Body Position and the Strength and Endurance of Manual Pull

Abstract

Response strength and the duration of a sub-maximal holding response (endurance) were measured at twenty body positions. The magnitude of the holding response for each subject was 80 per cent of his maximum response strength at the poorest of the twenty positions. A corrected r of 0.88 (p < 0.01) was obtained between the measures of strength and endurance. Thus, it may be assumed that a change in body position, control placement, or body stabilization which increases strength will reduce the effort required to maintain a given force on the control, and that the endurance of the holding response will be proportionately increased. Further, available data on strength may be used to estimate the effect of body stabilization, etc., on the endurance of iometric muscle tensions.