The Relationship between Lower and Upper Body Strength and One-on-One Casualty Lift and Carry

Background: Armed and rescue forces often meet the need to evacuate casualties from the battlefield and disaster area. Evacuation methods include the use of stretchers, multiple men evacuation techniques and one-on-one methods.

Carrying and evacuating a soldier in full fighting gear takes a physical toll on the rescuer. The assumption is that if the rescuer has good general fitness, he will be able to perform better in combat and during the rescue procedure itself.

Aim: This study was done to determine the relationship and contribution of the predicted 1-RM (Repetition Maximum) bench press and back squat on the performance of an individual in a 'fireman`s carry' evacuation technique.

Methods: All subjects were in good physical condition, ages 18-21; 25 participated in the 'fireman`s carry' test and 36, some of whom participated in both tests, participated in the 1-RM prediction test.

Results: There was no significant difference between the six subjects and their extended groups. Some correlation (r=-0.67) was found between predicted 1-RM back squat and the 300 meters 'fireman`s carry' test times. In addition, we saw some correlation (r=-0.65) between the Relative Perceived Exertion total average and the 'fireman`s carry' test times.