Get a Grip: Improve Your Grip Strength for Optimal Wellness

What is Grip Strength?

When we think about fitness, most of us probably don’t think much about grip strength—but we should. Why? Because our grip strength serves as an indicator of our overall health and well-being.

So what is grip strength? Grip strength is how firmly and securely you can hold onto something, and how long you can hold it compared to how heavy it is. In short, grip strength refers to the force exerted by the muscles of the hand and forearm.

It’s a critical component of daily activities, from opening jars and carrying groceries to exercising and playing sports. Grip strength is an important part of your physical strength and can be an indicator of general fitness.

Why Grip Strength is Important

1. Indicator of Overall Health

Research has shown that grip strength is a reliable indicator of overall health and longevity. Studies have linked stronger grip strength with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and other chronic conditions. It can also predict future health issues, including the risk of falls and fractures in older adults.

2. Functional Independence

Good grip strength is essential for maintaining functional independence, especially as we age. It allows individuals to perform daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and self-care without assistance. Weak grip strength can lead to difficulties in managing these tasks, thereby reducing quality of life.

3. Athletic Performance

For athletes and fitness enthusiasts, grip strength plays a vital role in performance. Whether you’re lifting weights, climbing rocks, or playing sports like tennis and golf, a strong grip can enhance your performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Recent Studies

Recent studies underscore the significance of grip strength as a key indicator of overall health and predictor of various health outcomes.

1. Predictor of Mortality and Morbidity: A comprehensive study published in The BMJ in 2022 involving over 500,000 participants found that lower grip strength is significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality and incidence of cardiovascular diseases. This study supports the idea that grip strength could enhance the predictive power of traditional risk scores for various health conditions​ (BioMed Central)​.

2. Association with Cognitive and Mental Health: Lower grip strength is associated with more risk of onset of cognitive decline and dementia, according to a systematic review of over 15 different studies. Another recent study highlighted the correlation between grip strength and mental health. Specifically, a study involving 27,000 adults in India found that lower grip strength was linked to higher rates of depression. This suggests that grip strength not only reflects physical health but also has implications for congitive and mental well-being​ (MedXpress)​.

3. Indicator of Biological Aging: A 2022 study focused on the relationship between grip strength and biological aging. Researchers found that individuals with weaker grip strength exhibited accelerated DNA aging, indicating that grip strength could be a marker for overall biological aging and health resilience​ (MedXpress)​.

4. Cardiometabolic Health: Research published in BMC Medicine in 2023 investigated the association between handgrip strength and cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CM). The study concluded that lower handgrip strength was associated with an increased risk of developing CM and higher all-cause mortality among individuals with CM. This finding reinforces the role of grip strength as a vital measure in predicting and managing cardiometabolic health​ (BioMed Central)​.

These studies collectively emphasize that grip strength is a simple yet powerful metric that reflects not just muscle function but also broader aspects of health, including mortality risk, cognitive health, biological aging, and cardiometabolic conditions. Incorporating grip strength measurement in routine health assessments could provide valuable insights into an individual’s overall health status and potential future health risks.

Three Types of Grip Strength

There are three major types of grip strength:

• Crush: This refers to how strong your grip is using your fingers and the palm of your hand. Crush grip is your handshake style grip. Think of opening jars, holding a tennis racket, or closing a hand gripper.

• Support: Support refers to how long you can hold onto something or hang from something. Support or hold grip is when you’re carrying a briefcase or a bag of groceries by the handles, or lifting pots and pans off the stove.

• Pinch: This refers to how firmly you can pinch something between your fingers and thumb. Pinch grip focuses on the fingers and fingertips. Things like turning keys and dials, using scissors, sewing, and engaging in fine-motor-skill hobbies.

How to Measure Grip Strength

Measuring grip strength is straightforward and can be done using a device called a handgrip dynamometer. You can buy one on Amazon for about 30 bucks.

Alternatively, this video uses a weight scale to measure grip strength.

How to Improve Grip Strength

Improving grip strength involves exercises that target the muscles of the hand, wrist, and forearm. Here are some effective exercises and tips with links to video demonstrations:

1. Hand Grip Exercises

• Hand Grippers: Use hand grippers designed to improve grip strength. Squeeze the gripper repeatedly, gradually increasing resistance as you get stronger.

• Tennis Ball Squeeze: Squeeze a tennis ball or a stress ball for 5-10 seconds, then release. Repeat for several repetitions with both hands. Therapy putty is also an option here.

• Towel Wring: Use a rolled up hand towel. Hold each end of the towel so it’s horizontal in front of you. Grip the ends and move each hand in opposite directions as if you’re wringing water from the towel. Repeat the wringing motion 10 times.

2. Weight Training

• Deadlifts: This compound exercise not only strengthens the lower body but also significantly engages the grip muscles.

• Farmers Walk: Hold heavy-for-you weights in each hand and walk for a set distance or time. This exercise is excellent for improving grip endurance. If you don’t have weights, try using water-filled milk jugs or bags of rocks.

• Dead Hang: Grab onto a pull-up bar with your palms and fingers forward over the bar (a double overhand grip). Lift yourself up (or lift your legs) so that you’re hanging from the bar with your arms fully straight. Hold on for as long as you can. Start with 10 seconds if you’re an absolute beginner and increase your time by 10-second increments up to 60 seconds as you get more comfortable with the exercise.

• Plate Pinch: This pinch grip exercise entails grasping the rounded-edge of a weight plate between your fingers and thumb, arms straight by your side. Try holding two plates of the same size, one per arm, at a time. Gradually increase your time until you can hold the plates for 60 seconds.

3. Wrist and Finger Strengthening

• Wrist Curls: Use a dumbbell to perform wrist curls, both regular and reverse, to strengthen the forearm muscles.

• Finger Extensions: Use a rubber band around your fingers and stretch them outward against the resistance to strengthen the extensor muscles.

Try these exercises and add some of your own for a well-rounded set of grip exercises that can improve your health. Like any strength training program, consistency is key. Perform grip-strengthening exercises regularly, and progressively increase the intensity as your strength improves.

While grip strength may seem like a small component of fitness, evidence shows that its impact on overall health and functional independence is substantial. So work to improve your grip strength for optimal health and wellness.