Grip strength performance as a determinant of body composition, muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance

Abstract

Problem statement: Numerous fitness tests are usually administered to determine either muscular strength or cardiovascular endurance. Even though an ample number of tests exist to measure upper body muscular endurance and lower body maximal muscular strength, a single test that assesses both could be beneficial in some circumstances. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if a hand-grip strength test is a valid predictor of both muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance. Methods: Participants included 180 college students including both gender (male = 90, female = 90) (male, age 20.88 ± 2.85 yrs., height 170.14 ± 5.76 cm, weight 62.86 ± 10.06 kg), (female, age 20.41 ± 2.74 yrs, height 158.52 ± 5.91 cm, weight 54.97 ± 8.24 kg). Subjects performed the following tests of muscular strength and cardiovascular endurance: basketball throw for shoulder strength (B-Th), one-minute bent knee sit-ups for abdominal strength (SU), standing broad jump for leg strength (SBJ), and 600-meter run for cardiovascular endurance assessment. Subjects performed 3 trials of the dominant hand grip strength (HGS) test, after which the maximum value was recorded. Pearson bivariate correlation analyses were used to determine relationships between measures. Simple linear regression with enter method was performed to predict variation in hand grip strength performance through body composition, muscular strength, and cardiovascular endurance parameters.Results: In male participants, significant correlations were found between HGS and BMI (r = .532, p = .000), HGS and B-Th (r = .467, P < 0.05), HGS and SU (r = .505, P < 0.05), HGS and SBJ (r = .425, P < 0.05). A simple linear regression was calculated to predict BMI based on HGS. The regression was found statistically significant (R2 = .532, F (1, 88) = 34.69, P < 0.05). Some similar outcomes were found in female participants. Statistically significant relationship was found between HGS and BMI (r = .559, P < 0.05), HGS and B-Th (r = .703, P < 0.05), HGS and SBJ (r = .438, P < 0.05). Conclusions: The hand grip dynamometer test was a predictor of muscular strength. No significant relationship was found between cardiovascular endurance and HGS of both genders. The correlations calculated implicate its usefulness as a method to predict muscular strength simply.