Grip strength is one of the simplest things to measure: you squeeze a handheld device as hard as you can. Researchers like it because it’s quick, cheap and consistent, and it keeps turning up in studies of how older adults are doing.
That doesn’t make your handshake a fortune-teller. It makes grip a useful signal in groups of people, and a reasonable thing to look after in yourself.
What the research found
In the PURE study, which followed over 139,000 adults in 17 countries, people with lower grip strength (measured with a handheld device called a dynamometer) had a higher risk of dying from any cause and from cardiovascular causes during the follow-up period. The authors reported that this association was stronger than the association between systolic blood pressure and the same outcomes.
That’s a pattern across a very large group. It doesn’t say what will happen to any one person, and it doesn’t mean building grip would change the outcome. Grip may partly reflect overall strength and health. Fit after 50 doesn’t measure or score grip strength for any member.
Grip is also one of five signs researchers commonly look at together, alongside walking speed, unintentional weight loss, low activity and exhaustion, when studying physical frailty in groups of older adults. The cluster gives a fuller picture than any one measure.
Why it’s worth looking after anyway
Grip and forearm strength support many everyday tasks directly: opening jars, carrying groceries, using tools, turning keys and holding on to something to steady yourself. Keeping it is a reasonable, low-risk goal on its own, whatever the research on mortality eventually settles. And it’s easy to work, because you use it all day.
- Carry groceries or a loaded bag for a short distance, switching hands.
- Squeeze a stress ball or soft hand gripper a few times a day.
- Wring out a towel with both hands.
- Do exercises that involve gripping something: rows, a farmer’s carry with light bags, or pulling a resistance band.
- Open jars and use tools by hand when you can, rather than always reaching for an aid.
A short grip routine
This is our own simple example, not a researched protocol.
- Squeeze a soft ballThree seconds, then release. Ten times on each hand.
- Carry a bag in each handAbout a minute, standing tall.
- Wring a damp towelFive twists each direction.
Rest if your hands or forearms ache. The most useful way to build grip is as part of a regular strength routine, since pulling and carrying exercises train it automatically. Grip rides along with how strong you are overall, so think of better grip as a pleasant side effect of the usual plan: a few sessions a week that work your legs, back, chest and arms, plus daily activity.
Do one comfortable chair-strength set
About 5 minutes · Easy to moderate. It should never feel painful or unsteady.
From a stable chair, try up to five comfortable sit-to-stands, using the chair arms if helpful.
Steps
- You will need
- A sturdy chair that will not slide, placed against a wall.
- Done when
- You did up to five comfortable stands, or as many as felt fine.
- Sit toward the front of the chair, feet flat.
- Lean slightly forward and stand up, using the arms of the chair if helpful.
- Sit back down slowly.
- Repeat up to five times, resting whenever you like.
A dynamometer is the standard tool, and most people don’t own one. A reasonable home substitute is simply noticing how easy it is to open a jar, carry two full bags, or hang on to a railing. If you want a measurement, a physical therapist or fitness professional can do it. A sudden, one-sided change in grip, numbness, or new difficulty with fine tasks like buttons or keys is worth mentioning to a clinician; that’s different from a gradual pattern over years.
Your next step
Pulling and carrying train grip automatically, as part of a simple routine.
Build strength with a chair
