Lower and Upper Body Muscle Characteristics among Collegiate Baseball and Soccer Players

Abstract

Increased muscular strength in athletes has shown a prolific effect in the development of sports skills including jumping, throwing, sprinting, and change of direction abilities. Sports, such as soccer and baseball, differ largely in specific characteristics needed for success. To date, few studies have reported differences in sports specific skills between these two sports to measure and quantify the neuromechanical capacity. PURPOSE: To compare both lower and upper body strength among collegiate baseball (BB) and soccer (SC) players. METHODS: In this non-randomized cross-sectional study, 19 baseball and 19 soccer players, age ranges from 18-25 years completed the protocols. Lower body strength and power were assessed by a two-leg press maximal strength test (1RM) and vertical jump test (Just Jump Mat, Tendo Sports Machine), respectively. Upper body strength was assessed by a handgrip (HG) test using handgrip dynamometry (Takei, Japan). RESULTS: Independent sample t-test showed BB players (88.05 ± 7.1 kg) were significantly heavier than SC players (72.1 ± 7.2 kg) (p<0.05). However, weight-adjusted upper body strength and leg power were not significantly different between the two groups. BB players had significantly higher jump height (JH), time in air, and 1RM leg strength compared to SC players (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BB players showed significantly higher lower muscle strength compared to SC players, however no differences were observed for peak power. These results provide a quantitative measure of the performance difference between these two sports, reinforcing the need for further research along with large sample size to assess the possible differences in training effectiveness and inherent characteristics between BB and SC players.Table 1: Athlete Performance Variables (Adjusted Mean ± SE)