Table 2.

Electromyographic parameters during defensive movements

Muscle	National level (%MVC)	International level (%MVC)	p-value	Cohen’s d	95% CI for mean difference
m. rectus femoris	63.7 ± 8.2	72.6 ± 7.5	0.021	1.13	2.8 to 15.0
m. biceps femoris	58.9 ± 9.1	67.3 ± 8.7	0.037	0.94	1.5 to 15.3
m. obliquus externus abdominis	61.2 ± 6.5	75.1 ± 6.2	< 0.001	2.18	9.0 to 18.8
m. deltoideus	55.6 ± 7.8	68.3 ± 7.1	< 0.001	1.70	6.9 to 18.5
Activation peak delay (ms)	84 ± 17	62 ± 14	0.008	-1.40	−34.0 to − 10.0

Muscle activation is reported as a percentage of maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC); activation peak delay is reported in milliseconds (ms). Cohen’s d is calculated as (international − national)/SDpooled; positive values indicate higher values in the international group. The 95% confidence interval refers to the mean difference between groups (international − national)

Source: compiled by the authors