title: Longitudinal changes in strength of police officers with gender comparisons.
abstract: Strength is a critical factor in the health and job performance of police officers. Using a retrospective longitudinal design, the purpose of this study was to identify differences in strength scores from initial recruitment to in-service tests and to compare gender differences. Strength changes were also compared in low- to high-strength groups. Strength scores included bench press, bench press/lean weight, and bench press/weight. Body weight, percent body fat, and bench press scores were retrieved for the 1990-1995 recruit classes and were paired to most recent scores on 2006 in-service fitness record. Sample included 327 police officers: 30 females and 297 males. Mean age at initial recruitment was 24.6 years and for in-service was 37.1 years. Average time between tests was 12.5 years. Over this period bench press and bench press/lean weight significantly increased for both gender groups (p <or= 0.05). Bench press/weight remained relatively consistent. When dividing the men's strength scores into five low- to high-strength groups, there tended to be an averaging effect over time with the strongest group changing least and the weakest group changing most. In conclusion, the results of this study did not follow expected strength trends, which reported annual declines in muscular strength in men and women. Overall, officers increased in strength well into their late 30s. The practical applications of this study include documented benefits gained from maintaining ongoing fitness training and testing, as well as the potentially positive role of weight gain on strength. Also, low- to high-strength groups did not change relative positions over time even with improvements in strength scores, demonstrating the importance of minimum selection criteria for police.
authors.affiliation: Health and Applied Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. boycer@uncw.edu
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Boyce
authors.forename: Glenn R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Schendt
authors.forename: Cameron L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lloyd
authors.forename: Edward L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Boone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000886:Anthropometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D010809:Physical Fitness / Q000502:physiology*; D016495:Police; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors