P.60 Improvement in Muscular Strength Within One Year is Associated with Increased Arterial Stiffness in Young Male Soccer Players

The adaptation process of the cardiovascular system to exercise and muscular strength in young athletes is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the influence of changes in muscular strength and weekly training load within one year on arterial stiffness in young male soccer players. 30 male soccer players were examined twice (age t0: 13.3 ± 2.0 years, age t1: 14.2 ± 2.0 years). cSBP and aPWV were measured oscillometrically (Mobil-O-Graph®) and z-scores were calculated. The MoMo physical activity questionnaire recorded the weekly training load and the hand dynamometer measured muscular strength. Height and weight were examined and body surface area (BSA) was computed. The investigated parameters and the converted z-scores of cSBP and aPWV did not change over time, but handgrip strength (t0: 25.2 ± 10.2 kg, t1: 29.5 ± 10.2, p < 0.001) and training load (t0: 7.1 ± 1.5 hours/week, t1: 8.3 ± 2.4 hours/week, p = 0.005) increased significantly. 13.3