Grip Strength and Intertrial Rest

Abstract

This experiment illustrates that the 1991 Montazer and Thomas conclusion that grip strength declines over time is incomplete. 15 men performed 4 grip-strength trials with imertrial rests of 120 sec. Analysis showed that performance did not decrease over the 4 trials, on the contrary, the pattern was that of a learning curve, with a significant difference across the 4 trials, i.e., on Trial 1 grip strength was lower than on successive trials. Such a result points to the importance of ‘warming-up’ the muscle to obtain optimum functioning. Also, subjects should be familiar with the task and the equipment to reduce the chance of a Type I error. Implications for research are discussed.