Physical fitness profile of military lifeguards.

Introduction: Throughout a lifeguard's career, regardless of age, the physical demands of performing a water rescue are likely to remain constant.

Objectives: To establish a physical fitness profile by age group of a sample composed of professional beach lifeguards who regularly engage in physical activity.

Methods: One hundred and seventy-two lifeguards were initially recruited for this study. Data from 99 male lifeguards were provided for analysis. Anthropometric measurements, lower limb strength, and handgrip measurements were taken at the initial visit. During a second visit, running tests were performed on sand. All testing procedures followed the same predefined sequence for all individuals.

Results: One-way analysis of variance with post hoc Bonferroni or Kruskal-Wallis adjusted analysis was performed to assess differences between age groups depending on the exact variable. The significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05. There were statistically significant differences in all power and velocity performance parameters as well as body fat percentage with better results found in the younger age groups (20-29;30-39) compared to an older age group (40-49). However, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups for handgrip strength.

Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate significant differences in physical fitness between different age groups. The authors suggest that the squat jump, countermovement jump, 20-meter linear sprint test, zigzag change-of-direction test, and running anaerobic sprint test assessment should be used as screening tools for fitness.