(55) ARE ABSOLUTE AND RELATIVE ISOMETRIC FORCES DISSIMILAR BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES WHEN PERFORMING ISOMETRIC MID-THIGH PULL CONTRACTIONS?

Rapid and maximal force characteristics of the lower extremity have been shown to differentiate a wide variety of performance metrics. However, when assessing said variables, a multitude of published literature only reported absolute values, rather than also reporting relative information. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to see if there are differences in maximal and rapid force characteristics between males and females for either relative and/or absolute force values when performing an isometric mid-thigh pull. Methods: Thirteen healthy females (age = 22.38 ± 2.18 years, height 161.27 cm ± 30.22 cm, mass 70.04 kg ± 16.44 kg) and nine healthy males (age = 22.33 ± 0.71 years, height 183.98 cm ± 3.31 cm, mass 95.31 kg ± 10.88 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. Any upper or lower extremity injuries resulted in exclusion from the study. Each participant performed three IMTP at a knee joint angle between 125° - 145° degrees, three-minutes of rest were allowed in-between attempts. A wireless uniaxial dual force plate system was used for maximal force at time-specific time points. An independent t-test was used to assess differences between gender for relative force (peak force, PF50, PF100, PF150, PF200, and PF250) and absolute force (peak force, PF50, PF100, PF150, PF200, and PF250), and an alpha of 0.05 was used for level of significance. Results: The present findings observed significant differences for all relative (p = 0.002 – 0.027) and absolute (p = 0.001) PF variables between genders, where males had significantly greater peak force at specific portions of the force-time curve compared to females. Conclusions: The present findings observed significant differences in relative and absolute peak force values for males compared to females when assessing one’s IMTP. Practical Applications: These findings may be of importance for future research ideas. Specifically, future studies may want to assess different training styles (resistance trained, athletes, sedentary. Acknowledgements: Funding for this project was provided through a grant from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at the University of Central Oklahoma.