Upper body strength endurance evaluation: A comparison between the handgrip strength and three body weight tests

Influence of hand dominance, gender, and body mass index on hand grip strength

Background

Hand grip strength (HGS) measurements serve as an objective measure of upper extremity function. Reliable hand strength evaluation is vital for assessing treatment effectiveness.

Objectives

To determine the influence of hand dominance, gender, and body mass index (BMI) on HGS among university students in Ghana.

Method

In our cross-sectional study of 304 participants, height, weight, and BMI were measured using a stadiometer and weighing scale. Hand grip strength was assessed with a dynamometer. We compared HGS in dominant and non-dominant hands for males and females using a paired t-test and analysed the correlation between grip strength and weight, height, and BMI using Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Results

The mean HGS for right-hand dominant (RHD) male participants was 35.62 kg (± 7.36) for the right hand compared with 32.84 kg (± 7.36) for the left hand. For females RHD the mean HGS in the right hand was 24.60 kg (± 6.42) compared to 22.12 kg (± 5.37) in the left hand. The mean weight, height and BMI of participants were 62.86 kg (± 10.30), 1.67 m (± 0.09) and 22.9 kg/m2 (± 4.9), respectively. A significant relationship existed between HGS and height (r = 0.492; p < 0.01) as well as HGS and BMI (r = 0.290; p < 0.01). However, no notable connection was found between HGS and weight (r = 0.001; p = 0.982).

Conclusion

Hand grip strength was significantly stronger in the dominant hand of both males and females.

Clinical implications

Physiotherapists should test HGS objectively and quantitatively for use in disease evaluation, diagnosis, and therapy.

Impact of COVID-19 on 1000 m Running and Pull-Up Performance among College Men Living in China

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on fitness performance among Chinese college men during the pandemic period and to explore how fitness changed with a different college grade.

METHODS

We conducted repeated measures of 1000 m running and pull-up testing on students from one university in China before and after the lockdown. A total of 7107 (age 19.21 ± 1.17 yr.) male students who completed the same 1000 m running and pull-up testing in 2019 and 2020 were included in the analysis.

RESULTS

The paired t-test result indicates a reduction in 1000 m running and pull-up performance by 10.91% (95% CI = 0.89, 0.95) and 23.89% (95% CI = -0.36, -0.31), respectively. Interestingly, college men in the 2017 grade (the third-year college men) had more decreases than in the 2019 grade (the first-year college men). The 1000 m running performance was decreased by 14.43% and 6.48% in the third- and the first-year college men, respectively. The pull-up performance was decreased by 39.11 % in the third-year college men while increased by 10.98% in the first-year college men.

CONCLUSIONS

The COVID-19 lockdown reduced 1000 m running and pull-up performances among Chinese college men. The reduction varies by grade and it seems to be particularly seriously decreased for the third-year college men while being modest for the first-year college men. Public policy was urgently needed to improve Chinese college men's fitness performance after the lockdown.