STRENGTH POTENTIAL OF YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN

Abstract

Muscle strength is a basic human feature. It may be diagnosed through fitness tests or through dynamometry of muscle groups. Measurements of several muscle groups at a time with a back dynamometer, or a shoulder dynamometer (strain gauge or inertial dynamometer) can not answer which element (which muscle group) is the weakest within the entire chain. An approach proposed by Fidelus (1967) takes into account the capabilities of isolated muscle groups. This approach is widely used all over the world. Fidelus proposed assessment of 10 muscle groups acting in the sagittal plane. These are the flexors and extensors of: forearm, arm, foot, calf, thigh, and trunk, Multiplying a value of resistance force read-out from the dynamometer by a moment arm one can obtain a value for the moment of force. This moment is equal to the moment of muscle strength. Unfortunately, this approach did not allow to obtain a value of muscle strength alone, since one did not know a value of muscle strength lever arm. Contemporary knowledge gives us a possibility of obtaining data on muscle strength lever arms of some joints - Erdmann (2001). The aim of this paper is obtaining data on muscle strength for main body parts of contemporary young population.