A Comparison of Absolute, Ratio and Allometric Scaling Methods for Normalizing Strength in Elite American Football Players

A Comparison of Absolute, Ratio and Allometric Scaling Methods for Normalizing Strength in Elite American Football Players

Division I football players exemplify the greatest range in body mass of any modern team sport. Body mass may differ by over 80 kg between the various positions. Absolute muscular strength is typically greater in larger individuals, but such data does not allow for accurate comparisons. Therefore, in order to compare the performance indices of individual groups allometric rather than ratio scaling has been suggested. The purpose of this study was to compare absolute strength, normalized ratio and allometrically scaled data among players of different size.