Affiliations: [a] University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA | [b] University of Nebraska Medical Center, Lincoln, NE,
USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Robert W. Lewis Jr., B.S.,
Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, 110 Ruth Leverton Hall, University
of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0806, USA. Tel.: +1 402 472 2690; Fax: +1 402
472 0522; E-mail: rlewis@unl.edu
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study examined the relationships
between age and absolute peak torque (PT) as well as PT covaried for body
weight (BW), height (HT), and/or fat-free weight (FFW) in young girl
swimmers. METHODS: Twenty-nine girl swimmers (age=12.4 ± 1.9 yr) were
measured for isokinetic elbow flexion and extension PT at 30, 180, 300°
· s^{-1}, as well as BW, HT, and FFW. Zero-order
correlations as well as first, second, and third-order partial correlations
were used to determine the relationships for age versus PT and age versus PT
covaried for BW, HT, and/or FFW. RESULTS: There were age-related increases for all absolute PT
measures (r=0.47 to 0.77), except elbow flexion at 300° ·
s^{-1}. For all but one of the measures (forearm extension
at 30° · s^{-1}; r=0.42 to 0.56), the increases
in PT were accounted for by changes in BW, HT, and/or FFW. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that agef-related
increases in PT for four of the six measures were accounted for by BW, HT,
and/or FFW. The age-related increases in PT for elbow flexion at 30°
· s^{-1} independent of BW, HT, and/or FFW, may have
been due to neuromuscular maturation.
