Comparison of lower and upper extremity anaerobic power in female football players

Abstract

Background and Study Aim. Anaerobic power is a key determinant of athletic performance, influencing an athlete’s ability to perform short bursts of high-intensity activity. Monitoring and evaluating anaerobic power are essential for optimizing training strategies and improving competitive performance. Therefore, this study aims to compare the anaerobic power of the lower and upper extremities in female football players. Material and Methods. A total of 10 female football players, actively competing in Konya, voluntarily participated in this study. All participants were university students and engaged in regular training and competition schedules. The participants had an average age of 19.50±1.84 years, an average height of 163.90±5.38 cm, and an average weight of 54.00±3.91 kg. To assess anaerobic power in both upper and lower limbs, the Wingate Anaerobic Power Test (WAnT) was utilized. The test was conducted using a Monark 891E arm and 894E leg cycle ergometer. All data collected from the tests were automatically recorded by the system. For statistical analysis, SPSS version 27.0 was used. A paired sample t-test was applied to compare upper and lower extremity anaerobic power outputs. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. A statistically significant difference in favor of the lower extremities was found when comparing both absolute and relative peak and mean power values of the upper and lower extremities (p < 0.05). Peak power in the legs (402.76 ± 69.90 W) was significantly higher than in the arms (243.75 ± 71.62 W), with a large effect size (d = 3.63). Similarly, mean power was greater in the lower extremities (300.78 ± 53.04 W) compared to the upper extremities (127.01 ± 51.43 W, d = 4.53). When considering relative values, relative peak power in the legs (7.39 ± 0.92 W/kg) was significantly higher than in the arms (4.39 ± 1.12 W/kg, d = 3.46), and relative mean power also showed a significant difference (legs: 5.51 ± 0.66 W/kg; arms: 2.27 ± 0.81 W/kg, d = 4.71). Conclusions. The findings of this study confirm that female football players generate significantly greater anaerobic power in their lower extremities compared to their upper extremities. These results highlight the dominant role of lower-body power in football-specific movements such as sprinting, jumping, and rapid directional changes. Understanding these differences can help in optimizing training strategies for female football players.