"Elbow grease" - an AT perspective?

I was reading an Agatha Christie short story the other day, in which one character mentions that it was hard to find servants who used "elbow grease" nowadays.  It got me thinking of the term and it's effect on my movement.  "Elbow grease" is a term that originated in the 1600's, believe it or not, and refers to working harder and with more effort.  If I was told to use more elbow grease in cleaning the bathroom, for instance, my instinct would be to press more firmly onto the surface I was cleaning and engage more torso musculature in order to do so.  But is that what the term is really asking for?  If you grease a mechanical joint in a piece of machinery, then the movement at the joint happens more quickly and with less friction.  Would I be a more effective bathroom cleaner if my arm movements increased in frequency (speed) rather than pressure, with a quicker easy movement at the elbow and wrist joints?  I tried it of course, because cleaning the bathroom is boring anyway, and found that my cleaning was effective and my body was much less fatigued afterwards.

"Elbow grease" might just as easily be about the mental attitude of the bathroom cleaner, an exhortation to be thorough and not lazy in one's cleaning.  If I think about being thorough and meticulous in my cleaning, how does my movement change?  If I am grumpy about cleaning and want to be done with it, how does my movement change?  Hmmm...the kitchen needs cleaning next...