Impact of Back Strength with Selected Anthropometric Variables and Performance Tests in Indian Inter-University Cyclists

1) Introduction The cyclists need appropriate muscle strength to hold on bike position and back strength plays a vital role in it. The objectives of the present study were to estimate the back strength of inter-university cyclists in Punjab, India and to search its correlation with selected anthropometric variables and performance tests studied. Materials and Methods A total of 48 purposively selected inter-university level track cyclists (20 females and 28 males) aged 18-25 years were collected from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India and were considered as samples. An adequate number of controls (n= 44, 20 females and 24 males) were also taken from the same place for comparison. To serve these purposes, back strength and five anthropometric variables, viz. height, weight, body mass index (BMI), foot length, foot breadth, and three performance tests, viz. sit and reach test (S& RT), vertical jump test (VJT) and standing broad jump (SBJ) were measured in all the subjects. Results One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test of back strength showed significant between-group differences (p