In the article " Anti Aging, Biomarkers & Strength Training " I have looked at muscle mass and muscle strength being an excellent indicator of biological age. Another study published in the American Journal of Medicine has gone even more in detail and shown that grip strength is an indicator for mortality – and therefore health and age.
Grip strength is a simple measurement used to estimate overall muscle strength but might also serve as a predictor of health-related prognosis. The study investigated grip strength-mortality association in a longitudinal study.
The study started in 1970 and was concluded in 1999 with over 4900 female and male participants.
And he study concluded that grip strength is an accurate and consistent predictor of all causes of mortality in middle-aged and elderly persons.
How to build grip strength?
That is the most logical question to ask now. And the most efficient answer I can give is: To use and challenge your grip.
Do chin-ups/pull-ups. Do deadlifts. Use fat grip dumbbells and specialty bars. Add in extra grip work.
During the YPSI Functional Anatomy seminars I speak on methods and systems to develop grip strength and its importance, not just in health and age, also in overall training progress.
There is also a great book by John Brookfield that I like to recommend which you can get on amazon here - The Mastery of Hand Strength
Ever seen a weak person with a strong grip?
I haven't. So its crucial to train your grip to get stronger overall. From a performance and from a health standpoint.
References:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002934306004475
Picture: At the YPSI we have two different sets of Fat Grip Dumbbells which is one of the most efficient tools to integrate grip training into regular workouts.