Strong hands help with everything from opening jars to swinging a racket. And weak ones? They can warn of trouble far beyond the kitchen or tennis court
How good is your grip? It’s not just a convincing handshake – or your ability to twist the lid off the jam – that’s at stake, if yours is feeble. “Good grip is integral to so many sports,” says Gareth Cole, head of performance at Coach London. “Whenever you need to hold on to an object, apply force to an object, pull yourself towards something or pull something towards yourself, you are recruiting the muscles in the forearm and hand that facilitate grip. Poor grip can also be the weakest link when you are lifting heavy weights.”
Outside of the gym, hand strength has been shown to have a strong relationship with our general wellbeing. Weak grip has been linked to poor cognitive function, osteoporosis, obesity, fall risk, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes. A 2015 study, monitoring nearly 140,000 older adults over four years, found that a frail grip was related to higher incidences of heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular disease and even death. In fact, it predicted the risk of an early death more effectively than blood pressure, another important indicator of health.
