Discriminant factors and the relationship between anthropometry and maturation on strength performance in elite young male Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes

Background Biological maturation (BM) and anthropometric components can be a determining factor in the neuromuscular performance of young athletes from different sports modalities, however, information on discriminating factors in young Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) athletes is still needed. Objective The study aimed to relate BM and anthropometric components with the muscular strength of young BJJ athletes and to verify the effectiveness in correctly discriminating BJJ athletes. Methods A cross-sectional study with a sample of 18 young men (13.0 +/- 2.20 years; 50% BJJ; 50% control). We analyzed body composition by bone densitometry by dual-energy X-ray (DXA), BM by peak height velocity, hand grip test (HG), upper limbs strength (ULS), vertical jump (VJ), vertical countermovement jump (CMJ), somatotype, and fifteen anthropometric variables. Results In both groups, BM and anthropometric components were related to upper and lower limbs strength (p < 0.05). The set of variables lean mass, somatotype, trunk height, wingspan, leg length, the performance of VJ, CMJ, ULS, and HG managed to discriminate athletes in 93.5% of BJJ and 94.8% the participants of the control group. In addition, the performance of ULS and HG can be foreshadowed by the size and body weight by 53.0% for the BJJ and 49.3% for the control group. While the performance of VJ and CMJ can be predicted by the length of the legs and body height in 81.3% for BJJ and 76.0% for the control group. Conclusions In young BJJ athletes, the biological maturation this associate with neuromuscular performance, and anthropometric components are discriminating factors for strength performance. [GRAPHICS] .