THE RELATIONS BETWEEN BODY COMPOSITION AND SPECIFIC FITNESS ABILITIES OF MEMBERS OF THE SPECIAL BRIGADE OF THE SERBIAN ARMED FORCES

Abstract

The research was carried out on a sample consisting of the members of the Special Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces, members of the 63rd Parachute Battalion. A total of 100 participants took part in the study, of an average age of  30±0,5 yrs. The subject matter of this paper are their body composition and specific fitness abilities. The aim of the paper was to determine the correlation between body composition and specific fitness abilities, as well as to determine the cross-correlation between the parameters of body composition and specific fitness abilities. A canonical correlation analysis was used to determine the connection between the set of predictor variables and the criterion variable. Based on the obtained results it could be concluded that there is a significant correlation (p= .010) between body composition and fitness abilities. It can be concluded that the excess of fat tissue (BF%, BFkg, index visceral BF) and BMI have a negative effect on fitness, while a greater amount of muscle mass (MM% and MMkg) has a positive influence on fitness. The results indicate that participants who do not have as many layers of fat have better values for repetitive power of the abdominal muscles, and that the percentage of muscle mass has a positive effect on the repetitive power of the pectoral muscles, muscles of the arms and abdomen.