Leg muscle power in 12-year-old black and white Tunisian football players

Res Sports Med. 2011 Apr;19(2):103-17. doi: 10.1080/15438627.2011.556527.

Abstract

This study examined leg muscle power of young male Tunisian black and white football players and extended the analysis to determine whether there is a relationship between cycling peak power output (PPO) and some field tests. A total of 113 children (white group (WG) = n = 56; black group (BG) = n = 57) participated in this investigation. Anthropometric data included age, body mass (BM), height, leg length (LL), body mass index (BMI), and leg muscle volume (LMV). Cycling PPO was measured including a force-velocity test. Peak power output (PPO; W and W/kg), Fopt (optimal braking force), and Vopt (optimal velocity) were significantly higher in the WG compared with the BG (p < 0.05). However, jump and sprint performances of the BG were significantly higher than the WG (p < 0.05). Multiple stepwise regression with anthropometric variables and the extrapolated values of the force-velocity test as explanatory factors showed that 33% of the variance of PPO of BG was explained by qualitative factors that may be related to cycling skill, muscle composition, and socioeconomic and training status.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anthropometry
  • Athletes
  • Black People
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Leg / physiology*
  • Male
  • Muscle Strength / physiology*
  • Muscle, Skeletal / physiology*
  • Running / physiology
  • Soccer / physiology*
  • Tunisia
  • White People