The focus on fitness had never ever been greater. With fitness and strength coming to the forefront in almost all fields of life, the use of fitness instruments has received a major boost. The physical strength of a person has not been quantifiable for quite a long period of time. Strength-based tasks have been carried out to compare the physical power of people. This threw open a new problem whose solution was achieved, to some extent, by the invention of a hand grip dynamometer. This solution was established by Edme Régnier in the year 1807 when he invented the dynamometer that went on to be named after him. There are quite a lot of instruments that solve this purpose, but the hand grip dynamometer is perhaps one of the most popular. It is one of those machines which have been in use since human beings first learnt to use their physical strength and prowess. With the hand grip dynamometer, you need to be more alert and active regarding your body power and flexibility.
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| Hand Grip Dynamometer |
Measurement and calibration:
Since this are a testing device, the measurement and calibration are quite vital. They need to be of the highest possible accuracy in order to satisfy the clientele. A good dynamometer should have a nice and firm grip. Apart from this, it should be able to display the results quite accurately. The analog dynamometers have this linear scale that is fit on top to view the results. The digital ones have been found to be more precise.
The strength test:
You might be having the doubt that how can the strength of a person be solely measured by a hand grip dynamometer. However, it has been observed that people with good hand strength are strong overall. Hence this test is also called the strength test. Let us take a look at the steps involved in performing this test and what kind of a role the dynamometer plays in this:
- The person needs to have his elbow stuck to the side of the body and the arm at the right angle to it. The handle of the device has to rest towards the base of the thumb and the other four fingers must be used to press. Also, when you buy the dynamometer, it should have some kind of parity between the gripping stance and the overall body power and weight.
- Once this setup is done, the user needs to generate maximum isometric effort and squeeze the handle of the dynamometer. This strength has to be maintained for about five seconds.
Holding the dynamometer and then fitting it accordingly
- There may be variations in the holding position depending on the various protocols. These are listed in the Eurofit Test Manual. The scoring is obtained by having an average of several backs to back efforts generated by each hand with a few seconds given for recovery between each squeeze.
- While this test has a lot of advantages due to the simplicity of the testing methods, it is not entirely free of inaccuracies. The dynamometer must be adjusted for the hand size of the person and how perfectly this is done, also has an impact on the final score.
Area where this hand grip machine is used
This is particularly used in sports training centers to measure the hand grip strengths of the athletes who are involved in strength training. They can be gymnasts, tennis players, and even rock climbers. Athletes are made to follow the stipulated training schedules intended to increase their arm strength. The hand grip dynamometer is a simple yet effective tool to measure the upper body strength of the person. Calibration and consistency of the instrument, however, has to be given utmost priority.
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