The Lemon Fool

Can the resistance of hand grip exercisers (fat coiled spring type) vary with time? Normally I can do over 200 with each hand. But the last couple of days I was only managing about 100. Seems a big difference. I've been lounging around the last few days because of the bad weather so maybe I'm just lacking in energy. But some other exercises I do with dumbells have gone ok.

MrFoolish wrote:Can the resistance of hand grip exercisers (fat coiled spring type) vary with time? Normally I can do over 200 with each hand. But the last couple of days I was only managing about 100. Seems a big difference. I've been lounging around the last few days because of the bad weather so maybe I'm just lacking in energy. But some other exercises I do with dumbells have gone ok.

With springs operating where they are meant to there should be no real noticeable change over time
- and there's not many terms in Hooke's law
I suppose the spring material could have become corroded?
Could there be another (frictional?) source of resistance that's changed?

If it's only been a few days, I'd put it down to low-level factors like the cold weather (swollen knuckles?), disrupted sleep patterns (because of the cold nights), or maybe some background issue like an incoming cold. If it's still like that after two or three weeks, I might think again.

BJ

I was back to the full number of reps after a few days. It definitely sounds different (quieter) when it feels stiff. It's one of those types where you twist a coil rather than compress a spring. I suspect sometimes there's a friction issue.