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MEASUREMENT OF MAXIMAL FORCE EXERTED BY FEMALES DURING ASSISSTED PULL-UPS

Abstract

Terra L. Emerson, Hailey E. Frerichs, Ajah S. Dansby, & Adam J. Bruenger; University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR

The pull-up (PU) is a common exercise used to strengthen the upper body (UB). However, females often do not have enough UB strength to perform an unassisted PU (UPU). One method of assisted PU is to have the feet supported by a spotter and the lifters use their legs to help reduce the weight lifted by the UB. It has not been quantified how much actual resistance is experienced by the UB using this method. PURPOSE: To measure the maximal force exerted by the UB while performing a set of assisted PUs with pronated (PUP) and supinated (SUP) hand grips. METHODS: 12 females (mean ± SD: age=22 ± 2 y; height= 63.7 ± 3.8 in; weight= 142 ± 25 lb) participated. All participants performed an initial test to verify that they could not perform 10 UPU. Participants then performed 2 sets of 10 PU (1 PUP, 1 SUP) in randomized order on a PU bar attached to a force plate. Maximal force exerted during each PU was normalized to body weight (BW).RESULTS: A 2 X 10 (grip X repetition) repeated measures ANOVA was performed to evaluate differences. There was no significant difference in maximal force experienced between grips (P = 0.13) but there were significant differences in maximal force over the course of the ten repetitions (P=0.002). CONCLUSION: Females, on average, lifted 93% of their BW during PUP and 98% of their BW during SUP. As the number of repetitions increased, the % of BW lifted decreased showing a pattern of fatigue. While using a lat pull-down machine or an assisted PU machine would be more ideal for accurate measurement of training load, this information could be used by strength coaches to estimate the approximate training load for this type of assisted PU if those devices are not available.

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