Relationships between the flexed-arm hang and select measures of muscular fitness

The flexed-arm hang (FAH) has been used to assess arm and shoulder girdle strength for 35 years despite little evidence to support its use. The purpose of this study was to determine what muscular fitness component, if any, was related to the FAH. The traditional overgrip chin-above-bar test and 5 different variations were compared with absolute strength (1 repetition maximum [1RM] lat pull down), relative strength (1RM.mass(-1)), and muscle endurance (repetitions to failure at 70% of the 1RM). Sixty college-age women volunteered for the study. Relationships were examined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation. No significant relationship was found between any of the FAH variations and absolute strength or muscle endurance; however, all FAH variations correlated significantly with relative strength (1RM.mass(-1)). The strongest relationship was with the undergrip FAH timed to 90 degrees of elbow extension (r = 0.72). Investigators concluded that the FAH is a test of weight-relative muscular strength and appears unrelated to absolute strength or muscle endurance.