Abstract - Strength and Power in Filipino Varsity Taekwondo-in
Purpose: The purpose of this study, then, was to assess strength and power components of Filipino varsity taekwondo athletes.
Methods: Participants were male (n = 9, 19.00 ± 1.50 years, 1.70 ± 0.04 m, 81.41 ± 21.94 kg) and female (n = 10, 18.50 ± 1.78 years, 1.58 ± 0.06 m, 49.25 ± 6.27 kg) taekwondo varsity athletes from a private university in the Philippines. Strength was measured by the 1-RM leg press and the 1-RM bench press. The counter-movement vertical jump (CMJ) was used to assess explosive leg power. To determine differences in strength and power between males and females, the Mann-Whitney U Test was employed.
Results: The men had more absolute lower body strength (p < 0.001, ES = 0.81). This difference did not change when leg strength was scaled for height (22.68 ± 6.13 kg.m-2 vs. 13.21 ± 1.57 kg.m-2, p = 0.001, ES = 0.77). There was no difference in absolute explosive leg power between men and women (p = 0.130, ES = 0.35). This did not change when power was expressed per LBM (kg0.67): 2.78 ± 0.84 cm.kg-0.67 vs. 3.14 ± 0.66 cm.kg-0.67 (p = 0.221, ES = 0.28).
Conclusion: Contrary to expectation, the theoretical exponent did not reduce the relationship between the body size variables and strength to (almost) zero.