Consider this staggering statistic from the PURE study that tracked over 150,000 subjects over 17 different countries..
‘’ each 11 pound (5kg) decrease in grip strength over the course of the study was linked to a 16% higher risk of dying from any other cause, a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease, a 9% higher risk of stroke, and a 7% risk of heart attack.’’
That’s pretty damn convincing that we need to pay more attention to grip strength. What’s even more crazy is that the study concluded:
Grip strength was a stronger predictor of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than systolic blood pressure.
My 2 cents..
Grip strength is the gatekeeper to functional fitness, your hands have a very sensitive “antenna” for receiving information from the environment: There are a total of 17,000 touch receptors and free nerve endings in the palm. From an evolutionary side of things our hands are designed to be used for swinging (braciations) from tree to tree, climbing mountain sides, lifting heavy rock for shelter and dragging dead animals back to camp. Our grips are not really designed to tap away for hours upon hours on keyboards and scroll away on the mouse.
A strong grip links the body together and does wonderful things for the little stabilisers of the shoulder.
In John Kirsch book ‘’Shoulder Pain’’ the author goes into great depths on the magic of hanging, grip strength and what it does to eliminate shoulder pain along with back pain.
The thing about grip is it’s hard to work your grip without getting stronger, healthier, and faster all over.
I suspect grip strength is such a good barometer for overall health, wellness, and longevity simply because every meaningful piece of physical activity requires that you use your hands to manipulate significant amounts of weight.
Shameless plug… doing some resistance training here will do everything you need to live to at least 100 years young.
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