Age-Related changes in Upper Body Strength and Lower Limb Power of Professional Italian Firefighters

Purpose Considering that the decrease in strength can be observed with aging and
that muscular endurance and strength are essential factors for firefighting effectiveness
in critical situations, the purpose of this study were to evaluate the Upper Body
Strength and Lower Limb Power of Professional of Italian Firefighters of 229 Italian
male firefighters (age 32 ± 8 yrs, height: 177±6 cm, weight: 79 ± 9 kg, BMI: 24.5 ± 2.4
kg/m2) and to compare the results in relation to the age (< 30-year-old group; 31- to
35-year-old group; 36- to 40-year-old group; 41- to 45-year-old group; >45-year-old
group).
Methods Upper body strength (1RM bench-press), lower limb power (counter
movement jump -CMJ-, and sprint ability -20m-) were analysed. Descriptive statistics
and an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were applied to anthropometric and physical
fitness values to assess significant difference between age groups. When a significant
effect was found, Bonferroni's post hoc analysis was used.
Results Between age groups, anthropometric values showed an age-effect (p<0.05) for
BMI with 34 % of all firefighters in overweight and high prevalence (52%) in >45
compared to the other age group categories. Performances values showed differences
for 1RM bench-press (F(4,223) = 6.17; p<0.001), CMJ (F(4,223) = 3.04; p<0.05), 20m
(F(4,224) = 8.47; p<0.001) among age groups. A decrease of 12% for Bench-press,
13% for CMJ and 5% for 20 m between <30 and >45-year-old group were found.
Conclusions Considering that the ability to produce strength and power movements are
very important qualities to firefighters in each age, individual and specific training
programs should be planned with functional work activities to improve neuromuscular
function at any age.