Just a quick call for a recommendation on grip strength measuring tools.
I’d like to use a grip strength dynamometer to properly measure systemic fatigue.
I’m tracking HRV and resting heart rate, which by themselves are already good parameters to evaluate full recovery. BUT I’m thinking about adding a grip strength measurement device to really dial in my training based on my personal recovery rates.
As you know, there is so much garbage out there. I’d like to make an educated decision. Therefore I wanted to ask you what to look for in terms of pricing, brands, functions etc.
Actually it has limited applications for strength/power training. Which is why you are smart to want to use grip strength to measure central fatigue.
I’ll give you an example. A female powerlifter that I train (world record on squat with 265kg at 67.5kg raw) actually had values of 90-95% recovered (with a tool which used HRV) after a day where she:
Worked up to a 2RM on squats
Did 5 x 2 with 90% of her 2RM
Worked up to a 2RM on bench
Did 5 x 2 with 90% of her 2RM
RESTED FOR A FEW HOURS
Worked up to a 2RM on deadlifts
Did 5 x 2 with 90% of her 2RM
The next day she woke up completely destroyed. Brain dead, sore, lazy… signs of beta-adrenergic downregulation… but measured at 90% recovered!!!
Honestly, it depends on how much you plan to use it. And on your grip strength. Honestly, this model is very good for the price in that the readings are accurate and it will be fairly durable.
The only potential issue is that the limit is 90kg/200lbs (which is typical for most ofthese devices). It is likely going to be sufficient unless you have a world-class grip. The average grip strength of someone in their 20-40s is between 44 and 50kg/90-110lbs.
But, the captain of crush grippers no.2 requires 195lbs of force to be closed. And that is not unachievable if you train your grip, and it would make most dynamometers obsolete.
So, if you are someone who do train his grip a lot, a typical dynamometer might be too “weak”. They classify world-class grip strength at 280lbs of pressure.
If you are someone who does a lot of grip strength work or have a vice-like grip (e.g. manual worker) you will need to go with a higher-end model which can measure up to 300lbs of force, which would cover 99% of the population.
A clinical/professional model will cost in the 200-350$ range and I personally question whether it’s worth it for individual use.
Am I wrong in thinking there are a million other things you can do before relying on buying a specialized bit of equipment just giving people like us something else to obsess about? I’m sure they are great but I can imagine having a poor reading could psyche you out of what could have otherwise been a good workout. If the grip strength really is super accurate though, is there a reason why I still got good workouts in whilst overtraining my grip for a long-time. Maybe i’m just not at the level for it to be something to worry about as much.
I like what I read in Dan Johns “Never Let Go” about the finger tapping as fast as you can. If i’m feeling a little under-recovered, I give it a go and I can pretty much figure out right away that my finger tapping is slower or feels a little off. If i feel a bit beat up and the finger tapping is way off, I’ll take an extra rest day. Perhaps sounds silly but I trust Dan and it seems to work for me!
I was using the finger tapping measure as early as in high-school. What I did was use a good old calculator and would press: 1 + 1 , then tap “equal” as fast as possible, everytime I tapped “equal” it added it up and easily told me how many times I tapped.
But I guess that they probably have apps for this nowadyas.
The calculator things a cool trick, maybe get out one of those old track and field video games where you’d bust ABAB as fast as you can. Anything over 12 seconds on the 100m and I’m taking a rest day!
What is her name? Squatting 265 at 67.5 BW raw is insane. I’d be very interested to see some of her top lifts.
Yes, that’s why I classified them as ‘good’ and not perfect. I just use them to set a baseline for myself and check if there are big deviations after a day of hard training (off course considering other factors as well).
As per your recommendations I really started to pay more attention to physical and psychological cues and shifting my scheduled workout days based on these cues. It was difficult at first because I like to follow a plan, but taking an extra off day or deloading for a full 1-2 weeks (which is something that I never used to do because I wanted to continue training but started doing more frequently once I realized that I started growing whenever I stopped or decreased training for a short period) has really helped me recover more optimally.
Even more important, I started to feel a lot better mentally again because see quote:
This became my normal state because I didn’t know better and always thought I had to keep pushing to get results. Once I started to respect my TRUE off days and learned to be OK with postphoning a workout to prioritize recovery, my mood and performance became a lot better.
Thank you for the recommendations. The camry dynamometer had already caught my attention due to good reviews and the description.
I don’t have a world class grip at all (my last measurement was somewhere around 55 kg) and, like you said, I only want to use it to assess recovery so spending 200-350 bucks on such a tool is way over my budget.
Naomi Sheppard. She is actually one of my trainers too. You can follow her on Instagram at naomi.phoenixperformance
She actually did 270 x 2 in training the week prior. But the competition was in the US (she likes in the UK) and she flew in too close to the meet, physiology had not fully adjusted yet.