Get a Grip! And Keep Improving It!

We’re used to going to the doctor either for checkups or health issues.

When we arrive at the doctor’s office, we often are tested for different markers. Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, vitamin levels etc.

All of these tests have the potential to increase revenue to the pharmaceutical industry. If they’re bad, they result in a pill, an injection or a procedure.

Not to disparage the medical industry (well maybe a little). It may be that they want to do tests that they can do something about.

There is one test you can do yourself. And you can improve your result on the test without a doctor’s guidance or prescription pad.

The test is easy to do. You can do it at home. You can buy a device to do the test for under $30.

You can probably guess from the title of this email that the test is grip strength.

Numerous studies show that stronger grip strength has a correlation with longevity. And not just that you will live longer. There are lots of other benefits:

“Evidence is provided herein that shows grip strength is largely consistent as an explanator of concurrent overall strength, upper limb function, bone mineral density, fractures, falls, malnutrition, cognitive impairment, depression, sleep problems, diabetes, multimorbidity, and quality of life. Evidence is also provided for a predictive link between grip strength and all-cause and disease-specific mortality, future function, bone mineral density, fractures, cognition and depression, and problems associated with hospitalization.”

That’s not to say we need a world full of Popeye’s that have incredible grip strength and other puny body parts. Grip strength is usually correlated with overall strength. People who do resistance weight training in general tend to also have good grip strength.

Other studies that looked at the association with frailty measures and biological clocks that measure how fast your body ages showed some pretty high correlations.

In other words, the more frail (low muscle strength) you are, the more your body ages and breaks down.

I’m not saying someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to live forever. However, he seems to be doing pretty well for someone who is 77 years old as of the writing of this.

That’s why I am so enthusiastic about having our residents exercise. Other than diet, exercise can be extremely helpful in promoting overall health.

Lots of older people walk on a regular basis. That’s great. However, many people don’t do much resistance (weight) training as they grow older.

Their bones creak.

Their joints ache

There’s lots of reasons not to do strength training as we age. Try to do it anyway. Of course if you aren’t doing it, talk to your doctor or other medical professional. Don’t hurt yourself.

Even if you are bed bound there are devices to help you measure and increase your grip strength. For overall strength I love the X3 program which is also very easy on your joints. Although that X3 program may be difficult for elderly people.

I don’t receive any affiliate commissions for these. I use the X3 program myself and love it. If you want to see how your grip strength stacks up to people your age, check out the graph below: