An isometric lat pulldown is a useful measure of upper body strength in young swimmers. Swimming involves cyclical movements of the upper limbs, whereby participants use their arms extended in front of them to catch the water and pull themselves forward. Many performance variables have been related to upper body pulling strength in swimmers, with a 1RM pull up being a strong predictor of swimming performance in open-age swimmers. The 1RM pull up test, however, is difficult to administer in younger swimmers who have not yet developed the physical attributes required to perform 1RM pull up tests. The aim of this study was therefore to develop a test, suitable for young swimmers, that was related to a 1RM pull up, and use the test results to estimate how close a swimmer was to being able to perform a 1RM pull up.
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