to a higher BMI. referring to HS (M: 8.0±0.2;W: 8.4±0.6). Conclusions. Thus, the results of the present study show thatthe handgrip strength in swimmers is greater in males and does not presentcorrelation with BMI, however it is possible to observe a different behaviorbetween HS and BMI between genders, in men the relationship behavior isnegative and in women the relationship behavior is positive.