Login | December 01, 2025
Grip strength: An indicator of longevity?
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: December 1, 2025
Ever thought about your grip strength?
If your answer is “no” then I really hope to give you something to think about over the ensuing months.
And my hope is that this column’s discussion will motivate you - if even just a little bit - to not only think about your grip strength but also to think about your overall strength.
Now before I go into my schpiel about the importance of this seemingly insignificant physical metric, let me describe just what grip strength is and how it can be measured.
So when we talk about grip strength we’re talking about the force exerted by one’s hand and forearm muscles when in the act of gripping or holding an object.
Now grip strength can be measured in a number of ways.
For instance a hand dynamometer is an instrument that gives us a quantifiable measure - a number - of the maximal force one can apply during the test.
Then there’s the pinch grip instrument that yields a quantifiable measure of one’s thumb and finger strength.
And finally we have somewhat less quantifiable tests for grip strength that are often measured by time - like the towel twist test, the farmer’s carry and the dead hang.
Despite the method you use to assess your grip strength you’re going to find out very quickly where you stand.
Thus, if your grip strength is poor, then you’ll test poorly with low numbers on the quantifiable tests, and you’ll test poorly with short times on the dead hang and the farmer’s carry.
So by now you’re likely wondering just why I think grip strength’s so darned important?
Within the vast collection of tasks that make up your daily activity list, grip strength plays a critical role.
It comes into play when gripping hand railings, turning doorknobs, opening jars, grabbing hot pots and pans off the stove, gardening and carrying groceries - to name but a few.
And thus, the problem for people who possess poor grip strength, well, they tend to struggle with seemingly basic daily tasks which ultimately contribute to a gradual decrement in their quality of life.
Moreover, just this one simple metric of strength is a pretty good indicator of the bigger picture…one’s overall muscular fitness.
And this is where I bring in the scientific research because there’s a plethora of studies which have found that one’s overall muscular fitness correlates with one’s grip strength.
Therefore you can understand why health care specialists look at this simple - albeit important - metric as a predictor of a person’s longevity and health outcomes.
So here are just a few of said studies: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found “grip strength as a reliable indicator of functional decline and longevity,” The Framingham Heart Study found “grip strength as a significant predictor of cardiovascular health and longevity,” and The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) “found that lower grip strength is associated with higher mortality rates in older adults.”
If you score poorly on any of the aforementioned gripping tests, there's good news: Improving your grip strength can be a relatively simple process.
What follows are several easy exercises that can help you to strengthen your wrists and hands.
Wrist Extensions
Position yourself on all fours with your hands in line with your shoulders and your fingertips facing your knees. Initiate the exercise by leaning your body back and forth to both reduce/ deepen the stretch.
Grip Squeeze
With your forearm supported on a table gently grip a hard object like a bottle or can - thumb on one side and fingers on the other. Then simply do reps of squeezing and relaxing your grip on the object.
Towel Squeeze
Hold a rolled up towel with your hands about a foot apart, palms facing the floor. Twist the towel tighter by rotating one hand up and the other hand down until the towel is really tight, then untwist the towel to return to the starting position.
Tennis Ball Squeeze
Grip the tennis ball and do 8-10 squeezes, then switch hands.
Now that you know this metric is a great indicator of longevity, know that improving it is also the perfect catalyst for improving your overall muscular fitness.
And with a little initiative you can progress from gripping exercises to core exercises to arm exercises to leg exercises to shoulder exercises.
And Tthis is when you really begin to impact your longevity and your health outcomes in a truly positive way!