MEASUREMENT OF PEAK FORCE EXPERIENCED BY MALES DURING ASSISTED AND UNASSISTED PULL-UPS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the peak force (PF) generated by males while performing assisted pull-ups (APU) and unassisted pull-ups (UPU) with pronated (PUP) and supinated (SUP) hand grips. Twenty-five men (mean ± SD: age= 23 ± 3 y; height= 180 ± 6 cm; weight= 88 ± 14 kg, APU: N=12, UPU: N=13) participated. Participants performed 2 sets of 10 pull-ups (PU) (1 PUP, 1 SUP) in randomized order on a PU bar attached to a force plate. PF generated during each PU was normalized to body weight (BW). There was no significant difference in PF generated between grips (P = 0.158) but there were significant differences in the PF generated over the course of 10 repetitions (P<0.001) and between the APU and UPU groups (P<0.001). On average the APU group lifted 114% of their BW and the UPU group lifted 151% of their BW.