STRENGTH OF ATHLETES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23215, 8 December 1938, Page 8

STRENGTH OF ATHLETES

RELATION TO PERFORMANCES BRITISH TEST REVELATIONS' ~ * S j| t; The ages at which athletes perform best do not coincide with those at which. working men reach their maximum strength, according to tests made :iri Australia and in Gi*eat Britain. Dri F. S. Cotton, chief lecturer in physiology at Sydney University, has conducted many tests of blood movements and other bodily functions in athletes. In Britain, two experts of the Indrtstrial Health Research Board have just completed an investigation into muscular strength among 13.635 individuals, including 1328 unemployed men and 1735 undergraduates. The British inquiry showed that working men on the average are tallest at the age of 20, that they can grip their strongest at that age, and that they can pull at their hardest between 25 and 28. The Research Board's report adds that, even after three years' experience on this investigation, neither of the experts could pick out at sight the strongest man in a group. But if a guess were hazarded, a man was looked for of medium weight and size, who held himself "taut" f and who looked "alive." Another point of interest was the relatively low power of grip displayed by a large number of men engaged in heavy labour. Hands become stiff and hard in such conditions, and with the loss of flexibility appears to eo the power to clench the hand and to exercise fine motor control. .The possession of a largo abdomen- of the "pot-bellied" variety, on the other hand, appeared to correlate highly with a low score on the lumbar pull. Possibly this was due in some cases to the of caution and the fear of/ abdominal strain. /."Grip strengths and general bodily strength go together as a rule." said Dr. Cotton, commenting on these results. ? '"But," he added, "one must distinguish between strength and endurance. One man may have strong gripping power, yet a comparatively low general endurance. Another, able to endure long fatigue, may have a relatively small strength of grip. "Tests with athletes of the sprinter type —men who can release energy very rapidly—show that they usually reach their maximum power about 23. On the other hand, athletes whose activity calls for a higher degree of endurance may reach their best five, or even ton, years later. A marathon runner, for instance, should put up his best performance when about 30."