doiSerbia

Anthropometric characteristics and functional capacity of elite rowers and handball players

Karaba-Jakovljević Dea (Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad + Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department of Physiology, Novi Sad)
Jovanović Gordana (Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Novi Sad)
Erić Mirela (Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad + Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department of Anatomy, Novi Sad)
Klašnja Aleksandar (Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad + Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department of Physiology, Novi Sad)
Slavić Danijel (Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad)
Lukač Damir (Faculty of Medicine, Novi Sad + Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Department of Physiology, Novi Sad)

Introduction. Anthropometric and anaerobic profile of elite athletes are fundamental for the assessment of their respective performance. The present study was designed to evaluate the anthropometric parameters, body composition and anaerobic characteristics of elite male handball players and rowers, and to compare them in relation to specific sport demands. Material and Methods. The study group consisted of 41 elite national level athletes: 20 handball players (aged 23.7±3.72) and 21 rowers (aged 19.7±2.84). Anthropometric characteristics (body mass, body height, skinfold thickness, body circumferences), and body fat mass were evaluated, and Wingate anaerobic test for anaerobic power assessment was applied. Results. The significant differences were noted in chest, upper arm, waist and hip circumferences, and supraspinal and calf skinfolds between the two investigated groups. Rowers showed higher values of fat body mass (13.2±3.76 vs. 10.7±3.76%), but lower body mass index (22.0±1,92 vs. 25.7±2.31 kg/m2) compared to handball players. When analyzing the Wingate test parameters, significantly higher values of absolute anaerobic power (786±127 vs. 691±140 W), absolute explosive power in the handball players compared to the rowers were recorded (118±26.3 vs. 105±27.8 W/s), while rowers achieved higher relative anaerobic capacity (192±31.2 vs. 177±20.8 J/kg). Conclusion. Specific body composition and anthropometrical assessment as a part of morphological analysis should complement physiological profile of elite athletes. The analysis of the anaerobic performance shows that the handball players have greater alactic anaerobic and explosive power component, compared to the rowers in whom the anaerobic endurance and specific training have the greatest effect on the consumption of dominant metabolic substrate during the race.

Keywords: Anthropometry, Athletes, Anaerobic Threshold, Body Composition, Athletic Performance, Exercise Test, Body Fat Distribution, Muscle Strength