Dynamometer: Key to Tracking Muscle Health

How strong are you? Physically, I mean?

Strength, in this case, is the ability to perform basic human tasks. Sit, stand, climb and carry. Tasks that you would like to do till the end.

How would you really know?

The simplest would be to perform the task. Sit on a chair and get up, until you can’t anymore. Lift an object until you can’t anymore.

But if you really wanted to know and benchmark your capacity to improve over time, you would use a dynamometer.

A dynamometer measures the force that your muscles can apply. Using the right equipment, you can measure the force of your arms, legs, wrist, hand grip and so on.

Once you measure, you can track your progress over time as you improve your capacity.

Take strong wrists and arms. Together, they apply force measured by hand grip.

If you have ever heard the concept of judging a person by the force of their handshake, it came from measuring handgrip strength.

Hand grip strength tells you how well your muscles and nervous system are working, collectively, to apply force.

In the same way, how much force can your lower leg produce? Your chest? Your biceps, your tricep?

If you are a frequent visitor to the gym, one way of knowing is to lift weights using these muscles.

If you want to get more technical, use a dynamometer along with the weights.

Why does it matter?

The key concept remains muscle strength. If your muscles are strong, you reduce the pressure on your bones. More likely, you are also increasing bone strength when you build muscle strength.

Lifting a 22-pound weight repeatedly over three sets does not provide information on the force your muscles can exert. Did it change in the past one month?

I like to measure change over time. In this case, for one of the most essential capacities in the human body.

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