VALD Dynamo handheld dynamometer used for athlete strength testing

VALD Dynamo: Portable Athlete Testing

August 19, 2024•3 min read

Answer first: The VALD Dynamo is a portable handheld dynamometer. At Starke Industries it is used with ForceDecks to measure isometric force at chosen joint positions—and grip—as monitoring indicators for training and re-testing. The numbers guide program decisions. They are not a medical diagnosis and they do not predict who will get injured.

Why joint-level force testing matters

Whole-body tests such as a countermovement jump show how an athlete produces force through the system. They do not always show which joint or side is doing the work. A handheld dynamometer fills that gap: you lock a position, push or pull against the device, and record peak isometric force. Repeating the same setup later shows whether training changed that specific quality.

Starke Industries lists Dynamo alongside ForceDecks on the VALD testing service page. Coaches use both in the assess → analyze → train → re-test loop. Force plates answer “how does the system produce force?” Dynamo answers “what does this joint and side look like in a fixed position?”

What Dynamo can measure

Isometric strength at set angles: Peak force with the joint held in a defined position. Useful for hips, knees, ankles, and shoulders when the protocol stays consistent.
Grip strength: A quick whole-hand force check often tracked as one more monitoring indicator next to lower-body work. Grip is one of the Starke Industries–confirmed monitoring tools alongside session RPE and wellness questionnaires.
Side-to-side profiles: Left versus right under the same cues. Differences are tracked over time; cutoffs are configurable decision rules for that athlete’s plan, not universal clinical norms.
Position series (including ASH): Several angles in one session, such as the Athletic Shoulder test, to map force across a range rather than a single snapshot.

Portability without lowering the standard

Dynamo is compact enough for the gym, field, or a small testing space. Portability is useful only if the protocol travels with it: same landmarks, same verbal cues, same warm-up, and the same rest between trials. A portable device with a loose setup produces noise, not insight. Write the setup down the first time you collect a baseline so the re-test can match.

The Athletic Shoulder (ASH) test as a monitoring series

Overhead and throwing sports often need shoulder force data that a jump test cannot provide. The ASH test uses Dynamo to measure isometric shoulder strength at several abduction angles (commonly described around 90°, 135°, and 180°). The result is a force-by-angle, side-by-side profile.

How Starke Industries uses it: compare the athlete to their own earlier ASH sessions. If one angle or side lags that personal baseline, loading and accessory work can be adjusted as a program rule, then re-tested. The test shows side-to-side differences and relative weaknesses training can address. It does not diagnose shoulder pathology or forecast injury.

Building a Dynamo testing cadence

A practical cadence looks like this: establish a baseline early in a training block, train the qualities the profile highlights, then re-test under the same protocol. Monthly re-testing is a common pattern on the Starke Industries VALD service page for the broader stack; Dynamo can follow the same rhythm when shoulder or joint-level force is a priority. Between formal re-tests, session RPE and wellness questionnaires still help decide whether the day is a push day or a back-off day.

How to read Dynamo numbers

Match the protocol before you compare sessions.
Prefer change over time for that athlete over a single cut-off taken from another sport or age group.
Treat asymmetry thresholds as configurable rules you choose with the coach for the phase of training.
Send unexplained pain, swelling, or medical questions to a clinician—Dynamo is a training tool.