Morphological Differences of Street Workout Athletes According to the Training Experience

Abstract

In several sports, morphological differences exist when comparing training status. However, these are less known in novel urban sports such as Street Workout (SW). This study compares the morphological characteristics between untrained (novice) and trained (experienced) SW athletes. Thirty-seven male Street workout practitioners from Viña del Mar (Chile) participated. Anthropometric, body composition, and somatotype data were assessed and compared according to the training experience. We found that trained SW athletes had a higher flexed and tensed arm perimeter (+4.4 %, p=0.038), lower hips perimeter (-4.8 %, p=0.041), narrower biiliocristal breadth (-3.2 %, p=0.035), lesser sum of 6 skinfolds (-40.8 %, p<0.001), and a lower endomorphic component (p<0.001) than untrained SW athletes. The proportionality analysis revealed that trained athletes had significantly higher upper body perimeters and lower skinfolds than untrained athletes. In addition, trained participants had higher percentages of the whole-body (+6.5 %, p<0.001) and upper limb muscle mass (+1.1 %; <0.001), and lower fat mass percentage (-7.9 %, p<0.001) and fat mass (-6.9 kg, p<0.001). In conclusion, similar to other sports, morphological differences exist in SW according to the training status, suggesting that morphology is associated with training experience. Further studies using DEXA should corroborate our findings and, in turn, determine the relevance of morphology in SW performance.