Age-Related Differences in Physical Fitness and Performance of an “Ability Test” among Firefighters
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Participants
2.3. Ability Test (AT) Procedures
2.4. Anthropometric Measurements
2.5. Muscular Endurance
2.6. Strength
2.7. Anaerobic Power Testing
Statistical Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameter | Age Category 20–30 Years (1) | Age Category 31–40 Years (2) | Age Category 41–50 Years (3) | Pairwise Comparisons | Effect Size | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 30) | (n = 33) | (n = 17) | Mean Difference | Significance | η2 | ||
Age (years) | 26.93 ± 2.41 | 34.03 ± 2.26 | 44.96 ± 2.93 | 1-2 | −0.71 * | 0.00 | 0.69 |
2-3 | −10.91 * | 0.00 | |||||
1-3 | −18.01 * | 0.00 | |||||
Weight (kg) | 93.63 ± 12.83 | 96.74 ± 17.57 | 101.04 ± 14.86 | 1-2 | −3.11 | 0.43 | |
2-3 | −4.31 | 0.35 | |||||
1-3 | −7.42 | 0.12 | |||||
Body fat (%) | 20.40 ± 4.72 | 22.62 ± 5.61 | 26.13 ± 5.59 | 1-2 | −2.22 | 0.10 | 0.14 |
2-3 | −3.51 * | 0.03 | |||||
1-3 | −5.73 * | 0.00 | |||||
BMI (kg/m2) | 28.46 ± 2.97 | 29.12 ± 3.79 | 30.90 ± 4.19 | 1-2 | −0.65 | 0.47 | |
2-3 | −1.79 | 0.10 | |||||
1-3 | −2.44 * | 0.03 | |||||
Height (cm) | 181.02 ± 5.42 | 181.82 ± 7.81 | 181.27 ± 6.42 | 1-2 | −0.80 | 0.06 | |
2-3 | 1.18 | 0.54 | |||||
1-3 | 0.38 | 0.85 | |||||
Waist circumference (cm) | 93.67 ± 11.61 | 98.25 ± 11.50 | 101.81 ± 6.42 | 1-2 | −4.58 | 0.09 | 0.08 |
2-3 | −3.56 | 0.27 | |||||
1-3 | −8.14 * | 0.02 | |||||
Hip circumference (cm) | 106.06 ± 8.10 | 109.52 ± 7.25 | 107.49 ± 5.04 | 1-2 | −3.46 | 0.06 | |
2-3 | 2.03 | 0.35 | |||||
1-3 | −1.43 | 0.52 | |||||
Waist-to-hip ratio (cm) | 0.88 ± 0.07 | 0.90 ± 0.07 | 0.95 ± 0.05 | 1-2 | −0.01 | 0.42 | 0.12 |
2-3 | −0.05 * | 0.02 | |||||
1-3 | −0.06 * | 0.00 |
Parameter | Age Category 20–30 Years (1) | Age Category 31–40 Years (2) | Age Category 41–50 Years (3) | Pairwise Comparisons | Effect Size | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 30) | (n = 37) | (n = 17) | Mean Difference | Significance | η2 | ||
Overall AT time (min) | 6.20 ± 1.24 | 7.13 ± 1.49 | 8.45 ± 2.07 | 1-2 | −0.93 *↑ | 0.02 | 0.22 |
2-3 | −1.33 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
1-3 | −2.25 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
Stair climb (min) | 1.32 ± 0.18 | 1.63 ± 0.37 | 2.19 ± 1.36 | 1-2 | −0.31 | 0.06 | 0.19 |
2-3 | −0.56 *↑ | 0.01 | |||||
1-3 | −0.87 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
Rolled hose lift and move (min) | 1.17 ± 0.27 | 1.34 ± 0.17 | 1.63 ± 0.47 | 1-2 | −0.16 *↑ | 0.02 | 0.25 |
2-3 | −0.29 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
1-3 | −0.46 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
Keiser sled (min) | 0.37 ± 0.22 | 0.46 ± 0.32 | 0.71 ± 0.43 | 1-2 | −0.88 | 0.26 | 0.13 |
2-3 | −0.25 *↑ | 0.01 | |||||
1-3 | −0.33 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
Hose pull and hydrant hookup (min) | 0.74 ± 0.29 | 0.82 ± 0.34 | 0.95 ± 0.41 | 1-2 | −0.08 | 0.36 | |
2-3 | −0.13 | 0.20 | |||||
1-3 | −0.21 | 0.06 | |||||
Rescue mannequin drag (min) | 0.16 ± 0.08 | 0.20 ± 0.10 | 0.28 ± 0.22 | 1-2 | −0.04 | 0.18 | 0.11 |
2-3 | −0.08 *↑ | 0.04 | |||||
1-3 | −0.12 *↑ | 0.00 | |||||
Charged hose advance (min) | 0.10 ± 0.03 | 0.11 ± 0.03 | 0.13 ± 0.05 | 1-2 | −0.01 | 0.09 | 0.11 |
2-3 | −0.02 | 0.07 | |||||
1-3 | −0.03 *↑ | 0.00 |
Parameter | Age Category 20–30 Years (1) | Age Category 31–40 Years (2) | Age Category 41–50 Years (3) | Pairwise Comparisons | Effect Size | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 30) | (n = 33) | (n = 17) | Mean Difference | Significance | η2 | ||
Abdominal strength (kg) | 37.65 ± 11.97 | 34.29 ± 10.58 | 28.95 ± 8.68 | 1-2 | 3.35 | 0.22 | 0.08 |
2-3 | 5.34 | 0.22 | |||||
1-3 | 8.70 *↓ | 0.01 | |||||
Power vertical jump (W) | 1451.75 ± 228.76 | 1555.55 ± 291.54 | 1542.56 ± 205.85 | 1-2 | −103.80 | 0.11 | |
2-3 | 12.98 | 0.86 | |||||
1-3 | −90.81 | 0.24 | |||||
Relative power—vertical jump (W/kg) | 16.04 ± 2.08 | 15.76 ± 1.27 | 15.23 ± 1.42 | 1-2 | 0.29 | 0.50 | |
2-3 | 0.53 | 0.29 | |||||
1-3 | 0.81 | 0.11 | |||||
Left handgrip (kg) | 55.22 ± 7.05 | 59.39 ± 8.98 | 57.44 ± 7.75 | 1-2 | −4.17 *↑ | 0.04 | |
2-3 | 1.94 | 0.42 | |||||
1-3 | −2.23 | 0.36 | |||||
Right handgrip (kg) | 58.40 ± 6.68 | 62.19 ± 9.80 | 60.27 ± 6.46 | 1-2 | −3.79 | 0.07 | |
2-3 | 1.92 | 0.43 | |||||
1-3 | −1.87 | 0.50 | |||||
1-RM bench press (kg) | 106.23 ± 20.13 | 98.85 ± 17.59 | 106.42 ± 14.16 | 1-2 | 7.38 | 0.11 | |
2-3 | −7.58 | 0.16 | |||||
1-3 | −0.19 | 0.97 | |||||
1-RM squat (kg) | 136.37 ± 25.57 | 129.99 ± 16.69 | 125.41 ± 16.98 | 1-2 | 6.38 | 0.22 | |
2-3 | 4.58 | 0.46 | |||||
1-3 | 10.95 | 0.08 | |||||
Power—step test (W) | 428.88 ± 80.01 | 393.48 ± 101.46 | 401.64 ± 99.04 | 1-2 | 35.40 | 0.15 | |
2-3 | 24.05 | 0.41 | |||||
1-3 | 59.44 *↓ | 0.05 | |||||
Relative power—step test (W/kg) | 4.81 ± 1.14 | 4.20 ± 1.15 | 3.63 ± 1.03 | 1-2 | 0.61 *↓ | 0.03 | 0.14 |
2-3 | 0.57 | 0.10 | |||||
1-3 | 1.18 *↓ | 0.00 | |||||
Push-ups (max reps) | 42.93 ± 16.99 | 33.82 ± 15.60 | 29.53 ± 9.49 | 1-2 | 9.12 *↓ | 0.02 | 0.12 |
2-3 | 4.29 | 0.35 | |||||
1-3 | 13.40 *↓ | 0.00 | |||||
Sit-ups (reps in a minute) | 41.40 ± 12.61 | 37.64 ± 9.71 | 30.41 ± 9.96 | 1-2 | 3.76 | 0.18 | 0.13 |
2-3 | 7.22 *↓ | 0.03 | |||||
1-3 | 10.99 *↓ | 0.00 |
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Parpa, K.; Michaelides, M. Age-Related Differences in Physical Fitness and Performance of an “Ability Test” among Firefighters. Muscles 2024, 3, 88-99. https://doi.org/10.3390/muscles3010009
Parpa K, Michaelides M. Age-Related Differences in Physical Fitness and Performance of an “Ability Test” among Firefighters. Muscles. 2024; 3(1):88-99. https://doi.org/10.3390/muscles3010009
Chicago/Turabian StyleParpa, Koulla, and Marcos Michaelides. 2024. "Age-Related Differences in Physical Fitness and Performance of an “Ability Test” among Firefighters" Muscles 3, no. 1: 88-99. https://doi.org/10.3390/muscles3010009
APA StyleParpa, K., & Michaelides, M. (2024). Age-Related Differences in Physical Fitness and Performance of an “Ability Test” among Firefighters. Muscles, 3(1), 88-99. https://doi.org/10.3390/muscles3010009