Fatigue at your fingertips: Can a brief handgrip task reveal your subjective fatigue state?
Abstract
Fatigue is a complex concept that includes both subjective sensations and objectively measurable performance decline (fatigability). There is a need for simple, reliable tools to assess fatigability in both clinical and athletic settings. This pilot study examined whether a 30 s (s) maximal isometric handgrip test could serve as an objective marker of fatigability and reflect perceived fatigue. Nineteen healthy volunteers (4 women; 33.2 ± 12.1 years) completed six testing sessions (morning and afternoon). Participants performed a 30 s sustained maximal handgrip contraction with a custom dynamometer. The primary outcome was the percentage decline in force (ΔMVC), complemented by mechanical impulse (IMP). Subjective measures included the Rate of Fatigue (ROF), Hooper Index, Rating of Perceived Exertion, and motivation. Greater ΔMVC was moderately associated with higher perceived fatigue (e.g., ROF: r = 0.37 at 15 s, p < 0.002) and lower motivation (r = -0.47 at 30 s, p < 0.0002). Motivation emerged as the most consistent predictor of both ΔMVC and IMP. Diurnal variation was observed, with larger declines in the afternoon compared to morning (39.1 ± 8.2 % vs 36.4 ± 6.9 %, p = 0.015), alongside higher self-reported fatigue. Among the four time points assessed, ΔMVC@15 s showed the most consistent associations with subjective markers, suggesting that shorter efforts (i.e. 15 s) may capture similar information while improving comfort and reliability. The 30 s handgrip test is repeatable and sensitive to diurnal variation and objective performance decline but only moderately reflects subjective fatigue. With further validation, brief handgrip endurance tests could complement self-report measures for fatigue monitoring in both clinical and sports contexts.
Related
- The Brief Case: Uncommon pathogen, unusual presentation—Ureaplasma urealyticum in a post-laminectomy infection
- Neural representation of the subjective uncertainty of prediction in the human brain
- Do You Ever Get Tired of Being Wrong? The Unique Impact of Feedback on Subjective Experiences of Effort
- Distinct neural oscillatory patterns underlying music-evoked emotions: Evidence from MEG and subjective reports
- Evaluating Pedestrian Crossing Safety: Implementing and Evaluating a Convolutional Neural Network Model Trained on Paired Aerial and Subjective Perspective Images (Vol 11, E42428, 2025)
BibTeX
@article{kennouche2026fatigue,
title = {{Fatigue at your fingertips: Can a brief handgrip task reveal your subjective fatigue state?}},
author = {Djahid Kennouche and Yann Le Mat and Jérémy Rossi and Mathias Géry and Guillaume Y Millet},
journal = {Advanced Exercise and Health Science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.aehs.2025.11.002},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05746453v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fatigue at your fingertips: Can a brief handgrip task reveal your subjective fatigue state?
AU - Djahid Kennouche
AU - Yann Le Mat
AU - Jérémy Rossi
AU - Mathias Géry
AU - Guillaume Y Millet
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/11
JO - Advanced Exercise and Health Science
DO - 10.1016/j.aehs.2025.11.002
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05746453v1
AB - Fatigue is a complex concept that includes both subjective sensations and objectively measurable performance decline (fatigability). There is a need for simple, reliable tools to assess fatigability in both clinical and athletic settings. This pilot study examined whether a 30 s (s) maximal isometric handgrip test could serve as an objective marker of fatigability and reflect perceived fatigue. Nineteen healthy volunteers (4 women; 33.2 ± 12.1 years) completed six testing sessions (morning and afternoon). Participants performed a 30 s sustained maximal handgrip contraction with a custom dynamometer. The primary outcome was the percentage decline in force (ΔMVC), complemented by mechanical impulse (IMP). Subjective measures included the Rate of Fatigue (ROF), Hooper Index, Rating of Perceived Exertion, and motivation. Greater ΔMVC was moderately associated with higher perceived fatigue (e.g., ROF: r = 0.37 at 15 s, p < 0.002) and lower motivation (r = -0.47 at 30 s, p < 0.0002). Motivation emerged as the most consistent predictor of both ΔMVC and IMP. Diurnal variation was observed, with larger declines in the afternoon compared to morning (39.1 ± 8.2 % vs 36.4 ± 6.9 %, p = 0.015), alongside higher self-reported fatigue. Among the four time points assessed, ΔMVC@15 s showed the most consistent associations with subjective markers, suggesting that shorter efforts (i.e. 15 s) may capture similar information while improving comfort and reliability. The 30 s handgrip test is repeatable and sensitive to diurnal variation and objective performance decline but only moderately reflects subjective fatigue. With further validation, brief handgrip endurance tests could complement self-report measures for fatigue monitoring in both clinical and sports contexts.
SN - 2950-273X
SN - 2950-273X
ER -