
2 weeks ago I did body composition tests on our players using an Ultrasound device. It’s more accurate and reliable than caliper. Our field player mean for the team was 8.03% bodyfat. Goal keepers were slightly higher. This compares favorably with mean values reported on EPL players in this study.?The study used a DXA scan to measure which is slightly more accurate and likely to give a slightly higher value than ultrasound. One of the interesting findings of the study cited is the following:
The non-Caucasian players demonstrated significantly lower percent?body?fat (9.2 +/- 2.0%) than the Caucasian players (10.7 +/- 1.8%). It was concluded that?body composition?is important for elite?soccer?players, but that homogeneity between players at top professional clubs results in little variation between individuals.
I’ve set our target body fat percentage at <9% which should be attainable for all athletes. Excess body fat potentially increases the likelihood of injury and is added weight that does not contribute to performance (which means it hurts performance!).
Mike Young
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I AM a strength and conditionning coach here in France for a soccer amateur team and i ‘d like to test bodycomposition for my players but i don’t have a ultrasound device.Do you know a simple way to do this?
Thanks again , i just found out this blog today and i will definitly follow it from now!
You could do a caliper test for body composition. It isn’t as accurate but would give you a better idea than nothing. Just be sure to be very familiar with how to conduct the test so your results are reliable.
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