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Disclosing core strength: reliability and correlations before and after COVID-19 pandemic in plank and sit-ups tests

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Abstract

Objectives

to assess the reliability of the core “plank” test, investigate its correlation with abdominal resistance strength, and examine its longitudinal association before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in schoolchildren during the transition to adolescence.

Methods

The initial sample included 221 students aged 6–11 years in 2018 (58.8% of boys). These same students were re-evaluated between May and June 2023, at ages 11–16 years. The baseline assessments encompassed the plank isometric test and the abdominal sit-up (dynamic strength test). Due to resource limitations, only the plank test was conducted during the post-pandemic evaluation. To verify the reliability and reproducibility of the plank test, the two-way intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used, also correlation coefficients (r) were calculated.

Results

The final sample comprised 130 boys and 91 girls, and the plank test demonstrated high reliability for both genders, with ICC ranging from 0.623 to 0.869 for boys and 0.695 to 0.901 for girls, as well as high Cronbach’s alpha (α) values, indicating internal consistency. The results revealed significant correlations between the plank test and other physical fitness variables for both boys and girls. The sit-up test showed moderate positive correlations with the follow-up plank test in girls, while in boys, the correlation was weak and negative in the baseline evaluation but became moderate and positive when adjusted for age.

Conclusions

The isometric plank strength test is highly reliable in children aged 6–16 years and can be used as an alternative measure to assess core strength in school-aged children. In addition, there was a significant and strong relationship between the plank test and the abdominal sit-up strength-resistance test, which provides valuable insights for fitness assessment in this age group.

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Data availability

Datasets used are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request by e-mail (vanilson.lemes@hotmail.com).

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend their appreciation to EEB Prof. GAM for their invaluable support and cooperation, which greatly facilitated the successful execution of this research. Your collaboration was essential in gathering meaningful insights and data for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Secretaria de Estado da Educação de Santa Catarina (SEDSC), Florianópolis, Brazil

    Vanilson Batista Lemes

  2. IRyS Group, Physical Education School, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile

    Caroline Brand

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  1. Vanilson Batista Lemes
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  2. Caroline Brand
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Contributions

VBL played a central role in study design, data collection, statistical analysis, interpretation of results, and manuscript preparation. CB contributed to data collection, literature review, and provided valuable insights during result interpretation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanilson Batista Lemes.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have not conflicts of interest regarding present study.

Ethical approval and Informed consent

The study was conducted with authorization from the participating institution and with informed and clarified consent from parents and guardians while ensuring complete voluntariness of the children through the reading and signing of a research assent form. The study received approval from the national ethics and research committee (CONEP) in accordance with the opinion issued by Centro Universitário Estácio de Sá–São José-SC (CAAE: 25315518.4.0000.5357; Opinion number: 3.758.311). All guidelines for research involving human participants were strictly adhered to the Helsinki Declaration.

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Lemes, V.B., Brand, C. Disclosing core strength: reliability and correlations before and after COVID-19 pandemic in plank and sit-ups tests. Sport Sci Health 20, 249–257 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11332-023-01136-x

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