Abstract
In order to judge the effect of moderate sports training on the anthropometric characteristics
and aerobic capacity of boys before and during puberty, a comparative study was conducted
of 140 children, 94 of whom were not undergoing any specific training and 45 of whom
were spending more than 3 hours a week practising swimming. The boys were divided
into three maturity groups according to pubic hair status: prepubertal, pubertal,
and end of puberty. The study shows greater maximal oxygen uptake in absolute terms,
body weight, lean body mass, chest circumference, arm circumference, and arm muscle
area for the swimmers. The morphological differences between the swimmers and non-swimmers
concern physical characteristics generally involved in swimming. The difference in
aerobic capacity, however, may be in part due to the morphological changes engendered
by training; a longitudal study would confirm this. It is suggested that anthropometric
indicators of arm muscles may be used in the biological supervision of swimming training.
Key words
Anthropometry - maximal aerobic uptake - swimming - training
