Relationship Between Strength And Power In Elite Short Track Speed Skaters

Abstract

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between strength and power in elite short track speed skaters. METHODS: Ten males (mean ± SD; age 21.1 ± 1.9 y; height = 177.2 ± 5.3 cm; mass = 71.3 ± 4.8 kg) and five females (age 22.8 ± 1.3 y; height 169.1 ± 4.3 cm; mass = 60.4 ± 1.3 kg) elite short track speed skaters volunteered and consented to an IRB approved informed consent to participate. Anthropometric measurements were recorded followed by a dynamic warm-up. The athletes completed four assessments: isometric (ISOM) torque, isokinetic (ISOK) torque, vertical jump (VJ), and Wingate testing. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to assess ISOM and ISOK torque for both right and left knee extensors and flexors. For ISOK torque, participants completed one set of five repetitions at a velocity of 60°/s. ISOM assessment used a stationary 60-degree knee angle, where participants completed three repetitions for three seconds each. Peak torque for quadriceps (QUAD) and hamstrings (HAM) for both right leg (RL) and left leg (LL) were used for analysis. The VJ test was completed on an AMTI force plate, where peak power (PP) output was used for analysis. Lastly, participants conducted a Wingate anaerobic cycling test at a load of 9 g/kg of body mass, where PP output was used for analysis. SPSS 24 was used to analyze Pearson r correlations between strength and power variables. RESULTS: There was a moderately strong significant (p = 0.006) correlation (r = .669) between VJ PP and ISOK RL HAM PT. There was a moderately strong significant correlation between Wingate PP and ISOK LL QUAD PT (p = 0.004; r = .695) and ISOK RL HAM PT (p = 0.002; r = .721). There was a moderate significant correlation between Wingate PP and ISOK RL QUAD PT (p = 0.029; r = .562), ISOK LL HAM PT (p = 0.028; r = .565), and ISOM LL QUAD PT (p = 0.037; r = .542). CONCLUSIONS:Short track speed skaters train to focus on repeatable explosive movement during competition which corresponds to their lower extremity strength. During a race, short track speed skaters’ LL is in a more fixed position while the RL is isokinetically moving, which relates to our findings that the ISOM LL QUAD was correlated with PP and RL HAM and QUAD ISOK were correlated with PP. Practitioners may use this as a reference to gain insight on the benefits of training for power and strength to enhance performance.