Relationship between anthropometrics and physiological determinants on military-specific skills

The assessment and longitudinal monitoring of officer cadet's anthropometrics and physiological characteristics are indirectly related to their military specific skills. In previous research evaluations of testing procedures and performance determinants have been investigated intensively. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of anthropometrics and performance characteristics on military specific skills. In this study 53 male officer cadets (N=53; mean ± SD age 24.6 ± 4.6 years; body mass 77.2 ± 9.3 kg; height 1.80 ± 0.6 cm; BMI 24.1 ± 2.2; V2max 53.74 ± 3.0 mL·kg-1 min-1) were assigned to this study. Testing procedure involved a 2400m running test, one repetition maximum (1RM), military specific test (MST) and military march. Correlation and multi regression analyses were conducted to compare the relationship between strength and endurance parameters on the military specific skills. Derived V2max °f the 2400m running test significantly correlated with BMI (r = -0.285, p = 0.033). BMI significantly influenced 1RM of leg press LP (r = 0.389, p = 0.004), seated bench pull SBP (r = 0.710, p = 0.001) and seated bench pull SR (r = 0.570, p = 0.001). In addition, height significantly correlated with 1 RM of LP (r = 0.349, p = 0.010). Linear correlation according to Pearson compared the influence of physical performance parameters including 2400m running test, 1 RM of LP, SBP and SR on the MST and the 3200m march. IRM of LP, SBP and SR did not correlate significantly with MST and the military march (p > 0.005). However V2max derived from the 2400m running test showed a significant relationship with the total time in the MST (r = -0.340, p = 0.010) and military march (r = -0.428, p = 0.001). The results indicate that the endurance determinants predominantly influence the military specific skills more than the 1RM. In addition, the importance of a high level of muscular endurance for MST and the 3200m march are recommended.