Upper-Body Strength Measures and Pop-Up Performance of Stronger and Weaker Surfers

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of the isometric push-up (IPU), dynamic push-up (DPU), and force plate pop-up (FP POP) as measures of upper-body isometric and dynamic strength qualities in surfing athletes. Furthermore, the study aimed to compare pop-up performance between stronger and weaker surfers. Eighteen female (n=9) and male (n=9) surfers (age=28.1±6.4 yrs, mass=69.6±10.4 kg, height=172.5±6.7 cm) completed a battery of upper-body strength assessments, of which exhibited high between-day reliability: (IPU, (CV%=4.7, ICC=0.96), DPU (CV%=5.0, ICC=0.90), FP POP (CV%=4.4, ICC=0.90). Participants were subsequently split into stronger (n=9) and weaker (n=9) surfers based on normalized peak force (PF) attained in the IPU. Pop-up performance was measured both in the water and during the FP POP, and was referred to as time to pop (TTP). Significant between group differences were observed for normalized PF during IPU (d=1.59,