[Anthropometric and physiological characteristics of Puerto Rican cyclists]

This study was conducted to describe various anthropometric, body composition, cardiorespiratory, metabolic and neuromuscular characteristics of 31 athletes (F = 5, M = 26) members of the Puertorrican Cycling Federation's national pre-selection. The athletes were divided into four categories according to their sex and age. The mean and standard deviation of all the variables in each category was computed. An Analysis of Covariance was conducted to determine significant differences between the mean's of the four categories. Male cyclists showed superior results compared to female cyclists in all the variables studied except body mass, ectomorphy, VO2 max, max HR, max power (W), and neuromuscular function in which they showed no statistical differences. The anthropometric, body composition, max power (W) and cardiorespiratory characteristics of our cyclists compared with those reported for international cyclists. The groups means for push ups, sit ups and flexibility were below the excellent classification when compared to the general population's health related physical fitness norms.