Jurnal Media Ilmu Keolahragaan Indonesia Volume 3. Edisi 1. Juli 2013. ISSN: 2088-6802 http://journal.unnes.ac.id/nju/index.php/miki Artikel Penelitian Physical Fitness Profles Among National Powerlifters With Disabilities Nagoor Meera Abdullah*, Mahenderan Appukutty, Muhamad Darus Abdullah & Vincent Parnabas Diterima: Mei 2013. Disetujui: Juni 2013. Dipublikasikan: Juli 2013 © Universitas Negeri Semarang 2013 Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the physical ftness profles among the national powerlifters with disabilities. A total of eight national powerlifting athletes (3 females and 5 males) were recruited and performed 1-RM bench press test, 20-seconds wheelchair push-up test, 50-meter dash, handgrip strength test, and arm crank ergometer test. The mean value of 1-RM bench press test was 1.78 ± 0.58 with all of the subjects classifed as above average. The mean for 20-seconds wheelchair push-up test was 26.00 ± 8.50 repetitions as 75% of the subjects were above average, 12.5% were average, while another 12.5% were below average. The results of 50-meter dash showed that the mean value was 17.35 ± 4.72 seconds. The mean for left handgrip strength test was 38.86 ± 12.95 kg while the mean for right handgrip strength was 37.12 ± 12.77 kg. About 25% of the subjects were above average, 50% were in average rank, while another 25% were below average for the left handgrip strength test. For the right handgrip strength, 12.5% classifed as above average, 50% were average, and another 37.5% were below average. All of the subjects were able to fnish an arm crank ergometer test as the mean value of the test was 100.50 ± 25.57 RPM. Based on results, muscular strength, power and muscular endurance reveals that subjects are within the range. The future research could incorporate body composition evaluation and anthropometric profles among powerlifters with disabilities for better understanding of sporting performance. Keywords: physical ftness profles; ftness test; powerlifters with disabilities. INTRODUCTION Powerlifting for athletes with a disability had been included into Paralympic Games at the second edition in 1964 that took place in To- kyo. It was initially opened only for men with spinal injuries. However, as the sport grew, the competition is now open to all athletes with ce- rebral palsy, spinal injuries, lower limb ampu- tees and les autres who meet the minimal disa- bility criteria. Women competed in this sport for the frst time in Sydney in 2000. Powerlif- ting is governed by the IPC and coordinated by the IPC Powerlifting Technical Committee, founded in 1989. This sport is currently one of the fastest growing disability sports that practi- ced in 115 countries by more than 5000 ranked competitors (IPC Powerlifting, 2010). As regard with the nature of powerlifting sport, ftness components, especially health re- lated ftness seem to be crucial on giving the competitive advantage to the lifters. In Malay- sia, performances of national powerlifters with disabilities were generally a bit of impressive but yet far from consistent. Besides that, there were rarely heard about the freshly face that can emulate the aging lifters. International sports competition for disabled individual exist in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which provides competitive opportunities for individual with disability from the beginner to elite level. Po- werlifting is one of nine sports that serve by IPC. Powerlifting is contests of muscular st- rength and power where lifters are divided into weight categories in order to facilitate equitable competition (Cleather, 2006). This sport is open to all athletes with cerebral palsy, wheelchair athletes, lower limb amputees and les autres who meet the minimal disability cri- teria. Several studies supported the inference that muscular strength is major importance to the physical performance of individual in wheelchairs (Davis et al, 1981). As regard with the nature of powerlifting event, it suggests that some specifc physical ftness may confer a competitive advantage to the expression of maximal strength among the powerlifters. In powerlifting, lifters compete in vario- us division based on body mass, gender and age with the aim of lifting the greatest possible *Faculty of Sport Science and Recreation, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Shah Alam, Malaysia. E-mail: nameera_ab@yahoo.com.my