Do you want to know how healthy you are? There’s one health metric that experts can look to for hints about everything from your cardiovascular risks to the health of your brain: grip strength, or how firmly you can hold something with your hand.
“There’s nothing about grip strength per se that makes it special” except that it’s easy to measure, Mark Peterson, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, tells Yahoo Life. Research also shows that it is an excellent predictor of how you are doing in general.
So what does your grip strength say about you, and how can you improve it? Here’s what you need to know.
What is grip strength and why is it important?
Grip strength refers to the amount of force you can generate when you squeeze something in your hand, and experts consider this a good way to measure a person’s overall strength or weakness. For example, if you find it harder to open a jar of pasta sauce, that’s a signal that you may be losing some grip strength.
Grip strength is measured using a device called a dynamometer, which indicates how many kilograms of force a person generates when squeezing the handle in their hand. Normal grip strength varies depending on factors such as BMI and gender, and researchers still debate what exactly indicates weak grip strength. But one study suggests that men’s grip strength is considered weak if they produce less than 50 pounds (26 kilograms) of force; for women, it’s less than 16 kilograms, or 35 pounds, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
What grip strength indicates about overall strength also appears to be an excellent predictor of other health factors, research shows. People with weaker grip strength are more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and to die from any cause. Losing grip strength over time has also been linked to a greater risk of cognitive decline. Grip strength “has been found to be the strongest predictor of disease and mortality, [better] than almost anything else,” says Peterson.
That’s because loss of grip strength is “such a good indicator of vulnerability,” says Dr. Ardeshir Hashmi, division chief of the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Geriatric Medicine, told Yahoo Life. When someone becomes vulnerable due to loss of muscle mass, they generally age faster and will be worse off against any health problems, he explains. And frailty is not just a problem for the elderly. “These changes can happen as early as the mid-40s, especially if we are very sedentary,” says Hashmi.
The good news is that adopting exercise habits and good nutrition can restore the strength of your grip, and everywhere else.
What is the best way to improve grip strength?
It can be tempting to buy the kind of hand strengthening agent that some athletes use to improve their grip. But Peterson says he doesn’t have to worry about that. “That’s just not going to help your heart, kidneys or brain,” he explains. Instead, Peterson advocates resistance training, because strengthening your body in general has widespread benefits and will help prevent you from becoming frail. Hashmi agrees that strength training is important, but says exercise to improve your cardiovascular fitness – such as cycling or walking – is also important, especially because it promotes good circulation.
Exercise combats frailty by building good muscle reserves, making your body more resilient to aging and recovering faster from injury or illness. Hashmi adds that you also need to get the right nutrients – especially protein – to stimulate muscle development.
Becoming stronger has also been linked to better brain health. “We found a link between low grip strength and cognitive decline and anxiety and depression, but I think it’s mainly because… people who are physically active are healthier from top to bottom, and that includes mental health and brain health,” says Peterson. “Exercise is one of the most powerful treatments for prevention and relief of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety,” he adds.
Exercises to try
The most important thing is to choose exercises that you enjoy and that you will do daily, even if just for 10 minutes, says Hashmi. Peterson recommends doing exercises that require two joints, such as squats or lunges. Exercises that “engage the hip and knee are the most important because there are so many muscles in the lower extremities that you can get a lot of benefit from them,” he explains.
It’s worth talking to your doctor about what types of workouts will work best for you, but exercise the two experts’ opinions Doing recommend include:
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Swimming and water aerobics
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Weightlifting, especially deadlifts or dumbbell lunges. You don’t need any fancy equipment either. Try them at home while holding light dumbbells, milk jugs, or cans.
Don’t focus so much on:
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Biceps and chest workouts like curls. These won’t do much for overall muscle tone and grip strength, says Peterson.
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Hand strengthening exercises. It’s fine to do them to strengthen your grip, but full-body workouts will have more important benefits for your health, experts say.
One benefit of resistance training is that “strength happens very quickly,” says Peterson. “Neurological changes happen pretty much in the first week of exercise.”
And yes, your grip strength will probably improve as a result of this exercise too; experts say this matters as an indicator of more widespread internal changes that will benefit your overall health. Hashmi compares it to athletes training during the preseason. ‘If you don’t move [work] at this moment something will strike you unexpectedly,” he says.